Meridian 808.2

[Still-One]

Originally Posted by howiebrou

I don't think that's right. The apodising filter is applied before the dacs and before the output reaches the speakerlink (Cat5) output so it should still be there even if you don't use the 808's dacs.

Howie

There are some conflicting posts regarding this. Here is one set of questions with Robert Harley's answers:

mhp129 -- Wed, 07/08/2009 - 20:55
I enjoyed both Meridian reviews (CD player & active speakers) but was left with a few questions.
(1) Does the 808.2 play DVD-A discs, like previous Meridian players?
(2) The speakers have built-in DACs. Do they have the same "apodising" feature as the player?
(3) If one were to buy both the player and the speakers, would a lot of money be spent on duplicated D/A features?
(4) Is it really true that other manufacturers have developed similar filters?
His answers:

Robert Harley -- Thu, 07/09/2009 - 14:38
1) The 808.2 is not compatible with DVD-Audio
2) I believe that the 808.2 outputs a signal that has been upsampled by its own digital filter
3) It's true that driving the DSP7200 with an 808.2 bypasses the 808.2's DACs and analog output stage
4) Other manufacturers have developed "minimum phase" filters that don't introduce ringing of their own, but according to Meridian, their "apodising" filter is unique in that it removes ringing added by digital filters earlier in the chain (most notably in the A/D converter used to make the recording).

And a third comment:

mhp129 -- Thu, 07/09/2009 - 18:23
I found the DSP7200 spec sheet on line.
"The DSP7200 also benefits from original research at Meridian into digital filtering, featuring a special new upsampling filter with especially impressive characteristics and no pre-echo. The filter is so effective that it can correct problems further up the chain including fixing faults in the original recording. The result: conventional 44.1/48 kHz sampled CDs and DVDs sound astonishingly like high resolution recordings!"
Since the speakers have an AES/EBU digital input, one might get the benefits of the Meridian filters from any transport.

[howiebrou]

Originally Posted by Stillone

Howie

There are some conflicting posts regarding this. Here is one set of questions with Robert Harley's answers:

mhp129 -- Wed, 07/08/2009 - 20:55
I enjoyed both Meridian reviews (CD player & active speakers) but was left with a few questions.
(1) Does the 808.2 play DVD-A discs, like previous Meridian players?
(2) The speakers have built-in DACs. Do they have the same "apodising" feature as the player?
(3) If one were to buy both the player and the speakers, would a lot of money be spent on duplicated D/A features?
(4) Is it really true that other manufacturers have developed similar filters?
His answers:

Robert Harley -- Thu, 07/09/2009 - 14:38
1) The 808.2 is not compatible with DVD-Audio
2) I believe that the 808.2 outputs a signal that has been upsampled by its own digital filter
3) It's true that driving the DSP7200 with an 808.2 bypasses the 808.2's DACs and analog output stage
4) Other manufacturers have developed "minimum phase" filters that don't introduce ringing of their own, but according to Meridian, their "apodising" filter is unique in that it removes ringing added by digital filters earlier in the chain (most notably in the A/D converter used to make the recording).

And a third comment:

mhp129 -- Thu, 07/09/2009 - 18:23
I found the DSP7200 spec sheet on line.
"The DSP7200 also benefits from original research at Meridian into digital filtering, featuring a special new upsampling filter with especially impressive characteristics and no pre-echo. The filter is so effective that it can correct problems further up the chain including fixing faults in the original recording. The result: conventional 44.1/48 kHz sampled CDs and DVDs sound astonishingly like high resolution recordings!"
Since the speakers have an AES/EBU digital input, one might get the benefits of the Meridian filters from any transport.

I don't see the conflict really. The 808.2 processes the cd signal with the apodising filter before it reaches the dacs and is turned into analog so if you use the digital output it has already passed through the apodising filter.

The new .2 speaker versions e.g. 7200.2, 8000.2 etc also have apodising filters so they will process the digital signal before passing it to their own dacs in the same way the cdp does.

Seems to make sense to me???

howie

[two dot]

Thanks guys...

Howie for the price list...

Dan for always cracking me up!!!!

[helenk579]

Originally Posted by TommyC

Do you think McIntosh will also implement this feature in their future disc players?

I also think so.

[Still-One]

Originally Posted by helenk579

I also think so.

There is quite a bit of discussion on the web about the Pre-ringing filters. I sure like what I heard from the Esoteric unit I recently tried out for a week. Some complain that eliminating pre ringing causes issues on the post ringing side (where it is less noticeable).

There are so many filter choices out there you need to have as many options as possible to choose from.

[suheil]

What cables are you using between units?