How good are the older Meridian processors ?

Levi-501

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Help needed once more !

Many moons ago I had a Naim AV2, I loved it, but sold it inorder to get some readies for my Skyline. I purchased a Yamaha DSP E800, as a tied me over.

I would really like to replace the E800 now with something better.

With a budget of upto a grand what sort of processor could I get ?

I was thinking perhaps a Meridian 565/568, but was wondering how do they compare with more modern examples ?

I see last week, a Naim AV2 made £695 on ebay, so there could be a possibility there...

At the moment, I only really use DTS and DD

Thanks in advance
 
Help needed once more !

Many moons ago I had a Naim AV2, I loved it, but sold it inorder to get some readies for my Skyline. I purchased a Yamaha DSP E800, as a tied me over.

I would really like to replace the E800 now with something better.

With a budget of upto a grand what sort of processor could I get ?

I was thinking perhaps a Meridian 565/568, but was wondering how do they compare with more modern examples ?

I see last week, a Naim AV2 made £695 on ebay, so there could be a possibility there...

At the moment, I only really use DTS and DD

Thanks in advance

I think that you should consider the 568.2 at the very least. The 568.2mm has the Meridian proprietary MHR link that allows a direct feed from the 598 DVD player for DVD-A playback. There was a 568.2mm advertized secondhand at Weymouth HiFi last week for £1,000.

There's a 565 for sale on the Meridianuplugged forum at present. Members there are quite happy to steer you on secondhand values etc.

dpstjp
 
I also recommend the 568.2. I used to own one and can confirm that its peformance is excellent on both music and movies. It is also bargain at around £1000-1200 on ebay etc

Regards Phil..
 
The quality of output with the latest (v2.5) 568.2 (or 568.2mm) firmware will be similar to that of the later G68 variants. You will not be disappointed.

Stay away from the 565. Im not saying its bad, but if you can get a 568.2 with your budget, you will not regret paying the extra over the 565. I have owned 565Z3, 568, 568.2mm and G68ADV so I know how each compare to each other. The biggest jump in quality is between 565V3 and 568. The smallest jump is between 568.2(mm) and G68.

Unless you go to a Meridian DVD-A player, or modify an existing player with 6 channel s/pdif output, the mm version of the 568.2 will provide no benefit - although this may change in the future if an HDMI->multi channel s/pdif converter becomes available. Who knows? Im not entirely sure on this, but it may be possible to make a custom lead (difficult as one end is a VGA connector) that may allow the multi channel input on the mm to be used as 3 x 2 channel coax digital inputs.

I don't know how many inputs you are considering, but it may also be worth looking at the 562, 562V (or 562V2 if you have a number of analogue input) switcher.

Try here on the Meridian forum. One for sale right now.

http://www.meridianunplugged.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=68801
 
A TAG McLaren Audio AV32R Dual Processor is always a good bargain these days.

A good rival to Meridian at the time (we used to shout at each other, factory to factory, bun fights etc...).
 
The Meridian 568.2, with or without the MM (multi-channel digitial input) option can take v2.5 "Beta" firmware which uses *exactly* the same DSP algorithms as the G68 and 861v4. It's been "Beta" status for years, but is basically the latest firmware release with no major issues. What you lose with the 568.2 over the more expensive current models is Meridian Room Correction (MRC) and analogue multi-channel inputs. There's enough optical, coax and analogue stereo inputs to start you off, and you can always add a 562 (I'd recommend the 562V.2) if you need more.

It's worth going for the 568.2MM if (1) you are considering a Meridian DVD-A player (598, G9x), (2) you modify a disc player for a 3x SPDIF multi-channel digital output. There is a rumour that Meridian has been working on an HDMI to 3x SPDIF conversion box, but we are still waiting...

Edit: (2) is definitely possible with a 513 conversion box, which may be nothing more than an expensive break-out cable.
 
Why not go back to the AV2? It's still a very capable processor for DD/DTS and an excellent pre-amp if music is your thing too.

At £695 (bargain, BTW) you could also pick up a NAP150 for a little over £300 so you shouldn't do too much damage to your budget.
 

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