Meridian 800v4 Reference Audio/Video Computer

[JSCC]

Well, I know this is one "OUTDATED" machine BUT as I had the chance to own one at a good price, why not? After all, its a 2010 machine, with the LATEST front panel, seldom used and still under warranty. Not to mention, its the full spec DAX version (which is much more expensive). So, at an attractive offer, I just had to buy it, with my wife's blessing of course. No need to hide it on top of my cabinet.

This one is a very "near" cousin of the 808.3 CD player in terms of CD performance and its Video and DVD-Audio capability is superb. Yes, both format is already dated, but I had that few collection and so, would like to get the best out of the softwares, especially when I amass the next machine, the 861v6.

I still have my sizable DVD collection and certainly, I do want to see how it would stack up against the much cheaper Oppo BDP83se NuForce Edition.

So, I am one-step nearer to a FULL Meridian HT system (at least for Tri-Field). That would be my next legal move (861v6 + DSP7.2k HC - White Color of course).

Some pictures to share, all taken from the internet. Showed the difference on the front panel using the 808.3 CD player as that panel, with the SQUARE LOGO is the latest while the one with "Meridian" is of the older v3 model.

Actual pics will be posted once gear comes in tomorrow.

Cheers!

[Still-One]

Jerry
Nice purchase. Looking forward to your thoughts on the machine.

Jim

[JSCC]

Originally Posted by Still-One

Jerry
Nice purchase. Looking forward to your thoughts on the machine.

Jim

Hi Jim,

Have yet to connect the player to the system. Its sitting on my table now. So, took some pics to share. Notice the top and front "plastic sheets" are still there.

Rear picture showed its a DAX version, the front showing the "800" model with the latest 2010 "SQUARE" Logo. Top picture showed the plastic sheets still there. Pictures taken with the iPhone 4 as camera was taken by my daughter as she had outings with friends.

Cheers!

[Slickcar]

Can you explain what tri-field means? I'm a newb...sorry

[Dollar2]

Originally Posted by Slickcar

Can you explain what tri-field means? I'm a newb...sorry

Trifield is a Meridian DSP preset that takes a 2-channel source and essentially turns it into three channels across the front. It also derives a signal for the surround speakers. I find it to be head-and-shoulders above ProLogic.

From the 861 manual:

As for the Music DSP preset, the Trifield preset
extracts the mono and surround components of the
original recording. It then calculates the signals for the
front, left, centre, and right speakers, using the phase
and amplitude differences between the three front
channels, to redistribute the sounds on a frequency dependent
basis.

This gives a significant improvement over traditional
stereo, which converts the differences between the
microphone signals into amplitude differences in the
speaker signals. This version of the Trifield algorithm is
virtually impossible to implement without digital signal
processing.

Trifield is recommended for well-made recordings
and stereo television broadcasts that are not Dolby
Surround encoded. An advantage over the Music DSP
preset is that the front stereo image is more focused,
and the width of the image can be adjusted.