Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems 2009 CES HH Q&A Thread

I would suggest that we all be patient -- there were excellent questions and answers.

Respect that they have to allocate their resources as optimally as they can, and sometimes that means we don't get the answers as quickly as we would hope.

Sorry John, But I must disagree

I think that the 7 weeks that we have waited since CES is being Very Patient

I think that waiting the 14 Months since Bluray was declared the default HD Format delivery format at CES 2008 is being Very Patient.

I think waiting that same 14 months for the Meridian HD Lossless Audio Roadmap is being Very Patient

I think that for the Many on this site Ordering the HD621 with Only a Two Page Brochure to go on and make somewhat "intelligent" guesses on, I think that makes us extremely patient

It's a well known Business Philosophy that holding onto Existing Customers is much easier and Cheaper than generating New Customers. Yet in not providing its Existing Customers with a Roadmap for HD Lossless Audio, I haven't got the feeling that Meridian had their Existing Customers uppermost in their minds

As a Very Significant customer (and ardent promoter to friends and Prospects alike) I've already written to Meridian and my Dealer on this subject.

Look after us first and we will look after them. This lack of information for the past 7 weeks and 60+ weeks has not engendered any good will from existing Meridian users IMHO. Equally it has stalled many of us from making purchases and more importantly, from making recommendations to friends

Well said and I totally agree. Meridian are treating the people that can keep them in business very poorly.

Sorry, but I completely disagree - they don't have to do any of this. That they do, is credit to them.

We're not talking about a huge organisation here, it's a small business with a few key players that have to focus on the day job, which currently seems to involve integrating a major acquisition and get a significant product out into production. I know where I would prioritise...

They'll deliver soon.
Cheers,

Ed.

Ronnie is quite correct , although in fairness , I think John has said above that the questions were only sent to M on January 26 so its more like a month's delay .

From M's Cedia 2008 responses :

" Thank you
Meridian enjoys the dialogue with its users and fans and is happy to put the effort into these focused Q&A sessions. We are delighted you all have the interest and commitment to be here and we will do what we can to keep this interesting and to build a strong relationship with genuine users and enthusiasts. Keep the questions coming, we do want to dialogue. "

I think its brilliant that they do put the effort in to these Q+As but I think they underestimate exactly how much we have come to rely on these twice-yearly information fests and why we may appear ' impatient !

I love M , I really do ( though it would be nice to get an e-mail or phonecall response once in a while ) . I love the sound .

Attention to detail ( and Q+As ) is important as some people HAVE lost patience . Look in the Restaurant .

M's old catalogue used to say that their kit rarely came up for sale even on the 2nd hand market . Not anymore . Its everywhere . Is this just a coincidence or are more and more people getting frustrated with them ?

I'm sure the replies will be very illuminating and everyone appreciates John's trojan efforts on our behalf ( and M's too eventually ) but can we put a rush on it please ?

~M~

I think you impatient ones are way out of line.

John does this out of passion and kindness.

Meridian doesn't have to do this interview at all and I believe it's been in Meridian's hands only a couple weeks.

The longer we wait the more accurate answers we'll probably get.

Unbelievable.

With the greatest respect George , I have to disagree on all counts .


I did actually comment on ' John's trojan efforts ' for which I am personally eternally grateful personally as I will never be able to attend either CES or Cedia . I cannot find in my post any 'slur' aimed at John or 'M' ( other than , perhaps , tardiness ).


As for M not having to do this interview I actually quoted their own stated motivation for doing them :

Meridian " enjoys the dialogue with its users and fans and is happy to put the effort into these focused Q&A sessions " and I fully appreciate their honesty and efforts . Anybody who attended the HH Day out could not help but be impressed by how forthcoming all M staff were towards our questions .


I don't believe the answers will get any more accurate the longer we wait. It's probable that they are waiting on the HD621 to ship so they won't have to break the rule about ' not commenting on future products ' although as this has been announced for some time and they already have plenty of orders for it what harm would it do to have the answers out there for discussion ??


M are not infallible . I have seen 2 versions of the DSP loudspeaker catalogue which rate the 7200 loudspeakers power rating differently ( either 75w or 100w per driver ) so it's quite possible the longer they hold on to them the worse it could get


Unless , of course there is some new mConfig and and speaker software imminent ?

Best,

~M~

No George, it is Meridian who are Unbelievable!!

John should be congratulated for his efforts down thru the years, but neither We nor Meridian should have to rely on this Q&A Method of Communication

This has nothing to do with the last few weeks. HD Lossless Audio has been with is for about TWO YEARS and we still have no clear idea on Meridian's plans. We can make guesses, but that is all they are, mildly informed GUESSES.

What other Company that you know of relies on this Method as its Primary means of getting information out into the marketplace?? I've spoken on several occasions recently to my dealer, and they don't know any more about the HD621 and future cards etc for the 861 and G68 than we do. In reality, they know even less than we do.

Neither have they received any extra information or training. And this from the only current UK Dealer who stocks the full range of Demo 808, 800, 861, D8k's, D7200's and G-Series. Now THAT is UNBELIEVABLE!!

I don't think it's asking too much of Meridian to ask that they tell their Loyal Customers and Dealers a bit more about their New Products and some kind of a Roadmap. The fact that they've managed to take order for over 400 Units of this HD621 speaks to how loyal those customers are. Buying a Product with only a 2-Page Brochure to go (later withdrawn) speaks Volumes about that Loyalty

To ask Meridian for just a little bit of Focus on their Existing Customers is a very reasonable request IMHO. Blind Loyalty should not be a requirement to be a Meridian owner

Lossless audio was delayed due to getting MHR licensed to transmit both BD & HDDVD lossless and the format war. Sorting out if they should tackle decoding internally or seeing how the industry moves (smart move if you ask me). It's because Meridian chose to do things differently than most others, methods that most of us believe is the right one. If you wanted it 2 years ago you could have got it from other companies but you chose to stick with Meridian because you know they will do it right.

Try asking Pioneer or Yamaha their technical roadmap and see how far you get. Or Lexicon or Krell.

How on earth do you know they have 400 units on order if your dealers don't even know their existence and you have no information from Meridian.

It's a small company, trying to get new products out in a tough economy. There have been other years the turn around was quick.

That focus you ask for was the several hours they spent with John. If it's not done right it will just cause more headaches for Meridian. They are very careful what they publish because someone will complain "but you said...". It's the world we live in.

George
I've taken the time to read thru your post, so I don't think it's asking too much for you to do likewise

All I said about the Dealers is that they don't know any more than we do (i.e. the existence of the HD621 and the 2 Page Datasheet.) They've received no more background information or Training on it and they exist in the same "educating guessing" world that we do

As regards the more than 400 Units of HD621 being already ordered, this was mentioned only yesterday in the "Meridian at Bristol" thread. It was a direct quote from a Meridian employee. I would have thought that most people here would have read that Thread in the hope of the most Up-to-Date information from Meridian


Sorry but that's just pure speculation on your part. Educated Speculation but still pure guesswork. Until Meridian actually state it, Do you know for a fact that the HD621 and LPCM over 3 SPDIF's is "acceptable to the Movie Studio etc." Again one can make an educated guess, but that is all it is, a guess

The questions we raised about the future of the 861 and G68 etc. were almost exactly the same as those raised at CES 2008 and again at CEDIA in Sept of 2008.

All we are doing is being apologetic on behalf of Meridian and that is something we plainly shouldn't have to do

Many here (including me) are Staunch Defenders of Meridian. That does not mean that we cannot criticize them when they deserve it and in this area of "Lack of Information" they are most certainly lacking

Ronnie:

We're going to have to continue to disagree.

Your timelines are off a bit, btw -- HD-DVD wasn't officially cancelled until Feb 16, 2008. Since your timelines are off, the math needs to go back to the table too.

Ronnie:

I don't have a problem with your being critical. The tone might be a touch abrasive, but that's fine. I think that if we were all having face to face discussions some of this would be flowing a lot better.

I was vacillating on whether or not I should keep my 861v4 -- and it's only since CES, when things became quite a bit less nebulous about the future of M's processing chain that I finally got off the fence.

As far as George's speculation on why the HD621 is taking so long to see the light of day, do you really think M is going to comment on the issue if we accept (for the moment) that one of the more significant delays has been an issue with breaking HDCP and reasserting a different encryption protocol for downstream processing. That would make quite a bit of sense though -- given how particular they (HDMI LLC) have been about maintaining encryption via protected audio paths.