Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Thread Like Summary - Kef vs Meridian

I see that Kef has launched a floor-standing version of the LS50 Wireless, the LS60.

It's priced at £6,000 in the UK which puts it roughly into 5200.2 territory. I wonder how the two would compare.

Alot of people don't get the value proposition of Meridian until it is laid out for them. Otherwise they are perceived as very expensive speakers. With the IA21 analog input module, it makes even more sense.

You have to sink alot of money into high end electronics to make Kefs sound anything close to Meridian. And I am a Kef dealer. As Meridian fans, we know that DSP speakers punch well above their weight class when compared to a similar sized passive speakers.

Hi Bruce, We just missed each other in GA last summer, but I still want to thank you for being a man of your word.

Back on topic. The beauty of Meridian DSP when compared to other elite brands is the complete package. As much bad press as MQA gets when I listen I can hear something more engaging in the stream compared to flac, not always, but enough. The main reason I went with the DSP8000 and seup, is because with just about any $20k and up loudspeaker out there when I get them home they sound NOTHING like the demo. I'm in deep and don't know how to replicate the sound I heard in the showroom! the DSP8k has a very consistent sound and as advertised they don't change personality as abruptly as all these well regarded passive speakers so if you like the Meridian sound (I do) you can be confident you'll get it in just about any room in the house and the format is rock solid.

10-20 years ago Meridian was class A in every category and top of everyone's radar. lack of advertising, lack of innovation? Elite prices? IDK, but for whatever reason Meridian doesn't seem to be getting the attention it used to and iit really seems to be affecting resale, good for buying, less for selling.

The Meridian sound is still most definitely Class A, from what I've heard in high-end dealerships over the last few years. As you say, marketing, or some such has dented the brand in a sales sense, which is such a shame. Hopefully this will reverse over time, but I don't think they're helping themselves in that regard going more and more down the custom install route - very niche in the grand scheme of things. Resale... well fortunately they're good enough to hold onto, so that might never be an issue

You've picked up on something I've noticed also - the consistency of sound from room to room/house to house. I've never replicated this with any other pair of passive speakers, and in fact had terrible problems with some, which sounded great in one room and awful in another. The Meridian DSPs always sound just like themselves, whichever room they are in. Interesting.

I have some 5200SL version and went to listen to some LS60 not long after they were launched. I thought the imagining of the Kef was particularly impressive - and better than the 5200 but the bass was nothing like the 5200. It was rather muddly in the upper bass region and didn’t go as deep as the 5200 or with anything like the solidity in the lower octaves. The Kefs were engaging in many ways but I did not want to exchange.

Bruce, that is a really good point which often seems overlooked when discussing Meridian DSPs - the value proposition.

I explore going passive again, occasionally, and there are speakers out there I like (different flavour, not better overall) but every time I’m struck by the level, and cost, of sources and amps needed to bring the passives up to a performance level I would be happy with after years of Meridian DSP ownership.

The last instance, I would have wanted at least a DCS Rossini and a MacIntosh pre/power to feed the passives. The cost of the electronics alone (without the speakers) would have been nearly £10,000 more than 7200SE and almost 4x the cost of 5200SE… I owned 7200.2 at the time and they were better than the passives anyway.

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