Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems F80 @ HOME

I'm pretty sure they do, maybe not all them though.

They are hidden inside the back of the analog jack. They are sometimes called Mini toslink. I gave a link to the cable for it above from the apple store.

From Wikipedia:

"New iPods have the ability to connect a Mini-TosLink to them. This includes first gen iPod Nano, second gen iPod Nano, and fifth gen iPod."

I've got an iPod photo - what gen is that? No sign of any opto device down the headphone jack. I am actually connected via the Apple iPod dock which seems to have many connectors - I would like to think that even though the apple dock doesn't support digital, its somewhere on that multi pin interface.

KISS. I have alot of enthusiasm for this product. I had a few minor niggles with DAB (I am a DAB virgin) and getting the aerial settings right and I have that sorted now. It took a little longer to get the audio settings sweet, but its pretty much there.

Its not a main system, its a second system and sold as such. Its a great second system. I have heard this box in open space and it absolutely sings - it made the hair on my neck stand on end. It was musical and portrayed emotion just like my 'real' Meridian system. In fact, unlike my real Meridian system, it can do this at volume levels that is acceptable when my wife and little'n have gone to bed.

But it does have a sweet spot, and is dependant on source quality, but get it into that zone and it kicks up another gear and the whole room just fills. I just have not found that sweet spot when I stick it on a shelf in the corner of the room - not an ideal site but that's the way it is - either a white F80 with slightly off soundstage, or a room full of music and an F80 full of jam. But I do have the option of moving it in about 30 seconds. Unlike its big brother.

BTW. I have subsequently heard a Bose Wave Radio. Instead of making the hair on the back of my neck stand on end, it made me shudder. Its easy to see when a backward step is taken.

I don't think you'll be able to see the optical.

You'll have to post or google around to find out.

There is a good chance it does you can't even tell by the currents specs if they even have it or not even on the latest units. If not, time to upgrade .

Very strange the way they hide this important feature.

OT: (though Ferrari-related) Yesterday there was a Ferreri cortege in and around downtown Stockholm, around 100 cars in it, celebrating the Ferrari 60 year's jubilee.

[img]http://www.expressen.se/polopoly_fs/1.662660!slot100slotWide75ArticleFull/3309110367.[/img]



http://www.automotorsport.se/nyhetsmall.asp?version=51826


On a smaller scale: The Ferrari brand must have be endevaluated when Sony Ericsson presented the K800i Ferrari...

KIS, why dont you just go Listen to the F80?
With an open mind of course.

Then come on here and give the critical review you are so looking for.

I for one await with intrest.

Cheers, Chris

Ferrari choose Bose over Meridian for their $250,000 612 Scaglietti, here .

That assumes there was a choice. I suspect that M didn't offer to do a ICE system at all.

A mini plug/optical adapter came w/my 3G iPod, and the Monitor Audio iDeck has a built-in DAC -- there are ways to bypass conversion in the iPod.

What Hi-Fi have selected just three articles from the current issue to put online, but fortunately one of them just happens to be the body text of the F80 review, which can be read via this link . As said before, they liked it very much and gave it five stars (out of 5), with the pros being the sound quality and the cons being the fiddly tweaking options which may not be appreciated by the target market. (The magazine review has a big picture of a silver F80 as a backdrop.)

Personally I'm thinking of buying an F80 as a system primarily for use in a relatively small room. I haven't heard the F80 yet but have already auditioned the cheaper Linn Classik (good) and the Arcam Solo music system (absolutely superb when matched with the right speakers), so it will be interesting to compare the F80 with the �1000 Solo plus �500-worth of decent speakers.

Not sure if F80 is primary material - dpends on what you are replacing. Its not the sound quality, but the soundstage. If you are going to want to have a wide stereo soundstage and go pin pointing the instruments, I think a 'classic' stereo system may deliver better results simply due to the physics of having the speakers 6 ft apart rather than 6" - although you would think that the 6" spacing of the speakers on the F80 are in reality much farther apart, but probably not 6'. But there is a width setting to tweak.

I will on my next visit to the city, although the reviews so far pretty much confirm what I suspected.

Hi-Fi - Let's get one thing straight: this unit isn't a sonic replacement for decent separates kit of the same value. It is, however, a brilliant portable system that even the most purist audiophile can listen to for hours without distress.

I'll do this with an open and objective mind of course. And I encourage all to do the same - even those who might be overly enthusiastic about anything Meridian makes.

Actually it looks like Bose choose Ferrari for the demo. Where did you read that they were chosen by Ferrari?

An iPod Photo is a 4th gen. I've got a Nano & will try it optically to see if it works. I hope this is true but I think it won't though as I can't find anything on Apple's own spec pages. The Airport express has optical though.