Meridian DSP8000 Manuel utilisateur
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Introduction
In August 1971, Bob Stuart met Allen Boothroyd in a London pub, where they started their first design
collaboration with the multi-award winning Lecson AC1 and AP1 audio amplifier – now in the permanent
collection of New York’s MOMA and exhibited at London’s V&A museum.
Bob and Allen went on to found Meridian Audio in 1977 and during the 40 years since they met, have
produced many of the industry’s most ground-breaking designs in the field of consumer audio.
The 40th Anniversary System you now own represents the distillation of this 40 year collaboration and has
been made in a limited edition of 40 systems, never to be repeated.
Everyone at Meridian congratulates you in your discerning choice of what we are confident is the finest
music system in the world.
Bob Stuart
Co-Founder, Chairman and Technical Director
Allen Boothroyd
Co-Founder and Design Director
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Introduction
We have endeavoured to make this special edition even more exceptional.
The DSP8000 Anniversary System Loudspeakers feature a new, more sensitive tweeter with a new moulded
surround, while special calibration allows the loudspeaker system to operate at even higher sound pressure levels
than the standard model. The driver surrounds feature exclusive machined edge detail, while special spike-cups are
used to mount the head unit.
Bob and Allen have signed a special plaque on the rear of the head units which carries the limited edition number,
and there is a similarly-etched plaque inside the hinged front panel of the 808 Anniversary System CD Player. The
808 Anniversary System CD Player also includes an enhanced power supply.
Your system as a whole has been built from components that have been hand-selected for superior sound quality,
and it is interconnected with special, ferrite-filtered SpeakerLink cables. Bob Stuart has personally fine-tuned your
system in our laboratory to the very highest standards of performance.
Bob Stuart and Allen Boothroyd are sure that you will enjoy this very special Meridian system.
The 40th Anniversary System
Lecson AC1/AP1 1971
The first Boothroyd and Stuart product design. A thin and potentially wall hung
preamp and optional cylindrical Power Amp.
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Timeline Milestones from the 1970s
Orpheus Amplifier System 1975
A revolutionary high-end audio system with interchangeable, rotating, hide-away
preamp controls.
Meridian M1 1977
The first Meridian loudspeaker, active of course.
100 Series, the first Meridian audio system 1978
One of the first Modular audio systems with Preamp, FM Tuner and ‘split’ Power amp
and Power Supply.
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Timeline
Milestones from the 1980s
Meridian M3 compact active loudspeaker 1979
M2 and M3 loudspeakers set the standard for compact, high quality active audio
systems.
Meridian Modular audio system 1980
A unique, ‘build it yourself’ control unit for providing all the inputs you might need for
the dawning digital age.
Meridian MCD/Pro better sounding CD 1983
Bob’s re-engineered Philips CD100 was recognised as by far the best sounding CD
player.
Meridian D10, world’s first digital loudspeaker 1985
The world’s first truly digitally driven active loudspeaker demonstrated at the Hi-Fi
News London show.
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Timeline Milestones from the 1990s
Meridian DSP6000 1990
The first Meridian loudspeaker to feature many of technologies later developed into
the DSP8000 and its relations.
Meridian 600 Series 1991
Developed from the award-winning Meridian 200 Series with separated DAC and
Disc player modules.
Meridian 565, world’s first digital surround processor 1995
The ground-breaking product which launched Meridian’s Digital Theatre System.
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Timeline
Milestones from the 2000s
Meridian DSP8000 ultimate digital loudspeaker 2000
Still in strong production after a decade of evolution.
Meridian G Series 2003
Finely crafted in glass and textured aluminium the G Series was developed from the
highly successful 500 Series.
Meridian F80 2005 – M80 2010
A distillation of Meridian’s expertise in DSP and modular electronics designed in one
elegant product.
Meridian DSP3200 2010
A very high quality DSP Loudspeaker in a compact format.
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Design History
The development of optimised acoustic cabinets with on-board amplification and
subsequently DSP has been evolving since the Meridian M1 loudspeaker in 1977.
Our goal has always been to ensure that the complete enclosure and drive unit
assembly is as rigid as possible since the slightest movement of the cabinet will
produce distortion in the acoustic output.
Due to the limitations of manufacturing and cost at the time, our first cabinets were
made from high density particle board but this was upgraded to Finnish Birch ply
for the M2 and M3 products in 1983 since its grain structure is inherently stiffer not
being just a bonded homogeneous material.
Inside every Meridian cabinet there is also extensive bracing in all planes to further
stiffen any flat surfaces. Early cabinets were damped with applied acoustic pads
of bitumen-based material bonded to all open surfaces. Later cabinets, after the
DSP5200, have used ‘poured in’ mineral loaded epoxy which we have found provides
the ideal combination of stiffness and damping.
Milestones in our loudspeaker cabinet evolution have featured cancellation of bass
unit induced vibration (DSP6000), stiffening of the side faces by curving the form
(DSP5200) and then optimising the curved form using a double laminate of ply with
an internal aluminium core (DSP8000).
The visual form of Meridian DSP cabinets is no accident. Features we have pioneered
include a narrow ‘head’ for higher frequencies, where economically possible,
decoupled from the bass system (DSP8000). This head form, with soft edges, allows
the mid and high frequencies optimum dispersion.
As Bob has defined elsewhere, an active loudspeaker, i.e. one in which the power
amplifiers are on-board and precisely designed for that cabinet alone, brings the
benefit that it can produce the same bass note as a ‘passive’ system but at one
eighth of the size. As a result we have evolved our distinctive tapered, curved cabinet
form that combines all these features. Since the M2 loudspeaker in 1983 we have
chosen to place the amplifier, power supply and connections on the rear face and in
its own enclosure which allows us to build, test and service the ‘electronics’ section
easily. On a historical note, the 6 pin, silver plated, air-tight Bulgin connector we first
used on M1 in 1977 is still the same today since we have found none better even if
we had to ask the supplier to retool it occasionally.
The design history of Meridian DSP loudspeakers
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Design History
From around 2000 we found that the high-gloss lacquer coated loudspeakers
sounded better than those we produced in veneer. Since then we decided to only
offer lacquer for the best sound. The Meridian lacquering process is extremely
expensive and thorough. It takes nine sequentially applied and cured coats of
polyester based lacquer of which the top-coat is clear, hand polished then buffed.
This process provides the optimum surface for avoiding any acoustic reflections and
provides our customers with a wide choice of custom colours.
Since all lacquer finishes gradually shrink over time we also avoid any cracking
by ensuring the design forms avoid sharp edges – it’s the details that make the
difference.
Our grille components are equally optimised for the best sound by being as
acoustically transparent and as small as possible to reduce fabric vibration. Where
possible Meridian loudspeakers always stand on three adjustable feet to ensure there
is no rocking but allowing adjustment for uneven surfaces.
Such is the story of the evolution of what you see when you look at Meridian
loudspeakers – logical design, not styling.
Allen Boothroyd
Co-Founder and Design Director
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Technical History
Meridian Audio has taken an almost unique course in the design of its audio and
video systems, and particularly in its loudspeaker design, where the signal remains
in the digital domain until the very last moment, and the loudspeakers include digital
crossovers and signal processing.
The traditional approach
Traditional hi-fi systems have hardly changed over the years. Signal from a source
is fed into a preamplifier, and from there at line level to a power amplifier. The
resulting high-level signal is then fed via extensive (and often expensive) cables to the
loudspeakers.
Almost universally, a single amplifier handles the full audible frequency range. Inside
the loudspeaker cabinet, the high-level audio is split into multiple bands and fed to
the drivers by the crossover: a set of filters that suit the requirements of the different
drivers.
This requires components chosen more for power-handling than for audio quality. And
everything is more difficult to manage at high power levels. Suddenly the cables that
connect amplifier to loudspeaker can impact the sound of the system, for example.
Even if you use expensive, higher-performance components, it’s hard to avoid
compromising the crossover performance. In addition, the drivers have to be well
matched to avoid wasting power, limiting the designer’s choices.
The solution is to operate the crossover at line level. The amplification then follows
the crossover instead of preceding it. In modern live sound installations, this is the
standard approach.
The Active Loudspeaker
Back in the mid-1970s, this was extremely unconventional in the consumer field.
Even more so was Meridian’s first product, the M1 Active Loudspeaker, with an active
crossover, amplification, loudspeaker drivers and power supply in the same enclosure.
This approach delivers several important benefits. A large, heavy amplifier and
associated cabling disappears at a stroke, replaced by a line-level link from
preamplifier to loudspeaker. The crossover is now operating at line level, so the
highest quality components can be employed, just as in a preamplifier. The designer
can also specify each element of the crossover without worrying about matching
driver efficiencies or the impedance of the configuration.
Meridian Loudspeakers – the DSP Advantage
Autres manuels pour DSP8000
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Table des matières
Autres manuels Meridian Système stéréo
