Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Thread Like Summary - RIP Allen Boothroyd

Friends.

It was with deep sadness that I received news that Meridian co-founder Allen Boothroyd passed away a few weeks ago. He had been ill, but his (non-viral) condition deteriorated unexpectedly and rapidly. Until his downturn, he was still actively working on projects at Meridian.

As well as being simply a really lovely man, full of enthusiasm for Meridian and its customers, Allen was one of the most talented industrial designers that the UK has produced. The likes of the Lecson AC1 pre & AP1 power amps (in MOMA and the V&A), the BBC Micro, and of course the DSP8000 loudspeakers are a fitting legacy.

For those of you who never met him, I think that this 4 minute Meridian video sums him up beautifully:

"Beauty of the Machine"

Meridian is almost certainly going to be involved in a memorial of some sort, but you can appreciate that -- in the current climate -- even planning a funeral is not straightforward, and Meridian wishes to afford the family space at this difficult time.

It's kind of obvious, but without Allen (and Bob), we simply wouldn't have the community here that we love and cherish. He will be missed!

Stay safe,
Joel

Very sad to hear this. May he rest in peace, my thoughts with his family and friends.

As others have mentioned, Meridian was never only about sound quality for me, although that was a large part of it. No, I recall being blown away when I walked into Doug Brady HiFi on Seven Dials in London in the mid-90s and was treated to a demo of 500/6Ks while waiting for a different dem (no way I could afford Meridian as a student).

Well I was blown away, both by the incredible sound quality, the likes of which I had never heard in recorded music, and the stunning design, which I rate to this day as some of the best I’ve ever seen, especially in 500 series. I only learned of the earlier series (200, etc.) and Lecson in more recent years while on here as a Meridian owner and getting equipment serviced by Chris, but it is no less stunning in its design.

I find it disappointing, in a post-Alan Boothroyd world, that things haven’t moved on more than this by now - most hifi boxes still look like they did 30 or 40 years ago, give or take, with no real thought to industrial design beyond a subtly different front fascia layout or badging. Don’t start me on most speakers. But this disappointment in lack of progress extends way beyond the world of hifi, so I shouldn’t be surprised.

Thank you Alan, for giving us aesthetic perfection to match the sonic perfection we all love.