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Meridian Digital Theatre surround-sound music system Measurements DSP5000

Sidebar 4: Measurements Meridian DSP5000

Although Kal used the DSP5000s as rear-channel speakers, they are respectable full-range speakers in their own right. I thus performed a complete set of measurements using the DRA Labs MLSSA system, a calibrated B&K microphone, and a dCS 904 A/D converter running at 96kHz sampling to convert the analog test signal to digital.

As a digital-input active speaker, the DSP5000 doesn't have a meaningful voltage-sensitivity rating. However, driving it with a noise signal at -12dBFS and with its volume control set to "70" (out of a possible "99…

Meridian Digital Theatre surround-sound music system Measurements DSP5000 part 2

In the time domain, the use of DSP-implemented crossover filters results in an excellent, time-coherent step response (fig.15). Note in this graph that, even though the microphone was my standard 50" away, the step doesn't start until the 8.5ms mark---equivalent to an extra time of flight of 4.5ms. This 4.5ms delay is due to the digital filters both in the A/D converter I used and in the DSP5000, but it will be subjectively inconsequential.

Fig.15 Meridian DSP5000, step response on tweeter axis at 50" (5ms time window, 30kHz bandwidth).

Other than the tweeter resonance,…

Meridian Digital Theatre surround-sound music system Measurements DSP6000

Sidebar 5: Measurements Meridian DSP6000

For logistic reasons, I measured only the Center version of the DSP6000. However, as this model differs from the side version only in the angle of the head-unit's sidewalls, this set of measured data should be representative of all three speakers.

The DSP6000 appeared to be around 0.5dB more sensitive than the DSP5000 with the same noise signal at -12dBFS and a volume setting of "70." The difference is inconsequential. The balance averaged across a 30 degree horizontal window on the tweeter axis (fig.18) was almost as flat as the DSP5000's…

Meridian Digital Theatre surround-sound music system Measurements DSP6000 part 2

The '6000's step response (fig.21) is hard to interpret, and I admit I was a little surprised not to see the same time-coherent shape as in the '5000. But after I'd inspected the step responses of the individual drive-units, I realized that what fig.21 shows is first the beginning of the midrange unit's positive-going step just after the 8ms mark, over which is then laid the tweeter's negative-going step. The midrange step overshoots after returning to the time axis, its subsequent positive-going recovery coinciding with the positive-going woofer step. This is not a time-coherent design---if…

Meridian Digital Theatre surround-sound music system Kalman Rubinson August 2003

Kalman Rubinson wrote again about the Reference 800 & Reference 861 in August 2003 (Vol.26 No.8):

They say you never forget your first time, and that's certainly true of my first experience of the Meridian Reference 800 player ($17,000-$19,000) and Reference 861 preamplifier-processor (also $17,000-$19,000), reported on in the February 2000 issue. As it was also my first exposure to multichannel sound—in the context of a full Meridian system including their DSP6000 and DSP5000 powered speakers, no less—I was deeply impressed.

Now I can look back and see what I missed. I…

JMlab Mezzo Utopia loudspeaker

Loudspeakers are all about balancing conflicting variables: accepting that you can't have electrostatic transparency and horn dynamics; finding something to suit the size of your room and credit rating; and picking the best all-around compromise to suit your particular taste. Goldilocks had the right attitude for loudspeaker reviewing. All that too-soft/too-hard, too-hot/too-cold merely sets the scene; "just right" goes straight to the heart of the matter.

Which is why I suggested to John Atkinson that JMlab's Mezzo Utopia would make a good subject for my first Stereophile loudspeaker…

JMlab Mezzo Utopia loudspeaker Page 2

A particularly nice styling feature—unique to the Mezzo, I believe—is that you can actually see right through the speaker. The narrow slits that separate the three sections add a lightness of touch to an otherwise rather monumental front view. The Mezzo is not particularly big, especially by US standards, and is relatively slim front-to-back, but the decisions to use an 11" bass driver and to place the midrange above the tweeter add up to significant frontal area.

The slim tweeter baffle is made of solid Tauari hardwood and looks similar to the side panels, while the upper and lower…

JMlab Mezzo Utopia loudspeaker Page 3

That description seemed to correlate very well with the perceived subjective balance. The Mezzo did sound a touch rich and heavy, but only a touch—I dare say a slightly larger room, or one with greater low-frequency absorption, might suit it even better. The sound was also just a shade laid-back and reticent, especially in the way voices were projected—yet not sufficiently so as to spoil my enjoyment, even at very low listening levels. Though I tend to favor a more open and forward upper midband, I had little trouble living with and even getting to like the Mezzo's slightly laid-back and…

Final Delivery: a System Upgraded, a Life Cut Short

It's a spring day, midweek, and I'm behind the desk of the small-town library where I work part-time. A woman comes in, late 60s, maybe 70. There is a quietness about her, as if time has asked her to shrink a little. She's local, but we've never met. "Laura," she offers. Her handshake is firm.

Laura tells me she's heard through a mutual friend that I have a high-end music system and write for Stereophile. Her husband, Ted, loved the magazine.

Ted, she says, died a decade ago, at 60. She recounts how, a few months later, she met up with someone to hand over many boxes of old…