Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems Meridian 800v4 Card to accept S-Video (VCR) input?

Thanks again Steve.

I'll definitely try all this.

Hopefully I can work something out.

Regardless, I'm sure it'll be a nice unit.

I see from your signature that you still have your 800, + 808, and others. Would love to hear your thoughts on 800? ; description of its sound. I've never heard one, and am only taking a chance based on my ownership of a (now broken) 598, for the last 15 years.

Thanks

As a DVD player the 800v4 is a brilliant unit. The picture quality is excellent for DVD resolution and certainly better DVD output than my blu-ray player.

When it comes to CD playback, again the 800v4 is very good. I have an OA23 (192K/24bit analogue audio output card) in mine and that, connected to a 557 power amplifier, was the best I'd heard until I tried an 808...
The original 808 was the same a 800v4 without the video hardware, and I believe that placed less of a demand on the backplane, so had a slightly better sound.
Meridian have improved over the years with the .2, .3, .5 and .6, each improving and extracting the extra details from the CDs.
I now run an 808.5 directly into a pair of DSP6000's and that is all I could ever desire from CD playback. I still hear things I'd never heard before on some tracks! Its a bit like re-discovering your CD collection...

Before all of this I used to run a 568.2mm and 598 combination, so can definitely guarantee that you'll get a lot more out of the 800. It is very similar to the 598 but just more - more bass, more detail, better, smoother top end - basically better engineered.

I've had G-Series - G98, G68, G61, etc and I still think the 500 series is the absolute bargain. Most used linear power supplies (the 596, 598 and latter CD spinners used SMPS power supplies) but had a more engaging sound than the colder G-Series kit.
The 800-series just expands on the 500 series and is bigger and better in pretty much all respects.

Cheers,

Steve

Hi Steve,

wow!

Awesome feedback. Thank you so much for this!

Interesting your comments on the analogue output OA23 connection. I would love to try the 800 as a full blown CD player. Although, by the time I purchased not just the card but, most expensively, a set of RCA interconnects that would do an 800 justice ($$$), that's getting into a different world of $ outlay.

I'll just be connecting with the Smartlink output, initially. Hopefully that will be sufficient/will provide me some good sound.

I do want to use the coax output at some point, but, I treat the latter somewhat similarly to the analogue connection option above, in that I feel both analogue and digital cables make a big difference on the sound. To the extent that, I would want to get a nice 75ohm coax, to do the 800 justice. I used to own Tara The One/0.8 Digital coaxes (but sold them) and, oh boy.. did they make a difference to the sound of my 598 at the time I remember (for redbook CD) ; coax out.

Have you found the 800 and 808 sensitive to the quality of cabling?

Interesting your thoughts that an 808v1 sounded relatively similar to an 800. I'll keep that in mind if I ever decide to try and move to an 808 (ie, making sure I get a version that would make the change/cost outlay justifiable). I think someone else on this forum quoted separately who owned an 800, and felt that their move to the 808.2, was enough to hear substantial improvements in sound versus 800.

Thanks for your comment on the 800 (ie, being more like a 500 but just better in all ways). I'm glad I didn't take the plunge for a G.

Cheers!

Doobie,

I have links to a suitable card if you are still needing one.


Cheers,


Steve

For sure Steve!

PM me perhaps?

Thanks