Meridian 561 - another junk or not junk thread?

[DannyBoy73]

Hi all,

So I've had a Meridian 561 for about 15 years, with a bunch on monoblocs and it's served me well.

Lately I've just used it as a audio processor and have done all my video switching away from the box. I.e. PS4, Sky, music streamer etc... outputting to the 561 over optical or digital coax.

I've been aware for ages it doesn't support the HD audio formats but have just stuck with it as it was a small fortune for me to buy at the time. I think it's still a great pre-amp for stereo music into my mono-blocs.

So any reason to keep the 561?

I'm thinking to buy some kind of video processor which handles switching and have a feed from that into a audio processor, which feed my mono-blocs.

This way my video and audio boxes are separate and can be upgraded independently later.

Thoughts / input appreciated.

Thanks

 

[eddiewww]

It's a tough one isn't it!

Like you, i spent a small (or maybe not so small!) fortune when i bought my kit. My 598's drive gave up the ghost and i thought long and hard about repair or replace. I eventually got it repaired, got my 568.2MM re-capped and bought an HD621 to handle the video switching. Once i find the time to hook it all back up, i'll let you know how it sounds/works! But i don't know if your 561 has "Smart Link" so that probably isn't even an option for you.

One of the reasons i did this was because we are looking to move next year and i will be looking at doing a dedicated room, so the thinking was that the Meridian stays on duty in the sitting room until it finally dies on me and i get to build a new set-up from scratch.

That's probably of no help whatsoever, but as you say, it still sounds fantastic after all this time. It is great piece of kit, albeit limited with the latest sound formats. I just couldn't let go of the old girl!

Is their any way you can re-purpose it? Bedroom or study or something?