Meridian 861 A/V Preamplifier
Meridian 861 A/V Preamplifier
USER REVIEWS
[Oct 22, 2003]
JoseAlvarez
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
Trifield is the best DSP mode I have found in the few minutes I could have used this strong beast machine
Weakness:
Very high level and wide band noise produced by simply opening the DVD player tray. The same noise has been gotten with other DVD players. Saturation of input signal with analoque source like tuner Meridian 861 s/n 100803. Tested with: Pioneer DV747 DVD Player, Marantz CD17 KI Signature, 5 Marantz MA500 THX Mono Power amplifiers, ProAc Response 2.5 front, ProAc Response CCone center, ProAc Response One SC rear speakers, Rel Q100E subwoofer, Van den Hul First Ultimate and Inspiration cables, Kimber Reference Powerkord mains cables, Kimber Powerblock, etc. This Meridian 861 digital surround controller has been installed and set up in my home, customizing it to my system by Meridian Marketing Manager. This unit should be, in theory, a truly reference to any home cinema system but I really cannot use it due its awful noise. |
[Oct 20, 2003]
SergioGomez
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
When the machine works normally, all can be a strengt. But, unfortunately, this Meridian 861 unit works without failure very litle time.
Weakness:
This Meridian 861 unit: - Turn off and on by itself at any moment, without any AC mains cut or electrical disturbance - All unit botoms are locked and unavailable for use - Being bottoms blocked, the sound disappear and the unit seems dead. Meridian 861 s/n 100843. This unit is part of the following system: - Pioneer 747 DVD Universal Player - 5 Musical Fidelity M250 mono power amps - ProAc Response 3.8 front speakers - ProAc Response CC2 center speaker - ProAc Response 2.5 rear speakers - Rel Stadium III subwoofer - Van den Hul First Ultimate interconnect cable. - Van den Hul Inspiration speaker cable - LAT AC-2 mains cables, etc The system above should be a reference music and cinema system. As a reference heart of a digital theatre system, Meridian 861 seemed to me a very good machine until it turned off by itself in unpredictable way. After turning off, this machine was blocked. Once it turns on again the sound had been lost. This failures on its basic functions can be repeated in any uncertain moment. |
[Jul 21, 2003]
zenga
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
sounds great
Weakness:
none simply the best processor money can buy worth every penny Similar Products Used: had onkyo 989v2 |
[Apr 30, 2000]
Sammy Jones
Audiophile
Strength:
Fantastic sound. Amazing flexibility.
Weakness:
Remote is clunky. Setup is a little confusing, especially bass management. Instructions arent the greatest. I think the others here have said it very well. I can detect a slight improvement with upsampling. I like the modular approach and the fact that it can be software upgraded. When comparing to the Lexicon MC-1 I was very surprised at how much better the 861 sounded, not just with music but also on any surround sound (DD,DTS,DPL). As a matter of fact, their DD sounds so good, its easy to get it confused with DTS! The price is expensive, but as the others have said, it is well worth it. Similar Products Used: Lexicon MC-1 |
[Nov 26, 1999]
Henry
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
Exquisite sound in all modes.
Weakness:
Slightly irritating relay clicking when changing surround decoding modes. The 861 is a bit daunting to start with.A major part of set up and calibration can only be performed with a PC.However once you get your head round the software,its very easy and might be the only way to deal with a product this complicated.Versatile is not a big enough word for the 861.If it can't do it,you never needed it.I won't try and go in to specifics,if you are considering one,you need a good dealer to start to get some idea of whats possible. |
[Dec 31, 1997]
Johny Engberg
an Audio Enthusiast
I recently bought the NEW Meridian 861 and have only been listening to it for a few days, but I must say that i´m impressed by the crystal clear sound and |
[May 26, 1999]
an Audio Enthusiast
Sounds FANTASTIC!I was nervous replacing high-end conventional pre-amp and DAC as music is my #1 priority ( then home theater) with a surround sound processor but the sound is so sweet and transparent in CD Direct mode that listening to music is like a new experience. |
[Nov 30, 2000]
Marcus Khoo
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
Amazing flexibiliy, Great upgradabiliy, Wonderful sound (see Stereophile ratings!) and fantastic pedigree.
Weakness:
Without your own personal computer, it would be really difficult to set up correctly It is the most expensive piece of hi-fi that I have ever purchased but I feel like it is a lifetime investment. This is the type of kit that you will have till the end of time. The modular architecture of the system means that it theoretically can be upgraded well into the future. I for one will want to keep it till I retire - and then would want to hand it down as an inheritance to my children. Since is it designed around a passive backpane with removable cards for inputs, outputs and processing power, it can be upgraded and upgraded. Now, that's now something you can't do with most other hardware. |