I have had the 561 now for about three years. It has performed flawlessly, all software upgrades worked without any problems, DTS and DD still sound better than most of the other high-end processors out there, and all music modes sound very good. It also responds very well to tweaking, such as upgrading the power cord (I now use Analysis Audio Power 10), and using Black Diamond Racing cones and a Seismic Sink.

The negatives: bass management can be confusing and challenging (although I now have full-range, powered sub speakers, so this is no longer an issue), tech support sometimes give different answers to the same setup questions, it is a dead-end for upgrades (even though I was promised it would be full DVDA capable when I purchased it), and it is quite expensive for what you can now get in surround/music processors.

There are many processors in the $3000-5000 range that offer sound quality close to the 561 (or the 568 for that matter) that are full featured and are much more upgradeable for the near future. Meridian has been slow to upgrade, and I understand that they won't do it until it is up to their standards. I also understand that three years is a long time when it comes to software technology.

All that said, the 561 continues to satisfy my current needs since I have no immediate desire to do DVDA. But in the future would I buy another Meridian product? I just don't know. Given pricing, features, and ease of upgradeability, I would probably take a long, hard look at all the other products out there first.

Regards

[This message has been edited by Pete Saunders (edited 02-11-2003).]

[This message has been edited by Pete Saunders (edited 02-11-2003).]