CES 2014

Has it really been a quarter century since Meridian introduced its first “digital active” loudspeaker, the D600, pictured left with designer Bob Stuart standing between the D600 and the DSP6000 from 1990. I reviewed the D600 in November 1989 and was mightily impressed by what I heard from a speaker that used Philips’ then-new S/PDIF receiver chip to allow it to realize DAC, crossover, and amplification in one, elegantly proportioned box.

Stuart showed me what Meridian was introducing this year: “Special Edition” updates to the English company’s DSP7200 and DSP8000 digital-input speakers, as well as the reintroduction of the G57 amplifier and the new Prime headphone amplifier that Jason Serinus has already blogged about. Changes to the speakers include a new beryllium-dome tweeter; wider-bandwidth analog electronics (each drive-unit is powered by its own amplifier, the crossover being realized in the digital domain); new DSP, including Meridian’s “EBA” (Enhanced Bass Alignment), and all the drivers clamped with build rings to improve mechanical stability.

My detail shot shows the construction of the Meridian speakers’ enclosures: the panels are constructed from a laminate of metal and cold-grown spice plywood.