greg@olivee.UUCP (Greg Paley) (04/06/85)
Several articles have been posted recently comparing the "high end" Mission and Meridian CD players with other models such as the NAD and Yamaha. I am curious as to whether anyone has been able to directly compare them with the original Philips models on which they are based. To my knowledge, the Meridian consists of added circuitry, modifications to the tracking logic, and a plastic shell fit over the original metal casing on the original Philips model, the CD-100 (marketed in the U.S. as the Magnavox FD-1000). The Mission player is likewise a "mod" of an upgraded version of this, the Philips CD-104 (U.S. - Magnavox FD-1040). The type of marketing strategies used, at least in this country, make direct comparison of "original vs. mod" rather difficult since the type of "high end" dealer who will carry the Meridian and/or Mission might carry the NAD and Yamaha, but is extremely unlikely to carry the Magnavox. The German "Audio" review I synopsized on the net several months ago compared the Meridian with the Philips 304 (Magnavox 3040) and concluded that both had outstanding sound and that the differences, where audible, were so subtle as to make a clear preference impossible. They felt the Philips offered a considerably better bargain since it had considerably more features for less money. The March issue of "Gramophone" has a review of the Mission player. "Gramophone" is, compared to other European magazines, more like the U.S. "mainstream" pubs in that they bend over backwards to avoid offending any of their advertisors. However, the reviewer indicated fairly clearly that, despite an initial impression of increased body and presence in the sound of the Mission, he ultimately preferred the original Philips model. He felt that the mods Mission had added tended to "soup up" the midrange at the expense of frequency extremes. Incidentally, the Winter 85 issue of "Absolute Sound" included a "review" by Tom Miller (usually their turntable/arm guru) of the Meridian player. He praised it to the effect of claiming that it was the first player that didn't give him a headache within 4 minutes, went on to describe its faults in such a way as to make it clear that it, like all other CD players, is totally incapable of adequate sound reproduction, but then concluded by calling it a "breakthrough" product since, unlike other players, it didn't actually make him ill. - Greg Paley