Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems 861v8 driving three Ultra Dacs

That sounds INSANE and I mean that in the best way, lol. I'm jealous

Sounds like you just need to use the R/L output Ultra DAC as the Master, and use the "slave" for the Center/LFE and Surround pair Ultra DACs from the 861. Or use the 861 as the controller and use the comms connector and daisy chain the Ultras like Bruce said. Either or probably works fine and I bet sounds incredible.

I do wonder though. Since you are using Speakerlink, can you report if the Center Image lift functionality works on your setup now? I've wondered if that DSP is done in the DSP speakers itself or merely confined to the SL output function. Since all that's doing is mixing a bit of the center into the mains to lift the image up, something the 861 has plenty of processing power to do. That's really the ONLY feature I wish I had on my 861 until I got a new Media Cabinet made to fit a very large matching horizontal center with a 15" woofer I recently bought.

I will say though, the DAC in the 861v8 is criminally underrated but that OA18 output card with those big gold capacitors for us non-M speaker guys is extremely good. Do not sleep on the 861v8 analog stage, the XLR outs in the 861v8 with the LPSU has FAR and away the QUIETEST and clearest sounding analog output stage of any high-end pre-pro I've ever used and it's not even close.

This is compared to other 5 figure TOTL pre-pros of their day, like the Bryston SP3 (full discrete Class A analog stage), JBL Synthesis SDP-40HD (Lexicon MC-12HDBEQ) and the Accuphase VX-700. None of them as quiet nor had the clarity of the 861v8.

When you have 100dB efficient speakers with commercial cinema/PA style compression drivers in them, they reveal any source flaw or analog stage as far as black background, lack of hiss at idle ruthlessly. With proper gain/voltage matched into extremely quiet Bryston amplification only the 861v8 had zero hiss at the MLP, to the point that I have to put my ears against the drivers to barely hear it. That was a remarkable achievement by Meridian. Something very few surround pres, regardless of reported S/N specs can accomplish. Which I have since learned, most companies embellish by a lot or don't even report anymore.

When I first got into HiFi in my teens the first decent pair of speakers I got over 20 years ago were B&W 686s with the matching HTM center driven by a hand-me-down Marantz SR. "Entry" level B&W, but when you're 17-18 it's a big deal. I did the whole inefficient, dynamic, cone/dome speakers for awhile well into my 20s before I got into horns. Magnolia at Best Buy always had B&Ws with Mac amps. A very nice pairing indeed. Plenty of juice and current for those thirsty B&W 800s.

Congrats on the Ultra DAC rig. I still maintain, if you aren't doing Atmos. The 861v8 is still the best channel based surround processor there is for both Music and Theater use. For music and legacy film decoding especially as the new stuff is way over indexed on immersive playback of new content. Even Trinnov gives you the same 3 basic listening modes of a $500 Denon which is pathetic. Amazing for modern cinema, but misses the boat on music programs for those of us that care about both and and only have 1 main rig.

Six.