Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems 818v3 vs. Trinnov Altitude 32

A guy with my income probably shouldn't have what I have either - I guess we all spend more than we should on our hobbies/passions!

To answer your question - resoundingly, yes, the 818v3 absolutely works its magic on non-MQA material and, as others have posted here, I do not at all find its benefit only to be in the analogue domain. On the contrary, it was and is a sublime upgrade from even the 818v2 I had before, it really is that good.

It is considerably sweeter and smoother, in fact more forgiving of recordings all round, than the v2, while at the same time digging deeper and painting a much more realistic performance all round - a rare combination of talents, in my experience. With DSPs (of which you have the best) you start to forget about hi-fi completely and focus on the nuances of how the performers are conveying the emotion of the piece, without even having to concentrate - it's just there.

You might find you are less bothered by the 'tweeter' on less than stellar recordings with an 818v3 in place before the 8KSEs. I know what you mean, the Be tweeter and extra resolution of the SEs are potentially a double-edged sword, like any high resolution speakers, they can only convey what the source material contains, which is one reason why I chose s/h 7200.2 over new 52KSE back when I had the choice. However, I've found the 818v3 considerably smoother as a source than anything else I've tried, which would help quite a bit at the top end, I would say.