search

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…