Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems What did you own before Meridian?

Prior to becoming infected with MAD (Meridian Affective Disorder), I was a true 2 channel tube purist and had been so for years. Everything had tubes in it, even the DAC. The Aesthetix Callisto line stage and Io phono stage each were twin chassis devices with tube regulated powersupplies. The Audio Research monoblock amps ran 16 6550 output tubes run in triode. Lots of glowing boxes in a dedicated room that became much too hot to enjoy in the summer due to all the tubes. All those tubes certainly brought the musicians to sweaty life though!

So, about a year ago my spouse asks for "a radio" for the sitting area of our loft. The only audio in our home other than the big rig was a ghetto blaster! With a cheshire grin pasted on my face I suggest we set up a little home theater in our siiting area. I'm a rather fortunate man. The wife is in the TV production biz and thought it was a great idea.

We gradually purchased a bunch of older used M gear- 565, 562V3, 504, 208, M100s, 2 pairs of M2s, and a pair of M3s. An accomodation deal on a 50" Pioneer HD plasma, an HD cable box and a decent DVD player rounded out the wife's new "radio". In absolute terms the new gear wasn't as good at the nuances of music reproduction as our two channel setup. No surprise, the tubed big rig was many times more expensive but you know what? The "radio" was more fun, more versatile, much more energy efficient, and far more practical.

So one thing leads to another and the two channel tube setup in the dedicated room was sold and replaced this Spring by a complete Meridian Digital theater. The new rig consists of a 598DP, 568.2MM, DSP6ks, DSP5kC, and DSP5ks along with the phono rig from our prior tubed system. That and a 109" Vutec screen and a PD Action One projector for life size movies and xBox gaming. We are very pleased.

So thats how I drank the Koolade, got the tattoo and donned a somewhat more suave hair shirt. I'm certain that all the Hitchhikers would be happy to assist you in finding the perfect hairshirt too!

Happy Trails!
Vince@freewheelcycle.com