As this topic thread has turned into a discussion on whether the price of an 800v2 to 800v3 respectively the price difference of the 800 is justified over the 598 in the first place, I'd like to add my 2 cents.

Having bought my 800v2 about 1 year ago, my dealer at that time expected the upcoming upgrade price to be in the range of somewhere between 1.000 to 2.000 euros, which was absolutely fine with me.
Checking back with him recently, he tells me it is now 5.600!!! euros, or in other words, the exact price difference between a new 800v2 and a new 800v3.
I am shocked to put it nicely. This IS in fact the price of a new 598!
What mopes me most is that there appears to be no appreciation at all for existing 800 owners. Yeah, you CAN upgrade (and keep your old chassis), but the after all price you pay will be that of a completely new unit.
And if you have a nice dealer, he will lend you a spare unit for the time of the upgrade.

I fully agree with Tassie Devil.
To all newbies out there, don't get disillusioned (as I did) by the term upgradability. The price tag may be enormous!

Frankly, I am considering of selling the whole thing, pending only on any new features for the 800v2.

If I go for a v3 upgrade now, what will be price for a v4 upgrade? Where does this end? If you made the (for me extreme hard) decision to buy a 800 (v2) at the price of 13.800 euros, the upgrade now asks you to justify the unit price of 19.500 euro for a 800v3. This price is a completely different ball game (at least for some of us), which may result in a clear NO decision!

When buying an 800 be sure to know you are entering a cost spiral you do not have full control over.
How long will the v2 be supported? (only until variable output on the v3 is available?). Who would buy a v2 then?
Will there be any new features for the v2? ( for MONTHS now, the Meridian homepage announces an upcoming software page for the 800).
Will we at least get access to DVD-A stereo?
(why wouldn't the existing hardware not support this?)

504, 218, DSP8000SE(UG)