Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems Am I CRAZY for wanting to go back to Meridian

Back in college I had a 561M and afterwards, I had a G68ADV and HD621 for many happy years. As tike went on and the A/V world was becoming less and less cluttered, I took at all the wires to run my system (G68, HD621, 3 McIntosh amps, and sources.. So when we built our first nice big house, I put in a custom theater and sold all the Meridian gear and fulfilled a lifelong dream of winning the "p" envy hame and built the rack inside the wall so you could see this:


https://i.imgur.com/onNs2RR.jpeg




So, when it went in in 2016, it was pretty much perfectly matched. N802, HTM1, SCMS, N804. Upgrade but bit me in 2019 and I moved up to the 802 D3's. Ever since then I have listened to less and less music. During covid, it was apparent that I did not like the B&W sound anymore, or at least the 802 D3's. I also evaluated how ridiculous some Mcintosh gear is, in particular their processors. The MX122 I had was a carbon copy of the Marantz at the time, just 5k mopre. So, I have started to slowly tear it down. Out went the 7 year old MciNtosh MX122 and in came a brand new Anthem AVM 70 and I made 1k on the trade. I was hoping the new McIntosh tube pre and it's awesome DACs might help, but nope, The 8-2's are just as forward and fatiguing as before. So, I have decided to try to get rid of them. A big well known trading site offered me a pair of Focal Sopra 2's for my 802's and the center. I like this idea.....until I was browsing their new arrivals and came across the Meridian DSP700.2 pair of speakers

What do yall think of these speakers? Would it also be wise to move the McIntosh stuff out and go to a full Merdian 2 channel system? We will likely put some in walls for watching movies, etc I already use this room for 70/30 2 channel to movie anyways,

I've recently wondered about what lies beyond Meridian, perhaps because I now have a headphone setup that is completely different yet easily trades punches with my speakers. So far, I've not heard anything I prefer to Meridian for speaker listening, so I'm drawn back to them.

That doesn't mean there isn't something better (or that my taste is the same as everyone else), however, having heard the DSP8000XE's, the gravitational pull that is Meridian is pulling me in that direction!

My advice would be to take a listen and decide for yourself, but Meridian make some damn fine music systems!

I traded my B&W 802Ns (first version of the new round shape head, etc.) plus a Chord SPM1200E amplifier (lots of watts in a fancy box) for a pair of DSP8000s

Have never regretted it for a moment. They are far more relaxed with better separation and placement but can still deliver a punch as and when the content demands.

I also have a pair of DSP7200 (first version) which were more of an equal to the B&W/Chord setup but (IMHO) do sound better and certainly demand less space, although for some reason mine are VERY position-sensitive.

This is probably only sorted by demoing other people's setups. Meridian has a unique sound which I would call nearly monitor-like especially compared to how most non-euro speaker systems are tuned. I'd think that any large Meridian setup (going back to 6k and up to new 8k with everything in between.. (so anything bigger than 5/5200) would compete with and possibly better your setup.

About 10years ago I was using a Cello duet 350 (great amp) on a pair of 802 nautilus speakers. The pre amp was a ARC LS16mkII. It sounded good, but it never reproduced the musical event in space in my living. Due to lack of space, I needed to downsize and sold everything. As I was so impressed with my Meridian 508 CD player, I bought a cheap pair of DSP5000 18bit just to have something before I would make my next move. These speakers had DAC, preamp, poweramp allready onboard, so I thought that is convienent. From the moment I switched them on, they drew me into the music and they made me very happy. They did everything I missed from the large system I sold. Of course they lacked the slam compared to the much bigger B&Ws, but there is something in the Meridian sound that is involving, detailed but smooth. No listening strain. So I never looked back, bought DSP5500 and now settled on a pair of DSP7200SE. I choose them purely for sound quality, but you get the convienence, looks and lack of stacks of hot boxes as a bonus.

I would look for a pair of DSP8000SE or DSP7200SE, compare, and make your choice. Switching to M will allow you to sell some audio judging from that pictures!
Regards..
D

Well, perhaps, but the McIntosh stuff just looks amazing doesn't it?! And I suppose for everyone discovering Meridian there'll be someone else discovering B&W on another forum somewhere....

My journey has been slightly different in that I auditioned Meridian (500 CD & DSP5000 speakers) based solely on magazine reviews, loved the sound (although I had very little to compare it to) & I've been through various Meridian DSPs since then and have enjoyed them all, but I've never been tempted to try B&W / Focal / Wilson or anything.

I'm not quite clear if you're considering DSP7000 or 7200 but if you can stretch to it the 7200 is more highly regarded on here. I'd also question if a 2 channel system will be the best for you long term. Even at a 70 / 30 balance in favour of music that's presumably still a fair chunk of movie time; as a minimum I think a 3 channel system might pay dividends for you, particularly with that decent sized screen. A centre can really help to lock the dialogue to the screen whilst movie watching. But then you'll already know that from your time with the B&Ws.

I have used a Meridian preamp with a separate main amp and analog speakers for quite some time because I like to be flexible and be able to switch out speakers and main amp for other models, currently I am using a Mark and Levinson no29 with Thiel CS 2.4 speakers which gives me great detail and staging.

I can understand why you do not like the B&W sound with Mcintosh, I always found B&W rather "dark" sounding and have tubes powering them might make that worse.

I would audition some different main amps with different types of speakers to see what might be a good replacement.

Are you able to get an in-home demo on a Meridian system? After a week or two, you can choose which system you like better in your room- maybe this will make your decision easier?

I have my own bias (as probably most of us here), but sold all of my analog equipment years ago to go with DSPs and never looked back.

+1

While a in home audition may not be possible, visiting me to audition most of their speakers ( DSP 8000XE, 8000SE, 7200SEHC 7200.2, 5200HCSL, 3200, DSW) 271, 818v3, 808v6 will give you a good idea of what Meridian offers. I am only 5 hours away and we could offer a steak dinner and some great beverages.

That's a tempting offer from a 9 hour flight away.

Any time.