Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems Meridian or No?

Hi,

I am new to this forum and new to Meridian.

I have always wanted to have a dream Hifi system an have finally, after dabbling with hifi in the 1980s, found myself in the fortunate position of having the funds to buy a serious system.

I am looking for a system that can support a basic 5.1 cinema setup, but am much more interested in the 2 channel performance. On the advice of my Home Cinema installer I am considering Meridian. We started at DSP5200SE front, with DSP3200 rears, DSW.2 Sub, DSP520.2 centre. UHD722 AND G65.

I went down to Huntingdon to demo the Kit and while there stupidly tried the DSP7200SEs and loved them. I am now even thinking about the DSP8000SEs!

My question is after doing some research, it seems like Meridian has changed since the founders and technical leads left. The company seems to be more focused on licensing agreements and concessions. No new products (other than the wall speakers) for years and a company now lead by a salesman (sorry, nothing wrong with salesmen by the way I was one myself) and not a technical geek.

I saw a YouTube video tour of the factory from pre-pandemic times and there was almost no-one in the building. I like the sound, I love Bob Stuart’s design principles and legacy, but am worried that either A. The company will withdraw from hardware manufacturing altogether or B. I may have missed something and they launch a bunch of new kit imminently, that will make my expensive purchase much less valuable. I know it doesn’t change the value to me of the kit that I am looking at, but it is a concern when you are looking at making such a large investment.

Hopefully, food for though.

Many thanks.

I have exactly the same concerns

Yes the direction of the company is something that could be a concurn.
It would appear the support for legacy H/W is non-existant.

Between 1993 and 2019 I enjoyed my Meridian passive stereo, and then, 5.1 passive system. I would not consider buying another brand.

Then, something went wrong with my Meridian 5.1 Receiver. No longer in production, Meridian wasn’t interested in trying to resolve the problem: rendering the Receiver as being scrap. At that time no third-party Meridian repair agents existed in the UK.

At that time I swore that I would never buy Meridian again.

Fortunately, a fellow HH got in touch and suggested erasing and uploading the unit’s firmware. It completely resolved the problem. It became a fully functioning piece of equipment. Still, I sold the unit because I didn’t have faith in the longevity of the Receiver.

I looked at all the different high-end alternatives, and, like Meridian, suffer from the same problem: bespoke/custom surface-mounted electronics. If a single component fails, the whole board is scrap (unlike the good old days when a single transistor could be replaced).

Like you, I then made the mistake of auditioning the latest Meridian DSP Loudspeakers. I’ve since spent around £10k on buying my present system, plus Roon/Server. I definitely wouldn’t consider buying anything else.

Now, there’s a UK third-party Meridian repair agent for legacy/out of warranty products that is owned by a well-respected ex-Meridian employee. That provides me with confidence in the long-term viability of my system.

Thanks Spinaltap, I just spotted Mr Tech Guy.

It is a bit of a concern for me. I’ve watched the few YouTube videos that are out there where Bob Stuart and Richard Holinshead explain the design philosophy behind the DSP speaker range and am really bought into it, especially after auditioning the DSP5200SE and DSP7200SE.

The big issue for me is that these speakers are a very different proposition. If I buy a traditional passive speaker I would hope to get many 10s of years life out of them. I could upgrade amp, DAC etc. as technology improved. The DSPs are already at least 7 years old in their most up to date versions and because they have so much tech bundled into the package it worries me they may fall behind the technology curve.

I think it’s great that they have previously offered upgrade paths and firmware updates but without the considerable talent that used to be at the helm, will these updates continue and will they be of the quality seen in the past?

I’m going to Huntingdon again to demo the 7200s this week with my wife and will also audition the 8000s. I will be asking some tough questions.

Just because something is new doesn't mean it is better, particularly with speakers. Just think how many 'old' designs there are out there that can hold their own against new models.

Technology marches on. B&W continues to innovate (having come to many of the same conclusions) with separate driver compartments, very inert cabinetry shaped to minimize reflection, and so on, such that their newest designs sound better than ever. KEF has their new Metamaterial Absorption Technology (MAT) which has also elevated their products. Things change.

I just purchased another pair of Special Edition because they sound great, and because I’ve found M speakers to be very reliable over decades. But I do worry that we may never see the next iteration.

I did that a few years ago with my wife. Objective was to road test the 40th Anniversary 8k/808 combo. If you can, try and get the demo in one of the listening rooms rather than the foyer or other space.

The result was good (probably St Des's charms on the shop-floor tour Mrs L had). I have had that system ever since. Be careful when you demo the 8kSE ... there is no way back

I think the other aspect to consider is that as far as I remember there have been no consistent reports of unreliability in Meridian DSPs, a lot of other electronics have had issues but DSPs have been very solid. Two reasons for this, linear power-supplies and no moving parts beyond the drivers themselves. The Meridian electronics have been let down by SMPS and the disc drives (not saying there haven’t been other issues but these two are the biggies I feel).

If you like the presentation of the Meridian DSPs then go for it. Then just enjoy the music. If you like the sounds they make stop worrying about what chips the DACs are or what cables you can buy next, they don’t need you to mess about with all that.

Best wishes

Richard

So we made the 2 hour trip down to Huntingdon today and demo'd the 7200SEs. My wife loved them and they didn't dissapoint from my previous audition. As mentioned we had also arranged to audition the 8000SEs, this was done in the main cinema, not ideal, the speakers are hidden behind the screen, so my wife didn't see them until after we had heard them (probably not a bad thing in retrospect). ncpl was absolutely on the money. Listen at your peril, as there is no way back. The sound stage was absolutely huge, the base was amazing, I was completely blown away.

Now I am sold on the 8000s I am seriously considering changing my plans. I was after a surround setup, but am really more concerned with the 2 channel setup so I am thinking of ditching the surround amp for the 818v3. Does anyone have any thoughts on the 2 channel capabilities of the 861v8 in comparison to the 818v3? The 861 would give me more options if I did want to add surround at a later date, but I want the best sound possible with the 8000s. I will still be having a projector in my listening room, but I think I would be happy with 2 channel sound when viewing.

Is there much difference in 2 channel perfomance between the 2?

Many thanks.

Thanks for the overview. I guess I am just trying to cover all bases when making such a significant investment. It's good to hear that the DSPs seem to have long term reliability.

If you are having a projector I wouldn't, if possible, limit yourself to just 2-channel no matter how good. For not much more than 861v8 you could get the Trinnov Altitude 16 or its bigger sibling the Altitude 32 either of which would certainly future-proof your surround sound aspirations for the foreseeable future . You could start with just the 8-channel Altitude 32 which would cover you for 2.0/5.1/7.1 and if ever you should choose Atmos (for Movies and/or Music) it is upgradable later on.

I started with Altitude 32 (8/16) which, with a software update, is about to receive for free an extra 4 channels capability bringing it up to potentially 20 outputs! So that's your movie listening covered till the end of the century

Alternatively, the 818.3 is generally acknowledged to be the best Stereo source for DSPs. It will certainly make those 8Ks purr!

Good Luck !

~M~