Most people would be thrilled with a Cambridge Audio system that sounds impressive for �750 a box, but would they be motivated to spend that much and can they be bothered to listen to music?

Striving for a better and better system can be obsessive and irrational, and often value for money is not considered. Meridian appeals to those of us who want the best. I do not want to spend my money on a car, I want to enjoy great music.

The F80 is astoundingly good for a portable system. I never tire of listening to it and do not yearn for something better. I will never own a 810 system but how fantastic that Meridian can produce something that allegedly has twice the resolution of anything else on sale. Both are the best available for what they do.

Yes, it will take time and investment for Meridian to update their entire range to similar standards. But they are rolling out great products and have promised significant upgrades to existing users (how many companies do that?). Ground-breaking filters and balanced digital connections are way ahead of the competition. Let us all be proud of what they are achieving. What exactly is it that people feel Meridian are not doing or offering?

The problem for Meridian is that it does not have a high profile where it would count i.e. in the hi-fi community opinion-leaders. For some reason the magazines do not talk about it, review their products or give awards, with a few notable exceptions. Instead of moaning we all ought to write to the magazines extolling the virtues of our kit, challenging poor reviews and asking for more reviews.

Asa Post