Really expensive systems that sounded great?

@kenjit re:

They have horrible measurements look at all those peaks and dips. you couldn’t get any more ragged.

And yet in that same article the reviewer states...

Summing up, the in-room response was wide and remarkably uniform in balance, a testament to the Duo’s good off-axis energy response.

and

Handsomely delivering the promised high linearity, the midrange horn distortion was astonishingly low, even at a measured 110dB test level. Even at 100 and 90dB SPLs, the third harmonic was unmeasurable, and the second was well below 0.1%—this rivals a good push-pull electrostatic speaker and even some amplifiers!

and

What a surprise to find a horn speaker with such a wide and well-controlled directivity.

Seems like the reviewer liked these speakers - a lot

AND the first comment to the article speaks volumes...

On the other hand, the rendering of Ella Fitzgerald’s voice was simply extraordinary in its realism and palpability. So much so, that I forgot to even listen for audiophile things like imaging, soundstage depth and so on.

I go by what my ears tell me - NOT by what a bunch of graphs that detail things most people cannot even discern

Add to that the amplification used and cables that are in the mix and things can change drastically

When I heard these, they made my ears perk up and I listened intently - that is something many other brands fail to do.

But then its all about personal preferences anyway 🙂

No two people hear the same thing !

Regards - Steve

 

@kenjit 

"Yet the drivers used probably cost a few hundred bucks at most. Shocking isn't it. only a fool would spend so much money. The hifi companies know this and thats why they set their prices so high for people like you."

Interesting way to try and put forth your own agenda.

Everything after the word "probably" is rendered useless. Without actual knowledge of the cost of the drivers, any suppositions you make have no validity whatsoever.

Just because other people can spend more on their equipment than you can, is no reason to make baseless claims, call them fools and try to invalidate their purchases,

 

It is really hard to tell if Meridian has done much innovation or product delivery for the past several years.

Their surround sound system still seems based on their own quirky split HDMI / proprietary link technology which came out what, like 10 years ago?  AFAIK it's the same gear too.  Do they even support ATMOS? 

The brand just doesn't give me the feeling that they are heavily investing in HDMI / home theater anymore.

I’ve been attending many audio shows ? The system that sounds like you are in the concert hall.Most of the people listening on this system are in disbelief because it’s like live music if you close your eyes. I heard this system at Westin Hotel Axpona show.The room does not have acoustic panel. The system Iam talking about is Austin Acoustic.$750k.

@erik_squires

Yes, Meridian supports Atmos through their 271 Digital Theater Controller. Its good you started this thread, sometimes you can get an expensive system that rivals systems costing multiples more. When you spend a lot, you risk a lot. Having a Meridian system that is engineered from the ground up not only removes a lot of that risk, it can go beyond what an equivalent chain can achieve for the same price. Look at the specs on the DSP 8000XE. They weigh almost 250 lbs each and have 1250 watts of internal amplification. As good as the specs are they sounded even better than I imagined, dynamics were shocking and you don’t need a sub for sure:

Specification

INPUT CONNECTIVITY

Meridian SpeakerLink connector (RJ45)

1 x co-axial digital audio [RCA phono] supporting up to 192kHz @ 24-bit

1 x optical digital audio [Toslink] supporting up to 96kHz @ 24-bit

1 x USB digital audio [type C] supporting up to 384kHz @ 24-bit

Bluetooth via the Meridian B-Link [supplied]

1 x balanced analogue audio [XLR] on IA21 Analogue Input Module

1 x unbalanced analogue audio [RCA phono] on IA21 Analogue Input Module

OUTPUT CONNECTIVITY

1 x Meridian SpeakerLink connector (RJ45)

PERFORMANCE

Peak SPL: 120dB@1m for a single speaker

Frequency response in room within 3dB: 18Hz – 40kHz

TWEETER AMPLIFIER

Class AB, capable of greater than 150W into 4Ω, < 1% THD

THD + noise @ 1kHz < 0.005%

Bandwidth >100kHz

MID-RANGE AMPLIFIER

Class AB, capable of greater than 150W into 4Ω, < 1% THD

THD + noise @ 1kHz < 0.005%

Bandwidth >100kHz

BASS AMPLIFIERS

Six bridged pairs of Class-D amplifiers - each pair capable of greater than 240W into 4Ω, < 1% THD.

THD + noise @ 1kHz < 0.008%

TWEETER

25mm beryllium dome with silver voice-coil, steel custom faceplate and waveguide

MID-RANGE DRIVER

1 x 160mm with non-conductive voice-coil former and anti-resonance clamp-ring mounting system

BASS DRIVERS

6 x 200mm polypropylene long-throw (up to 24mm excursion) with anti-resonance clamp-ring mounting system

FRONT-PANEL INDICATOR

Blue in Standby, White in use (can also be unlit in use)

REAR-PANEL CONTROLS

Power On/Off, channel selector switch, input sensitivity switch [on analogue input module]

DIMENSIONS / WEIGHT

HEIGHT: 1350mm [53.2in] (With feet/spikes)

WIDTH: 400mm [15.7in] tapering to 158mm [6.2in]

DEPTH 528mm [20.8in] tapering to 210mm [8.3in]

WEIGHT: 110.5kg [243lbs]

POWER- 1250W max