New Gear from Threshold, Meridian

Late summer isn't typically a time when new audio products appear, but on August 29 we received two noteworthy announcements.

Houston, TX–based Threshold Audio, Inc. is now shipping its new STASIS-R 3.0 preamp.

Priced at $3000, including remote control, the 3.0 is the lowest-priced fully balanced preamplifier to be introduced by Threshold in over a decade, according to company vice president Kevin Lee. "The 3.0 is actually less expensive than the famous Threshold FET-10He preamplifier, which for many years was rated as a top-class preamplifier—yet the 3.0 goes far beyond the FET-10. Its circuitry is balanced input-to-output, it has remote control, it's more ergonomic, and, best of all, it sounds even better." Lee described the 3.0 as a "triple-breakthrough: a fully balanced design with advanced digital control features and high value."

The 3.0 incorporates many of the features and performance benefits of the company's $5000 flagship preamp, the STASIS-R 5.0, according to manufacturing vice president Billy Curtis. Shared characteristics include a faceplate with a blue-white LCD screen that displays the level and source information, a digitally-controlled rotary volume control, and a 12V on/off trigger for home-theater systems. Visually, the 3.0 is designed to complement both the STASIS 8.0 power amplifier and the company's recently introduced affordable high-end amplifier, the S/5000e.

In the pipeline is the S/7000e, a high-power monoblock amplifier capable of 600W into 8 ohms and 1000W at 4 ohms. Its introduction will allow multichannel fans to put together all-Threshold 5.1 systems using combinations of the S/5000e and S/7000e, Lee stated.

Meridian Audio Limited has launched its new "G" series components. Based on the company's Reference 800 series components, the extensive new line of more affordable A/V gear is said to incorporate Meridian's latest research.

New products include a two-channel receiver, power amplifiers, preamps, surround processors, disc players, and unique combination CD/DVD player/transport/controllers, which offer "extended, preamp-like capabilities." G series products, in black or pearly silver, are suitable for use in analog systems with passive loudspeakers, and are compatible with several of Meridian's DSP digital loudspeakers. They feature RS-232 and Meridian communications ports, IR operation, and voltage trigger inputs and outputs; units can be rack-mounted using EIA-standard adapter kits.

G series disc players include the G07 CD player and G08 upsampling CD player, the G98 CD/DVD-Audio transport, and the G91 DVD-Audio player/controller, a fully integrated CD/DVD player with on-board stereo preamplifier-tuner. All four employ Meridian's latest-generation CD/DVD-ROM drive mechanisms with custom control, navigation, and error-correction software for "unmatched speed and reliability of disc-handling and future upgradability." Meridian's disc players are compatible "with all relevant mass-produced and recordable variants of CD and DVD/DVD-Audio formats, including CD-R and hybrids"—in other words, almost every audio format save Super Audio CD, which Meridian has yet to embrace.

The Meridian G08 features upsampling circuitry and balanced (XLR) analog outputs. The G08, G91, and G98 upsample CD-standard PCM to 24-bit, 176.4/192kHz data, a process claimed to "yield dramatic sonic improvements." The G91 and G98 also upsample Dolby Digital and DTS multichannel material "when reproduced via a compatible Meridian surround controller such as the G68." Meridian's MHR Smart Link permits "encrypted, lossless digital interconnection of multichannel sources," according to the announcement.

The G91 DVD-Audio player/controller combines audio/video disc player, stereo digital preamplifier, and AM/FM RDS/RDBS tuner in a single component. The G91 also functions as the heart and brain of a multichannel home-theater centerpiece via its optional configurations with multiple video inputs and outputs, including component video and HDMI with scalable video. The G98 DVD-Audio transport includes similar video capabilities to those in the G91, and can be configured with MHR Smart Link digital outputs for connection to either a Meridian processor or DSP loudspeakers. Its six-channel analog outputs work perfectly in other systems, Meridian claims.

The modular, upgradeable G68 surround controller is a THX Ultra2–certified digital-and-analog A/V surround preamp-processor with RDS/RDBS tuner. Input array includes two six-channel digital inputs, compatible with Meridian MHR Smart Link signals from Meridian disc players. The G68 can upsample such signals, thereby improving sound quality from movie and music multichannel recordings. It can be configured with a balanced-out analog option. S-video and component-video inputs and outputs benefit from "broadcast-grade switching." The G68 also features Meridian's 750 MIPS (millions of instructions per second) DSP room-correction system to counteract room resonances and dramatically improve stereo and surround imaging. The room correction system works with all stereo and surround modes, including THX, Dolby Digital, DTS, Ambisonics, MPEG, and Meridian's own Trifield format.

New G series analog stereo components include the G01 stereo RDS tuner/control unit, the G02 balanced/dual-mono control unit, and the G51 AM/FM RDS stereo receiver, all said to offer exceptional sound quality and ease of use. New power amplifiers include two stereo models and a five-channel design, all derived from amplification technology used in Meridian's reference-standard DSP8000 digital loudspeakers. The dual-mono G56 produces 100Wpc (8 ohms), while the G57 doubles this to 200Wpc into 8 ohms and more than 650Wpc into 4 ohms. Both two-channel models can be bridged to mono for dramatically higher single-channel outputs. The Meridian G55 duplicates the stereo amps' features in a five-channel configuration delivering 100Wpc (8 ohms); the "outer-channel"pairs may be bridged to 300W. All three G series amps include a flexible trigger input that responds equally to DC or AC signals over a wide voltage range, ensuring virtually universal compatibility with system-control hardware.

G series components (except the power amplifiers) come supplied with the latest MSR+ system remote. The MSR+ is a backlit, ergonomic tabletop controller pre-programmed with a vast internal library able to command almost any piece of equipment from numerous manufacturers. Available by October, new G series components suggested prices are G07 24-bit CD player, $2875; G08 24-bit upsampling CD player, $3995; G68 surround controller, $6995 or $8995 (depending on configuration); G01 stereo control unit, $2595; G02 balanced stereo control unit, $2995; G51 stereo receiver, $3595; G56 stereo power amplifier, $2695; G57 stereo power amplifier, $3595; G55 five-channel power amplifier, $4895; G91DH DVD-Audio player/controller/tuner, $6995; G98 DVD-Audio transport, $5995 or $6495 (depending on configuration); MSR+ remote, $149.

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