Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems Meridian 50th Anniversary, 2027

July 2027 marks the 50th anniversary of Meridian, or 'Digital Gramophone & Wireless Limited'.

I wonder what anniversary surprises, if any, Meridian might be planning to mark this significant event? Maybe it might be a successor to the legendary 818, or 861, or nothing at all.

But, what if...

In 1984, Meridian breathed over a Philips CD101, naming it the Meridian MCD/Pro - with custom electronics, analogue board, upgraded power supply capacitors, improved grounding/shielding. The Pro variant featured a heavily upgraded power supply, separate DAC/analogue boards, an absolute phase switch, and LED status indicators.

So, what about today?...

For a 'cheap win', Meridian might equally breathe over something already on the market? As JBL did with a rebadged Trinnov Altitude 32, given that Meridian is a UK Trinnov Distributor, I believe a Meridian-badged Trinnov Altitude CI is a realistically feasible proposition.

Given the contents of this video, for me, a modified Meridian Altitude CI would sacrifice the 8-channel analogue DB25 connection for 8 individual Meridian SpeakerLink connections for directly adding up to 8 Meridian DSPs in an up to 2.6 stereo system - and with the return of Trifield. This would be a natural successor to the Meridian 813v3, but with Optimizer Room Correction for the ultimate Stereo/Trifield system, with WaveForming.

This same breathed-on Meridian Altitude CI would have a dual personality - as an evolutionary successor to the Meridian 861v8, that Included the same channel count capacity as the 861v8. For a modest DSP-based home-theatre system, use the 8-channel SpeakerLink outputs. For larger home-theatre systems, add at least 1 x Meridian 271, alongside an additional upgrade license for the extra channels.

I think something is coming too, it is time and the 210 is going on a discount. I hope a successor of the 818v3 with RAAT, Room Correction, embedded streaming qobuz/tidal and the IP control of the 218. I hope it will be performance oriented component tailored to audiophiles.