Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems What is Meridians Special Sauce? What is your take

Ok, I promise this is the last newbie question. I just wanted to get peoples impressions on what is Meridians special edge? So quite simply, how does one get the true Meridian "experience".

Are you of the belief that you you get the "Meridian" experience with just a G68? Or are you of the belief that you need a G68 AND a G98 to really get the Meridian bang. I will assume no one really feels that a G55 is a "must have", so is the Meridian experience really all about the whole package, keeping everything in the digital domain to the very last second, with self powered Meridian speakers?

Thats it, quick and painless. Thanks in advance.

Well Yetis, for me Meridian kit really sings when partnered correctly at whatever level.
I just love my Humble system listed below and am a bit scared to tamper with it by any additions, although I am sure some DSP speakers would go down well.
Then it all starts again with a more modern processor etc etc

SWMBO wants to decorate the lounge (God knows It needs it) and change the layout. This is a scary prospect, but who knows, it may sound even better?

Cheers, Chris

I think that Meridian's strength has always been its audio processors and DSP loudspeakers. The sources are just too expensive and are equalled IMO - or bettered - by much cheaper options. The all-digital DVD-Audio solution is pretty special however.

If I had to describe the Meridian sound I would say it is detailed and natural, which is of course probably the highest compliment I could pay it. The pieces of kit I've owned and have been particularly impressed with are the following:

• 551 integrated amp. Excellent control over my old passive Castles. Not bad for an "entry level" amp.
• 518 digital preamp and 24-bit 566 DAC combination. For me the secret is the combination which results in a remarkably detailed sound. The ability to add a few dB of digital gain to a source, in order to present the DAC a full a dynamic range signal, is no gimmick.
• 561 processor. Detail extraction from movie bitstreams quite incredible.
• DSP33 speakers. At �550 per speaker, this is an unbelievable second-hand bargain. Oodles of multi-layered detail and dynamic effortlessness. Stunning bass extension from the enclosure size if you use them as a lone stereo pair.
• G68 processor. Last but not least. I really can't fault this in terms of performance. The de-jittering is so good, to my ears a �200 Squeezebox or Oppo DVD player sound as good for CD as my 598 did. Like the 561, the detail extraction is exceptional. I'd like a few additional features to enhance useability, but hey...

Answer from another newbie is first and foremost all the Meridian DSP speakers. Secondly I would suggest the G91 as a very cost effective all in one box.

VirusKiller,
For the most cost effective Meridian bang, would you choose a none Meridian source with a G68 or a G91? I am asking because I considered my G91 the core and the G68 as the icing and I wonder if you would look at it differently.

I'd look at CD and DVD players separately. Firstly, I consider that, in the context of the G68, all analogue circuitry is wasted, so I'm only interested in the digital functionality of sources.

For CD I have no doubt that the G08 (for instance) is an outstanding CD player. However, in my system, I couldn't tell the difference between my 598, Oppo 970 and Squeezebox when they were all used as digital transports into my G68 and DSP33s. My conclusion? The G68 FIFO dejittering is a real leveller of transports.

For DVD, I use an Oppo HD970 and an external video processor (Lumagen RadianceXD). I can say with confidence that, for video, I believe the combination of the two surpasses the G9x and 800 players. For audio, I'm mainly interested in DD and DTS bitstreams (which are not subject to jitter in the same way that PCM is) and the Oppo does its job admirably. I can't upsample the 5.1 channels as I'm not decoding the bitstreams in the player but (again) in my system the difference seems to be marginal. The cost of the Radiance and Oppo is comparable to a G98 (and much less than an 800) and the Radiance obviously is a fully blown state-of-the-art VP.

The reason I consider the G68 to be the core is the relatively obvious FIFO dejittering functionality for PCM. However, what is not obvious is the psycho-acoustic engineering which is built into most (all?) of the DSP modes. Not many people realize it, but Meridian's expertise in this area is formidable.

DSP speakers are their forte.

Roger IMHO

The digital audio processing in the 861v4 is pretty special. Trifield is amazing, and their other surround modes are better than most competitors' implementations.

The 800 is ok but not amazing, particularly for video processing. Outboard solutions better it by quite a bit.

IMHO the "secret" is not about throwing raw power at problems, but rather the intelligent decisions about which trade offs to make in the software and hardware to get a clean and natural sound. IMHO Meridian are artists when it comes to digital audio.

best regards,
Jerry

VirusKiller,
Thanks for your comments. That is great data for me when there is a conclusion to the HD war and I want to update my DVD player.

I think there is several areas Meridian has some sauce.

1) Processors (this includes Trifield for Music and 7 channel decoding from 5 etc.)
2) DSP Speakers (this is an acquired taste independent of the processor) others like the taste of other speaker company and amp combos.
3a) Transports (for analog). For Analog setups they may be worth it because you get some of #1 and #2 in the "DAC".
3b) Transports (digital). My ears are not good enough to hear the difference between an 808, SqueezeBox or Oppo.

Its interesting. I am a little surprised that the players don't get that much love. I have a Esoteric DV-50S, and I was hesitant to swap, glad I waited!

Regarding the Meridian speakers. While the question was somewhat addressed in an earlier thread, is it possible to use the digital speakers for all three fronts and analogue for the rears (5.1)? I have already wired up the room with speaker cable in the walls and its not worth risking divorce! I can get away with running cables for the fronts, but not the rears.

Yes, definitely. There are people here with LR digital with the rest analogue, through to full digital 5.1 and, of course, some people with entirely analogue.