Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems 565 vs 561 vs 568(.2) pardon my noobness

Hi all,

I am an absolute Meridian noob having never owned any Meridian equipment. I've had a chance to listen to surround setups based on the 500-series on several occasions and have always had a soft spot for Meridian but at the same time it hasn't really been a financially viable solution for me. Well time goes by and I am now in the process of upgrading my home theater once again and have in relation to this I've decided to purchase a second hand 500-series surround processor.

I am running all Genelec (a wonderful Finnish maker of active studio monitors) and a Velodyne DD-series sub. So basically I probably won't be doing much other than simply decoding DD and DTS to start with.

The models that seem to be in my price range include the 565(z3), 561 and 568(.2). Basically my all encopassing question is that are there any major benefits in going with one over the other. Obviously the 565 and 561 are in a different price range than the 568 but if there are definite benefits to be gained and a I find a good deal the 568 might be a possibility as well.

Any comments and input will be much appreciated

Hi, What is a Noob? we can Guess, but you may not like the answers we come up with in this forum.

For DD and DTS the 565z3 is a good start, but it will go no further with the "New Formats" on the horizon.
For now it sounds fantastic and for me is all I will use untill i see how it all developes.

Experiance, is to do a thing wrong and learn from it not to repeat the situation.

Wisdom, is to watch somone elses error and learn from them.

Needless to say, it is easier, cheaper, quicker, to learn with wisdom than from experiance.

Wisdom over the years has shown me alot with "New Formats" Cheers, Chris

Personally I would recommend paying the extra for a 568 over a 565v3 (and although I have never owned one, a 561). It may also be worth considering the inputs that you want - the 565 is limited and often required a 562(v) to increase its input capacity. The 568 had slightly more inputs and the use of a 562V was less common but if one was needed and you had more than 2 analogue inputs the 562v2 was probably the minimum requirement as it had true analogue passthrough.

Whether you go for a 568, 568.2 or 568.2mm is basically dependant on whether you want upsampling in 7.1 (the .2 or .2mm achieve this) or whether you want 6 channel discreet digital input (the .2mm does this) for DVD-A from a Meridian DVD-A player. I think the 568.2 and 568.2mm also offer additional codecs such as PLIIx (7.1). The 568.2 and .2mm also have a recent s/w upgrade that takes it closer to the sound og the G68.

I'll say he same as Ian. I had a 565(z3)and the problem with it was playing some DVDs with both DD/DTS the DTS track often gave some very high beep.

I have had 561 and 568 models. There is no comparison - get a 568 every time.

Chris, "noob" - "noo-b" - "new-b". Not so hard for a man of your refinement.

Vvrinne, I would add to the recommendations of the 568. If you can get one, I think the .2 is worth having for it's sonic quality with the latest firmware.

Steve

Of course a 568.2 is better than the 561, but it's also twice the cost on the second hand market.

�1500 for the 568.2, �700 for the 561.

All down to budget really.

How much is a 568 sans .2 or mm - �1100? Just guessing on price.

From memory, I think the following values are about right. I stand to be corrected though as I have never bought or sold a 568.

�900 568(.1)
�1500 568.2
�1800 568.2MM

Thank you all for your input. And yes a noob is indeed a newb or a newbie. It does seem that the 568.2 is at the very limit of my budget. Naturally after reading your input though that is the one I am lusting for right now I have a terrible feeling that my wallet will be in considerable pain for some time to come.

Even though I have only ever had the chance to test the 565 I find my self wanting the 568.2 for some reason that vulcans would have trouble understanding.

Congratulations...you share the same sickness as most of us here....er, correction...we here understand you while your wife, significant other and without doubt most of your other friends do not....

The Trick is to enjoy the process.

As soon as you get one thing, you Lust for the next.
And on , and on , and on.

Its ok though, what else is there to do but Lust....

Chris