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On September 26, Showstoppers had its "digital holidays" event in Manhattan. If you aren't a member of the gadget press, you probably won't know about Showstoppers, but it's a press event that gathers all manner of gadgets, gizmos, and computer peripherals under one roof, adds in an open bar and free food, and invites anybody with a press credential to come mingle and ogle the new products. The events are well-run, well-attended, and almost never have much of interest for Stereophile readers.

I'd decided to give this year's event a pass, when I received a last-minute invitation to talk to Meridian's Bob Stuart immediately prior to the event. Stuart is one of the smartest and most fascinating people in audio, so I never pass up a chance to speak with him. About 30 other members of the press attended as well. I won't name names, but I knew most of the faces, having attended many CESes, CEDIAs, and other audio/video press events over the years—these were all people who cover the electronics industry full-time and professionally.

I was pretty sure I knew what Stuart was going to talk about, having just attended CEDIA 2007, where Meridian was showing off its $2995 F80, so I teased him as I entered, "So you're showing us a $3000 table radio, eh?"

Ever the gentleman, Stuart simply said, "Yes."

Then he started his presentation. He began by introducing himself and Meridian. He spoke of Meridian's heritage of innovation, its commitment to active loudspeakers, DSP, and high-resolution digital/analog conversion—and I heard my fellow scribes getting restless. When Stuart mentioned his iconic MCD CD player, I realized that I was the only person in the room who had ever even heard of that product—and, quite possibly, of Meridian itself.

In a group of reporters covering the AV industry, I was the only person who realized that we were talking to Bob freaking Stuart, not just some guy who'd rebadged an OEM component and tarted it up with a new color scheme.

So, yes, Stuart was presenting the F80 and it initially wasn't getting his audience excited. He told us the F80 had a high quality Meridian optical drive that was capable of playing 24-bit/96kHz discs. (Yawn) He touted the F80's 2.1 speaker system with a rear-firing elliptical woofer, magnesium/aluminum-alloy drivers, and Meridian DSP. (Yawn)

Stuart showed us the back panel, which features two antenna connections, digital in and out, video output (S-VHS and composite), and a special port for an iPod dock (coming soon). The crowd grew restless. I decided it was time for Stuart to get some respect—and I knew what would impress this crowd. Picking up my reporter's notebook, I said, "What's its MSRP?"

"$2995," Stuart said. The crowd was a-flutter.

One reporter yelped, "Who is the customer you're aiming this at?"

"Someone with a job," Stuart said.

"But, but . . . ."

"I'm quite serious," said Stuart. "If you have a job and you want an F80, you'll be able to purchase it. Our problem in the high-end portion of the audio market is that people have only heard of hi-fis that start with a 'B.' But many people want more—would demand more, if they knew it existed. Since we introduced the F80, our biggest problem has been that some people have been so satisfied with its sound that they're having a hard time justifying their big Meridian systems to their wives."

Now that my peers were sufficiently awed by Stuart's cojones, if not his engineering prowess, I decided to have some fun. Pointing to the Ferrari logo on the F80's front panel, I asked, "What's that little horsie mean?"

"Ah," said Stuart. "The composite material we craft the F80's body from is a development of Ferrari's materials research division—and they came to us at the right time, asking if we wanted to collaborate on a project. It's very simple, an exclusive minority even knows of Meridian's existence, but everybody knows who Ferrari is."

He then spoke of Meridian's decision to market the F80 in retail channels other than Meridian's dealer network. In the UK, it is available in Ferrari showrooms, for example, and in the US, the firm is completing negotiations with several "different" venues.

Stuart then demonstrated the audio quality of the F80, which was good enough that several of my fellow ink-stained wretches closed their eyes and tapped their feet—as a former audio salesman, I can tell you that usually means you've closed the sale.

Then Stuart dropped his bombshell. He had brought a second product to demo, a $370 iPod Video dock called the iRIS that included audio DSP, video DSP, and 1080p upscaling and upconversion. Stunned by a $3k table radio, the press was flummoxed by a sub-$400 video scaler/upsampler. The crowd, as they say, went wild. And then they went to Showstoppers.

I hung around, however. Stuart sat me down about 8' from the F80 and played a classic sketch from The Goon Show, "The Stereo Hour—the show for people with ears six feet apart." It sounded it, too. That tiny box threw a very convincing soundstage, one a lot bigger than it had any right to be.

Stuart then cued a 24-bit/96kHz recording of Livingston Taylor's "Isn't She Lovely?" that sent chills down my spine. Wow! Clarity, body, presence—you name it, the F80 had it.

So there you have it. The F80 is a product with drop-dead good looks, phenomenal sound, and impressive engineering. It's a product that people will want, if only they can somehow learn about it—and experience would indicate that they're not going to find out about it in hi-fi stores or in the gadget sections of their newspapers. So Bob Stuart is correct in his assessment that he needs to do everything he can to increase awareness of his company and to pursue a new retail model for the F80. I look forward to seeing if it works.

And no, I don't blame my colleagues for not knowing who Stuart and Meridian are—but I do know who they are and I still underestimated them both. Who does that make the fool?