I'll say first that while I've been a long time Meridian admirer, I've never been an owner. Truth be told, my heart belongs to Lexicon when it comes to surround tech. However, I do have a lot of respect for Meridian gear and especially the aesthetic design elements, mostly on the G series.

What brings me here is an interest in the F80. There really doesn't seem to be a comparable unit like it on the market from a well respected, high-end audio manufacturer. It seems that the US launch was a week or so ago at CEDIA and there are a few things about the unit that catch my eye. However, after scouring the net for info as well as reading through various posts here, I have a few questions. I realize that some of them may be unanswerable at this point, but I was wondering what prelim or even rumor info is out there. So, here goes:

- It looks like from the CEDIA press release that the US F80 is sans DAB functionality. That's understandable since DAB isn't used here. However, I saw brief mention here of adding HD Radio to the F80. Any details on that likelihood and, if so, a possible time frame?

- There also seems to be some sentiment that the F80 may be the first in a line of Meridian products. I think I read somewhere here that Bob himself had said as much. Any info out there about what else might be coming? I like the F80, but like some folks I don't have use for the video functionality. Also, while the IRIS will be available shortly, an integrated dock would be preferable as a truly transportable docking solution.

- One thing I haven't seen anywhere, and I've done a lot of searching, is the frequency response of the F80. Anyone know it, especially the low end? To that end I'd love to check out the user manual, but haven't found that online.

- As for the IRIS, it looks like it outputs an on-screen GUI and comes with its own remote. Ok, but what if you are just connecting it to the F80 without a display? Can you still use the iPod's own screen and menu? What, if any, controls or metadata is available from the F80's display when the IRIS is connected and an iPod in the dock? Obviously, you can connect an iPod to the F80 (preferably lineout via the dock connector) right now and control everything from the iPod, but I was wondering if the dock sent song tag info to the F80's display and allowed you to control playback from the F80. I realize that since the IRIS hasn't been released yet, no one may know but perhaps someone got to play with it at CEDIA...

Thanks for any and all info.

Jeff

Various