Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Restaurant at the End of Universe Meridian Dealers - Equipment INFO: Meridian discontinue Upgrade Kits for SE and Reference 800 Series

The second-hand value of non-SE speakers will surely fall considerably without the upgrade path being made available? It certainly rules out the option of me buying an DSP8000 that hasn't already been upgraded.

I doubt it. There’s not exactly much of a market out there and I would have though prices would be based on supply and demand rather than an upgrade path current owners aren’t going down.

8ks went for below £8k a while ago because of lack of demand. It’s a esoteric brand so supply and demand is fickle. Not many people taking up the brand these days for obvious reasons.

The upgrade route may be cannabilising factory SE sales. Plus a little bump in sales for them to help cash flow?

Mine are on order...

Just curious, how much does it cost to upgrade, say, a pair of 7200s to SE standard?

Hi,

From the Meridian USA Price List (November 2019) PDF ...

Regards,
Carl

al2002,

Like anything else shop around for the best price.

I am afraid I think that is me done for Meridian. I have been a customer since the 565/562 but the lack of support for current and future protocols other than MQA means it feels like the end of a line.

I have sunk a lot of money into Meridian but I feel they have abandoned their original customer base seeking something new which does not seem to be working for their original base.

Shame, but we must move on.

The lack of orders and supply chain logistics is indeed the answer.

I was taken aback by this announcement as I was on the edge of upgrade through Rick but the virus crisis caused me to hold off. I contacted Meridian via email and was really surprised to receive a phone call from someone (can't remember the name as I was so surprised). I had expressed in the email a need to delay the final date by a few months to allow the virus crisis to calm down and for owners to get back into the way of thinking about upgrades.

We had a pleasant conversation and although he listened to my complaint he did indeed say the request for upgrades were few and far between these days and it causes them logistical problems for manufacture. Anyway I've decided to go for a v8 upgrade and 5200HC upgrade via Rick so have mine on order. Would like to upgrade the 5200 L/R Front but too much money at the mo so will likely look for an upgraded pair in the future.

The guy's final words were that provided the order was made before 1st May the order would be honoured.

Regards to all, stay safe and healthy (which is of course the absolute priority)

Bob

Carl, thanks for the links.

To be clear, while I don't own Meridian DSP speakers now, I would not mind having a pair of the 3-way DSP models if they could be had at the right price.
As you are no doubt aware, used Meridian speakers sell for a fraction of their original prices so I wanted to estimate the cost of buying an older model and upgrading it to SE standard.
Regrettably, the eye watering upgrade prices rule out that option AFAIAC!

KTMsteve, yes, sound advice in general.

Alas, when an upgrade to an existing speaker costs more than the street price of a pair of, say, Revel Salon 2s, it's time to move on and consider alternatives....

We’ve been working on remodel plans. Once done, a main system speaker upgrade is something I hope to do. I had been thinking about used DSP8000’s with an SE upgrade down the road when funds allowed. There are so many great used analog speaker options, such as the Ultima2 Salon2’s just mentioned, so I was on the fence anyhow. Given that the option is off the table of SE upgrade in my timetable, I’m eliminating Meridian DSP’s from consideration.

Why? They are totally different speakers.

I used the resale money from the Salon 2's to buy my DSP8000.2 and after posting interest in the SE upgrade waited.

I can say the Salon 2 has an excellent tweeter but I couldn't get them to sing! My 250/425 WPC Hegel H360 wasn't enough to get those bass drivers to budge and after rereading the reviews, 7' off the front wall, 53" apart, miles away from side walls, 11' back with the listening chair etc. After 9 months I gave up and I got better sound from the base 8k from the start. When I considered how much money I would potentially lose mixing and matching amplifiers to a quality pair of passive speakers I decided the on the SE kit, if a deal can be found is worth it.