Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Thread Like Summary - INFO: Meridian release All-New DSP8000XE

Hi All,

Meridian have just announced the release of an all new DSP8000 XE flagship loudspeaker.

Retaining the distinctive DSP8000 silhouette, almost everything about the speaker is brand new.
A six year development program has resulted in brand new cabinets, drivers, DSP, amplification, even the speaker grilles have changed from fabric to metal.

Available in March 2022, orders can be placed from today.

Please PM or email to discuss further and trade-in options for your current loudspeakers.

Rick

Not yet, but I'll be hot-footing it to Meridian as soon as they have some available for me to experience.
Rick

Yes under most circumstances I generally did and still do. If I have any issues that anything more than a well designed mains cable can't address then I prefer to tackle the cause of the problem. All my cables are reasonably priced custom made cables with both foil and braided screens connected to earth at both sides of the cable in a BS approved fire retardant outer covering so are suitable for in wall use if so desired. They are of sufficient size to carry more than enough current and are still flexible enough to be easy to route and conceal. I don't think that you need any more (They are almost certainly overkill as it is) and I also don't think that it follows the more you spend on a component the more you need to spend on a cable.

I am not sure why gauge has been selected as a particular metric in this case however as 18 gauge is more than adequate enough to carry more current than the connectors are rated at and the components can actually draw. There are much more vital metrics to judge a cable on than gauge (Provided it is adequate which in this case 18 gauge is) such as capacitance, impedance and resistance. I defy anybody to tell the difference in real world performance between my cables and some of the more esoteric ones in anything more than looks and price alone. I can't even tell the difference between mine and the supplied standard ones if truth be told.

I expect they will continue to use a Comms link (over SpeakerLink) to communicate with other Meridian equipment & speakers.
The Bluetooth is for communication to iPads & Phones for setup and control, currently handled from an MSR using Infra-Red.
The Meridian App currently used to setup and control 218, 271, 210, 251 will be expanded to include the DSP8000XE.

The Analogue inputs are Mono. So each speaker will have a mono Analogue input (both XLR and RCA) and convert to a single channel Digital.
This is actually a separate Analogue input module, an IA21, which converts Analogue to SpeakerLink, and then connects to the DSP8000XE SpeakerLink input.
One IA21 required for each speaker, included.

Rick

Hi Rick,

Does the IA21 also have a SpeakerLink input, to operate in passthrough mode, so that an SL connection can still be maintained?

Regards,
Carl

Range topping speakers seem to have crept up in price from various producers, so if I were M I would want to re-launch my range topper (which is, after all, a very good loudspeaker) at a price that is more in line with the competitors. However, how to do that without it being obviously just a major price hike?

It seems to me that the changes M have introduced increase the versatility very usefully: wireless connection by bluetooth is something many people want these days for its convenience (and for many, no noticeable change in sound quality), and opening up a purely 'digital' speaker to the analogue active market seems an obvious widening of the market without detriment to the current more specialised potential customers. So, no big deal but very sensible. The rest of the re-launch looks just like a re-launch.

Bespoke signalling: low level crossovers matched to drive units (my M2s have that).
E3 Bass: part of the above? Or perhaps some special attention to tighten up the loose bass that has always troubled me!
FFA: EBA(+)?
Q Sync: FIFO
Pro Active Bass: a wise precaution to protect drivers but is it new?
Pro Active Thermal: thermal protection (surely, not new: my B&W DM14s have that from 1983?)
Tru-time: apodising
TrueLink: MHR
FreeQ: boundary management
Cabinet design: already superb so best to draw attention to it.

So, an overall worthwhile retention of existing excellent technology and introduction of a couple of very sensible though not especially advanced additional features, but if I had 8000SEs already I would not be reaching for my wallet: I could add the two main new features very easily by some very high quality external electronics at modest cost. But current owners presumably are not M's target.

Hi all,

We now have a new section (thanks MI') on site for the Duncan's Meridian Info - DSP8000XE, where you can find the following:

- DSP8000XE; At a glance
- DSP8000XE; Datasheet, Issue 1

As more information and reviews come in we will update, so please keep us posted on what's out there.

Regards,
Carl

One might also expect the speakers to have an on-board solution for whatever problem the Eno M-link resolves.

So glad to know they will be available in Orange, gives me the incentive to be charitable and buy another lottery ticket.