Part
1
Musicweb
Listening Room
Equipment
Upgrade
A
major upgrade was recently made to our
equipment with significant improvements
to the quality of sound now enjoyed…which
is just as well considering the cost
involved!
The
most significant change has been the
replacement of the trusty Chord Electronics
CPA3200
and DSC1100, along with the Proceed
CD transport. These three items have
now been replaced by a Meridian 808i,
a CD player incorporating a digital
pre-amp.
The
result stated simply, is that the system,
which is strictly two channel and used
primarily for CD / CDR / DVD, now sounds
superior in virtually every respect,
and achieves better sound than we had
dared to hope from our domestic environment.
An additional bonus has been the result
achieved from analogue cassettes replayed
by a venerable Nakamichi BX300, the
output of which benefits significantly
from the processing effected by the
Meridian.
The
reduction from three boxes to one, admittedly
large, box has also tidied up and simplified
the racking required which could improve
domestic harmony in some households.
The
system therefore now comprises:
|
Meridian
808i
|
Pioneer
PDR-609 CD recorder
|
|
Chord
1200B power amp
|
Nakamichi
BX300 audio cassette recorder
/ player
|
|
Denon
2900 DVD / universal player
|
Interconnects
include Chord Chorus balanced
leads from the Meridian to the
1200B, and
Nordost
speaker cables
|
|
B&W
Nautilus 802 speakers (bi-wired)
|
So:
a major return from a fairly hefty cash
layout, albeit eased by the good people
at Music Matters in Solihull
whose co-operation regarding part-exchange
made the venture possible.
However,
the exercise was not without its problems,
and for those interested in hearing
about the trials and tribulations of
someone else’s upgrading, the
full story follows.
It
began with me thoughtlessly asking David
Clifford of Music Matters what
he considered to be the weak link in
my CD replay system; a system with which
I had hitherto been quite contented.
I have no idea what made me pose the
question, it certainly wasn’t a desperate
desire to be parted from cash, but it
just goes to show that ill-considered
remarks can often have expensive consequences.
David’s first recommendation was not
what I expected at all. He suggested
I tried some Base support platforms
under my key components, which proved
to be very effective, and for a relatively
modest outlay made a worthwhile improvement.
Enthused with the results of this experiment
I was thus lured into pursuing matters
further.
His next suggestion was that I should
hear a Metronome transport, a product
designed and manufactured in France
and a name previously unfamiliar to
me. As usual I was offered the facility
of an extended home trial, and being
a very satisfied user of Chord Electronics
products I asked to hear their Blue
transport as well.
Sadly
the Blue was dismissed almost right
away on the basis of its ergonomics
as, being a top-loader with the controls
and display also on the top, it was
totally impractical for mounting in
a conventional rack. The Metronome on
the other hand, is a very impressive
piece of gear, beautifully yet sensibly
designed and made, and includes the
option of up-sampling which sounded
very good to my ears. Extended listening
provided much pleasure, and I found
it delightfully revealing on vocal recordings
and those of relatively small ensembles.
However, larger scale orchestral works
and operas which represent a large element
of my listening made the distinction
between the Metronome and my existing
Proceed more difficult to perceive,
and a price tag exceeding £5K made it
easier to reject.
It
was only at this point that David drew
my attention to the Meridian 808i, as
he knew that some years previously I
had suffered serious disappointment
with a Meridian 800 . It had been the
sympathetic response from Music
Matters to that problem which
helped make me such a devoted customer
of theirs.
Despite
my reservations I grudgingly agreed
to try the 808i.
The
first session was almost the last.
The
first two discs I tried produced a mechanical
clattering noise, quite audible before
the disc even started to play, and one
never experienced before with numerous
players, all of them considerably cheaper
than the Meridian’s £8250 price tag!
Fortunately further experimentation
showed that most discs load and play
normally.
The
second problem, immediately evident,
was the machine’s display. Not only
is the range of information provided
inferior to that of the Proceed (I
prefer to see the time remaining
on each track), but the display
itself is much smaller, and almost illegible
unless viewed from a relatively narrow
arc in front of the machine. At more
oblique angles the background loses
contrast, and you are left trying to
distinguish yellow characters on a light
green background. As I sit facing the
speakers at the end of my room with
the equipment located along a side wall,
the display is therefore extremely difficult
to read. The otherwise admirable remote
control is also similarly ineffective
at even moderately oblique angles.
Another
failing is that the balance control,
whose prime function in my opinion
is to compensate for room anomalies,
defaults to 0 each time the machine
is switched to ‘Standby’.
Finally,
each time a fresh CD is loaded there
is the sound of electrical interference
similar to that caused by a faulty light
switch, played through the speakers.
Frankly,
demonstrating this expensive new purchase
with one of the ‘problem’ discs and
the output not muted generates either
ridicule or pity…’you paid how
much?’
In
view of the statement in Meridian’s
own literature that: "Thus the
808 is offered as an exquisite music-only
player, embodying the very best of our
art and technology", stretches
credulity beyond reason. One wonders
whether the author has ever used this
machine outside a laboratory, or even
if at all.
You may also wonder in view of such
a host of fundamental deficiencies,
which would probably not be encountered
on £99 budget electronics from the Far
East, why did I persist in listening
to the damned box, particularly as I
was so exasperated by the sheer ineptitude
of some aspects of its operation.
As
you may imagine, the unfortunate David
Clifford who had installed the demonstration
machine, suffered the first salvo of
ranting and duly promised to report
our findings back to Meridian. Meanwhile,
he suggested, why not just leave it
in place and try listening to it, which
is what I did for several weeks.
Initially
I had hoped that Meridian would come
up with some positive response, but
the first excuse to filter back was
that ‘all key personnel were away at
a conference/exhibition/seminar’. This
unfortunately revived memories of similar
tales trotted out during my disenchanted
phase with the 800 five years previously.
The problem then became that ‘suitable
transport mechanisms were difficult
to source’, or ‘that alterations to
the software would be too complex etc
etc’. Eventually it became obvious that
they were either unwilling or unable
to address any of these issues. And
all the while their box was working
its insidious magic, producing sounds
the like of which I’d never heard from
outside a concert hall, and sometime
better than those I’d heard within.
At
the end of the day it all came down
to deciding whether the good outweighed
the bad, and on balance I decided it
did, as the adverse features although
irritating did not detract from its
primary function
I
must say though, having worked for many
years in Technical Sales Management,
it still appals me that despite being
a prospective customer for a Special
Limited Edition ‘flagship’ product,
no direct contact was made by Meridian,
not even a ‘phone call. Dumping responsibility
onto the unfortunate dealer seems hardly
fair.
Happily,
some of the problems are now less irksome.
For example, the mechanical noise is
only present on some older CDs, and
is only really intrusive while the disc
is loading and for perhaps the first
ten minutes of play. It then ceases.
In all fairness, Meridian have since
come up with a seemingly plausible explanation,
although I know of no other manufacturer
who suffers similarly.
And the remote control can be made to
function more easily by bouncing the
signal off a nearby wall!
The
display has been excused on the grounds
that ‘it sounds better’ although I can
hear no difference even if it’s turned
off, but perhaps that’s my ears, (although
I don’t really think so).
Another
anomaly I encountered is that when playing
external digital sources through the
built-in pre-amp, the display informs
me that the DVD/ DVD-A/ or SACD I’m
inputting is in fact a CD! Prompted
by curiosity, when I loaded some of
these discs into the machine,
the display then identified their format
perfectly, although of course it won’t
play them!!
Meridian’s
response when this was reported to them
apparently, was to suggest seemingly
without being ironic, that if the display
irritated me I should turn it off; which
demonstrates a breathtaking ability
to miss the point, and is hardly confidence-inspiring.
In
conclusion, I must emphasise again how
delighted I am with the sound quality
of the 800i.
But sadly, I continue to be frustrated
by the knowledge that a company, so
talented and whose products are capable
of such sublime music reproduction,
should seem from my experience so indifferent
or even arrogant, when it comes to the
relatively simple provision of Customer
Service.
Thankfully,
the Warranty period on this item is
five years. I wonder whether I’ll need
it.
David
Dyer
With
grateful thanks to all the staff at
Music Matters who have patiently endured
the trauma of this particular sale.
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