Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems Huge Meridian News today - Acquisition of Sooloos!

Maybe - but one that sits comfortably in the Meridian price range

I just hope they can go from where they are now to where WE want them to be quickly.

Chris

Chris - I agree. When we paid �3000, �4000 or $20000 for a CD/DVD player, there were always �150 CD players to be had. Same point as arguing that a SB3 only costs �170 now vs the Sooloos. The key is whether M can pull off the "special sauce" with the new stuff. I'd wager that they can.

As you say, let's see some news on what they'll do with it soon.

For me the the "special sauce" has always been in M's processors and speakers and much less so in the sources (no pun intended).

Would a Sooloos offer better sound quality than a Transporter feeding a G or 800 series processor equippped with the latest filters etc. I doubt it.

Cliff

In addition to the iPhone interface that they already have, a 12" wireless touchscreen remote will be available from Sooloos in February. It will be as quickly responsive as the 17" panel (not just a web interface).

How's that?

Jeff

I think there is a heck of a lot more that could be added to a music server than a CD player including the sound.

The average Joe would say your 5200's and G68 is insane as well as the 7200's you've been thinking about. Just because everything Meridian deals in does not float your boat don't assume other components won't float others boats.

a@a,

I agree that the challenge to sound better is far harder now than it ever was for a 588 to sound better than an Arcam, NAD or whatever. I've said as such for several years now since taking the server leap.

The 'special bit' that M hopefully will be able to do is give us a good solution for MLP, DVD-A, DVD, CD, ripped files etc. Doing all of those DIY is definitely in the realms of the nerds. Despite having very strong nerd-like tendancies myself, the problem is that my wife and kids need to be able to use whatever I manage to make work - that's really important.

An example, I think it's probably only M that might have a chance of supporting a server based DVD-A source via MHR links. Sure, I know it's only a niche requirement, but, it's going to be one of the reqs that makes or breaks the deal for many who might feel a bit sore that we invested in DVD-A originally.

I think it's also quite premature to assume that all M will do is tweak the Sooloos. In fact I think they will look to make far more of an impact at various levels of hi-fi.....much like 8xx and Gxx do (no Astom Martin analogies here )

Meridian is probably not going to sell too many Sooloos to the likes of us who have been using music servers for a while now; however, most of us are not their target audience. It's the turn-key state-of-the-art customer that this product speaks to, and I think it will be well received. Add a Blu-ray player to the mix and they will have all the bases covered going forward. I think it is a terrific move.

Just to clear up the price issue, there is a lot of misconception about the system. When it was first launched, this was the entry price that included source, control and storage pieces. Now, however, they have introduced several other components and control schemes that allow for much lower cost.

For those that may have been following more recent developments, you may have seen news about an Ensemble system that has just started shipping. Instead of $13K, that configuration is $7,900. It includes the 17" touchpanel and the Ensemble piece, which is a single box design that has 4-zones of output and a single HDD bay. Keep in mind though that you do not need to buy a hardware control piece from them. So, if you were content with using the web interface (including iPhone optimized version), you can buy just the Ensemble piece for $3500. The only other cost is the HDD, which you can buy from Sooloos or BYO (they do that on purpose as they know that HDD markups often get criticized).

What you need to know is that the Sooloos system is comprised of 3 elements - the Source, the Control and the Storage. They have multiple options for each with more coming out soon. Hereare the options and associated prices (which I think are current):

Source:
Source:one - single zone of audio output $4000
Source:five - 5 zones of audio output $5000
Ensemble: 4 zones of audio output and one HDD bay in a single box - $3500
Source:micro - Don't know if this one is still in development. It was supposed to be a source:one in a small form factor (like the Sonos ZP 120). Price unknown.

Control:
Control:one - 17" wired touchpanel with built-in CD slot for imports. $4400
Control:PC - desktop app for control, import (via local PC CD drive), import of existing ripped music, metadata tweaking, backup/restore on local HDD, export files to portable player, etc. Free
Control:Bridge - Allows the system to be interface with Crestron for complete 2-way control. Don't know the price on this one.
iPhone/iPod Touch web UI - Web playback control interface optimized for those devices. Free
Regular Web UI - Same as above but intended for use on any computer. Free
Control:Remote - 12" wireless rechargeable touchpanel. Coming in Q1 2009, est $2500.

Storage:
TwinStore - dual HDD bay storage unit, single chassis. $2500
Store:one - single HDD storage unit. Sold in pairs for redundancy. $4500
Store:two - Same as Store:one, but with 2 HDs in each. Also sold in pairs for redundancy. Not sure on price for this one and, to be honest, not 100% sure that they are still selling it with the TwinStore being launched.
Ensemble - Single HDD bay and 4 zones of audio output in one box. $3500

You can mix and match the various pieces as you like. So, cost of your config can vary greatly but, as I said, you can start with just the Ensemble piece for $3500 + HDD and control it with the web UI, PC app or iPhone web UI.

Jeff

You must have missed my mention of Rhapsody integration, which should be coming shortly and I think is already in beta. So, they are already on the DL bandwagon. They are also investigating going far beyond that for lossless and high rez DL.

Jeff

Price vs value is an argument that I find isn't usually worth having. Value is subjective and comparing apples to apples between products, especially in this category, is often difficult as putting an agreed price on things like UI, customer service, ongoing development, etc. Beyond that, with inexpensive streaming solutions readily available, many people will question why solutions like this are even necessary or better yet why they cost so much more.

However, this is Meridian after all. Inexpensive or even cost competitive are not words I would ever use to describe their products. So, to me, this acquisition makes perfect sense. Everyone is certainly entitled to their own opinion, of course.

Jeff

a@a, I mention DVD-A as it still pisses me off that I have 100 of them and one day will need something other than my M spinner to play them on. I can rig a DIY server for that but it's not MC and hi-res digital. M could provide that and withit a very good thing to have. I suspect I am not alone with this requirement.

You pays your money and you takes your choice. I think there is a market for Sooloos. Its nice that Sooloos integrates with your existing whole house Creston system as well.

If you had a dedicated home theater with 110" or greater screen you might feel differently about the need for Blu-ray too. And who wants to pay each time you want to watch your favorite movie. It's not a download and keep paradigm like iTunes.