knf@druxo.UUCP (FricklasK) (07/30/85)
Well, I received several responses, both pro and con the Meridian player. I have included three responses that I think give pretty much the whole story. Note: I also received a couple of 'don't buy any, NONE of them sound any good' responses. I also noted nobody DIDN'T like the Meridian, they just thought it didn't have the features for the money, while several people didn't like the Sony, or at least didn't think it sounded as good as it 'should' with all the critical lauding it has been getting. My request ran: >I have been shopping for a CD player and have narrowed the choices down >to either a Sony 520ES or a Meridian unit. I have seen lots of discussion >of the Sony (all favorable) but none on the Meridian. Could anyone >with any experience with this unit please MAIL me your responses, reviews, >etc.? From: vax135!petsd!moncol!ben Subject: Re: Request for Info on Meridian CD The Meridian is a very interesting and somewhat controversial CD player. As you may know, it is a Philips player (actually the same as one of the cheaper Magnavox units) that has had its laser positioning servo and analog electronics heavily modified. There are two schools of thought. Those reviewers who think that all CD players sound essentially alike don't like the Meridian. To start with, it is the least programmable of the Philips/Magnavox units. Seek time to find a particular track is quite slow by current standards. And the top-loading design makes it virtually impossible to load a disk without getting fingerprints on it. Audio magazine compared it to the Magnavox in their review. In a simple A/B test, they thought the Meridian sounded smoother, but when the test was done blind, they could not reliably distinguish between the units. On the other hand, the Meridian does seem to be the unit of choice among the golden ears publications like the Absolute Sound. But since these publications all regard compact discs as mid-fi, it is difficult to say whether they laud the Meridian for its sound or for its snob appeal. My personal choice among the two units you mention would be the Sony. It has a far richer set of programming features, the fastest track access time in the industry, and unlike previous Sony units, digital filtering with oversampling. I would also suggest that you listen to the Nakamichi units. I recently auditioned one at my local dealer (who carries Nakamichi, Meridian and Kyocera) and was very impressed. I'd like to hear how you make out. Good luck! Ben Broder ..vax135!petsd!moncol!ben ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: Re: Request for Info on Meridian CD Ken, By all means, buy the Merridean if you're even considering it. It sounds more musical than 99% of everything else made. The only other CD player that comes close in sonic accuracy is the Mission. The Sony is fatiguing to my ears after about 10 minutes worth of listening. Not true with the other two. Yours for higher fidelity, Phil Rastocny AT&T-ISL ihnp4!drutx!pmr ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Herb Chong [DCS] <ihnp4!watmath!watdcsu!herbie> Subject: Re: Request for Info on Meridian CD >I have been shopping for a CD player and have narrowed the choices down >to either a Sony 520ES or a Meridian unit. I have seen lots of discussion >of the Sony (all favorable) but none on the Meridian. Could anyone >with any experience with this unit please MAIL me your responses, reviews, >etc.? i listened to a Meridian and a Sony 302ES under not very controlled conditions. considering all the hype over the meridian, i was disappointed. it didn't sound any different than the sony. the dealer also said (to me anyway) that they weren't very impressed either. for the money, he would have gotten a sony instead. Dr. Stanley Lipshitz was in a day or two earlier and listened to the same conbination. he left shaking his head. the difference wasn't nearly as great as the audiophile journals would have had you believe. Audio's review of the Meridian did a comparison to the Phillips player that it is based on. in double blind listening tests, the people were unable to tell which was which. if you beleive in audiophile snobbery, by all means buy the meridian, but i don't really think that it sounds any different. i'd rather go for the sony because of features. Herb Chong... I'm user-friendly -- I don't byte, I nybble.... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- ANYWAY, I finally went and just listened to them side by side (actually, I couldn't find a 520ES, so it compared the Meridian to a 650ES). The Meridian, to my ear, DID sound smoother, and imaged better. Since I don't do much tape dubbing, and I don't generally bother or even like to reprogram the order fo the tracks on a side, I didn't really care that much about programming features. I just like to drop a disc in and sit back. The only thing I miss in the Meridian is those jacks that are for "future enhancements"-- maybe when CD video or whatever comes out, I will find my player lacking, but who knows... And 0 to track 98 in .9 seconds is pretty neat... But I put a deposit down on a Meridian anyway. I guess I believe in audiophile snobbery, or at least my ears do. ''`'`'`'` Ken '`'`'`'``