I had always wanted to go the Meridian route from the very beginning when I started looking seriously into home cinema and high end H-Fi in 1998. Having researched Meridian`s history a great deal I had become fond of the practices and beliefs that seemed to drive the company before I`d really heard any of their equipment, so finally getting demonstrations of the 500 series, the 861 and the DSPs some eight years ago sealed my passion for their products thanks to things like Trifield, and the beautiful ability to meet, nay surpass, my expectations on both films and music.

It was a slow journey for me to come to let any M gear into my life however, due to limited funds and practicality. I`d enjoyed Tag Mclaren`s AV32R for some time, but as their company dissolved I took the initiative to finally follow my heart and buy some Meridian components, which began last September with the purchase of a 568.2, and earlier this year with a 500mk3 transport. This is proving to be a perfect combination for me at this time where we`re in somewhat of a transition period with home cinema what with HDMI and the new audio codecs…etc. My next priority is to actually settle on a new display device before I look to considering some DSPs, after which I will probably then finally make the move to get an 861 or whatever it`s HDMI/next gen audio equivalent might be. The fact I am taken aback hearing my system even as it is now leaves me excited knowing that for me, in future when I can improve the speakers and amplification, the best is still to come.