Just decided to throw a couple of ideas to the Meridian sound lovers.
I had (and have) Meridian DACs from the 2XX and 5XX series. Personally, I have not listened to the G series, but all my friends (whose opinion I trust) are loudly saying that this is a step back.
So for those who are seeking cheaper - 5XX, for those who have a stuffed wallet - reference 8XX.
In general, the fifth series is still very good, but as you all know, Meridian had constant problems with noisy power supplies. For this reason, it is very difficult to achieve truly transparent sound and absolute blackness. You are always haunted by the gray background, and that you are listening to recordings.
I have not listened to 800 reference series, but I am not interested in it for many reasons - size, functions that I do not need, and price.
Hey guys, just give me good stereo sound at a reasonable price!
In general, I decided to look around a little, and my gaze fell on the Director. When I listened to it through the optical toslink, well, it's not that I was disappointed. It just played exactly as much as I paid for it (okay, better than its price, but it's not high-end, and even so-so hi-fi, comparable with 5th).
The element base and the circuit itself looked promising - no operational amplifiers at the output - a direct simple analog path after the DAC (the DAC initially has a 2VRMS output), separate small transformer for analogue, audiophile capacitors like Wima mkp10, Nichicon FW, a clock and many other things from the 800 reference series.
Looking at this DAC, only one thing comes to mind. These guys didn't think long, they just took ready-made developments from expansion boards for the 800 series, and cobbled this together. This is a big plus.
And the minuses? - they removed a full-fledged digital SPDIF input and power supply. Just to make it cheaper and not compete with their internal products. Or maybe they just didn't have any ideas. Interesting guys.
In general. The first revelation awaited me after I installed a simply good SPDIF RCA and a good digital cable (okay, not just good but very good). For power supply I used a battery (not the best solution, but better than anything I had at hand). In this form, it simply outplayed the fifth series by a huge margin. But that was not all. When I integrated a really high-quality power supply for it... well... it is difficult to describe in words.
It is a damn clean, open and smooth sound with absolute blackness in the background. I do not know how good it has become, but it is a very attractive solution for stereo.
I switched to the Cyrus transport, simply because it is better, but at the same time I like the way the Meridian sounds. It is really neat and not aggressive, but at the same time very natural and transparent.
Was it worth it? Absolutely. I think that such assemblies make us happy.
P.S. Finally, I don't want to start a holly war about components and snake oil, but... just believe me, it's not worth using electric wires and cheap connectors/connections. If you want to do better, use proper components. There are no trifles.
I had (and have) Meridian DACs from the 2XX and 5XX series. Personally, I have not listened to the G series, but all my friends (whose opinion I trust) are loudly saying that this is a step back.
So for those who are seeking cheaper - 5XX, for those who have a stuffed wallet - reference 8XX.
In general, the fifth series is still very good, but as you all know, Meridian had constant problems with noisy power supplies. For this reason, it is very difficult to achieve truly transparent sound and absolute blackness. You are always haunted by the gray background, and that you are listening to recordings.
I have not listened to 800 reference series, but I am not interested in it for many reasons - size, functions that I do not need, and price.
Hey guys, just give me good stereo sound at a reasonable price!
In general, I decided to look around a little, and my gaze fell on the Director. When I listened to it through the optical toslink, well, it's not that I was disappointed. It just played exactly as much as I paid for it (okay, better than its price, but it's not high-end, and even so-so hi-fi, comparable with 5th).
The element base and the circuit itself looked promising - no operational amplifiers at the output - a direct simple analog path after the DAC (the DAC initially has a 2VRMS output), separate small transformer for analogue, audiophile capacitors like Wima mkp10, Nichicon FW, a clock and many other things from the 800 reference series.
Looking at this DAC, only one thing comes to mind. These guys didn't think long, they just took ready-made developments from expansion boards for the 800 series, and cobbled this together. This is a big plus.
And the minuses? - they removed a full-fledged digital SPDIF input and power supply. Just to make it cheaper and not compete with their internal products. Or maybe they just didn't have any ideas. Interesting guys.
In general. The first revelation awaited me after I installed a simply good SPDIF RCA and a good digital cable (okay, not just good but very good). For power supply I used a battery (not the best solution, but better than anything I had at hand). In this form, it simply outplayed the fifth series by a huge margin. But that was not all. When I integrated a really high-quality power supply for it... well... it is difficult to describe in words.
It is a damn clean, open and smooth sound with absolute blackness in the background. I do not know how good it has become, but it is a very attractive solution for stereo.
I switched to the Cyrus transport, simply because it is better, but at the same time I like the way the Meridian sounds. It is really neat and not aggressive, but at the same time very natural and transparent.
Was it worth it? Absolutely. I think that such assemblies make us happy.
P.S. Finally, I don't want to start a holly war about components and snake oil, but... just believe me, it's not worth using electric wires and cheap connectors/connections. If you want to do better, use proper components. There are no trifles.
