Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems Meridian 810 News

Jerry, I know for a fact that there are competing models in development/ready to announce soon... look to CEDIA for announcements

Mark

" but you might see the benefits of his work in your Meridian F1080 super awesome projector"

Jerry , I hope you're right ! I really do . But I look in the Restaurant and Audiogon and listen to the voices of dissent on here these days and I worry about M being around in 10 years at the rate they're losing formerly loyal customers and their 'goodwill' towards the company.

I dont know what the mark-up is on these projectors or even how many they hope/expect to sell but they are also going to have to ship an awful lot of F80s to replace those lost customers .

But it still doesnt stop me loving/enjoying my kit as is ,

Best

~M~

I think the Geek makes a really key point here. If you dropped in on this forum 2, 3, 4 or 5 years ago, you'd probably say it was 'buzzin' and full of really positive enthusiasts. If you were a prospective customer, this would have influenced you and given you some confidence. Many of us have become very familiar with each other over the years and enjoyed many 1000's of great posts.
There was the odd whacko from Spain every now and again but you felt confident about publically placing your brand loyalty here.

Fast-forward to the last 12-18mths and I think you see a completely different vibe going on. It's one that I understand. It's one that I don't enjoy so much. It's one that dissappoints me because I like M. I have high expectations for and of them.

It could be a passing phase and in 6 months we'll all be raving again about a projector, an HDMI gadget, a new filter for the DSP's, an iDoc, an M streaming client etc etc. But, it's surely a concern to all of us that the longer we wait, the higher the chance that a good % do walk away.

Can things be done to help prevent that ? I'd say so.

I'm not planning on moving away from my Meridian setup any time soon. I have a lot invested in it and don't think I could do better if I sold it and started over. There is also the pride of ownership thing going on. That said, unless I win the lottery (and I don't play), I don't see any upgrades on the horizon other than (1) an HDMI/MHR solution that is COST-EFFECTIVE, and (2) a used DSP5500C to replace my DSP5000C. I am growing ever more dubious about (1) seeing the light of day and I'm not chomping at the bit for (2). For me, it's more about disappointment with the lack of communication. It really wouldn't take much to renew my enthusiasm, but I feel like we are simply being ignored. As enthusiasts are we just irrelevant?

I should add that I also don't have any plans to change what I have anytime soon (way too much ��� invested). The issue is really with the stuff I don't yet have and may be likely to get/want/need. If there aren't offerings from M in that space and it's a problem to integrate non-M units then being locked into a certain architecture can be a problem.

As discussed elsewhere, the availability of 3rd party digital output mods to other manufacturer processors and receivers means that the "locked in" problem (i.e. DSP speakers) may not be as great an issue as it once was. The only catch is that you need an all Meridian DSP speaker layout (inc. sub if required) for volume sync via comms.

As you said above Nick, a couple of years ago this kind of thought would have been completely alien on this forum, but now it's a considered a viable option if Meridian doesn't deliver the goods.

Sounds like time for some Polls...

Considering leaving/staying with Meridian
Should Meridian pre-announce their HDMI box yes/no

Mark

Perhaps one option should be "Sticking with the Meridian gear I have got but not buying any more until I see where we are going."

Ye of little faith.....

The following is 100% pure speculation by me. I have absolutely zero info. I've met some of the people from M once or twice and like them very much but I have not spoken with them in a long time. This is just my own observations:

Up until recently I felt the exact same way and I still have my doubts but I now am changing my conclusion regarding where M is going. When I look back over the past many years it seems to me that M solidified its standing in the high end (800 series and 7000 series speakers), then brought that to the middle- high end (G series, 5000 series speakers). Those product lines are robust enough to keep those customers happy for many years. Then M goes on a product assault for new customers, the non- M geeks so to speak. They announce in/on wall speakers and products like the F80 and the iPod dock. The goal is to reach more people and spread the goodness of the M brand. M is not big enough to do all of this at once so they do it in phases. While they focus on these things, they continue to refine the 800 and G series. They do the 808 CD machine as a way to keep the focus on the really high end nature of the 800 series.

This cannot have gone completely smoothly and no matter what the forecast is, I think what you all are discussing is an inevitable part of the process: some of the core customers, after years of what they might think is neglect, grow antsy and start to wonder just what the mothership is up to. I take the 810 projector as a sign that the high end is making a return to the cross hairs of M's focus. I am very happy for this realization- I might be wrong though. So I think with these new product lines setup and beginning to hum along, Meridian is coming back to address the things that we here would like to see them address.

That said, I think it advisable for Meridian to let the "geeks" know what they will do about our current cause celeb- HDMI. Its been long enough IMHO.

best regards,
Jerry

The 810's price point is far removed from the previous target market for Meridian and it is not just a product but an installed item. If they are focussing on the super install market then the "high end" that they are aiming for is probably no longer the people on this forum.

That is unless Roman Abramovitch is reading this...

There are people on the forum who can afford the M810.

The irony here is that you don't need to spend anywhere near the amounts which would require you to be a Roman Abramovitch in order to create a world class home theatre in terms of visuals and acoustics. More important than money is knowledge and understanding as to what makes a great room. Certainly you can chuck silly amounts of money at a project but unless you understand what is needed to make a great room and can find the right people/products to implement it the chances are you will simply get an expensive and underpeforming room.

I'm sure the 810 will be a top echelon projector during the next 12 months but then competion will deliver comparable and much cheaper products. The smart money sits this one out, IMO.

Personally I don't like to see Meridian venture into areas they don't understand. I *DO* trust them to deliver the best digital audio available but I do not have the same faith on the video front...

Mark

Mark,

I understand your concerns, but in reality there is much in common between the processing of digital video and digital audio. Meridian's expertise in the latter has served them well in the video arena and I look forward to seeing what they can contribute here. A projector with 4x the resolution of standard HD along with their 72 Hz interpolation technology, might produce some stunning and incomparable images.