I'll speak for myself, 2 channel is a joke compared to surround, with the 861 2 channel CD's surpass the best LP has to offer with an ease that is downright frightening to the analog protagonists who often believe multichannel is incapable of high fidelity. Let me tell you an even more relevant story, you'd be hard pressed to find an external DAC that run analog through the SP2 would sound better than the SP2 used a s a two channel dac! The 861 would sound better yes, easily. Maybe you could tell me where the disconnect is for you?īasically you can skip a high-quality external DAC/SP2 combo because the 861 DAC would be better sound-wise anyway? What's the point to split valuable funds simply to buy 2 DACs? I cannot make sense of this other than it is a habit or conditioning based on ritualistic system design based in the two channel tradition. Instead of using the prepro how it is designed to be used! To me if you don't have a tt, worrying about an analog pass thru is like not buying a computer because it doesn't have a 5 1/4" floppy drive. Why do audiophiles ignore the fact that most companies like Meridian, bryston, Theta, Burmester and Halcro for example put their best DAC technology in their Prepros! and everyone wants to skip the efficient proper route and run an analog signal into a DIGITAL PROCESSOR. Yes!, shorter analog signal path = BETTER!!!!, no interconnects and minimum 8 extra contact points eliminated and op amps and impedance matching stages eliminated etc= BETTER. "So are you saying that the DAC inside the 861 would produce analog signal for the amplifier at the 2-channel music performance level better than the straight analog route through the SP2?" My new ones have a digital crossover, so my signal is digital through my Meridian all the way to the speakers crossover. I know your speakers are not digital yet, one day soon they may be. Using an 861 as an analog 2 channel preamp, is like having a 2 speed automatic transmission with Overdrive installed in your 456 Ferrari.Ībsolutely, the 861 is Meridians best 2 channel DAC, it just comes standard with bonus channels.
#Meridian direct dac vs meridian explorer dac software#
Mo' betta' Hardware is not the answer in surround design mo' betta' software is. Yeah there are some pretenders disguised as surround processors when all their design team knows is two channel, so you get the equivalent of a dual processor Pentium V machine and then they run Word Perfect for Dos as their software on their advanced machine if you get my meaning. The 861 stands alone as the very best surround sound processor on the market, nothing is close for a purely surround perspective. This sort of reasoning based on gross misunderstanding means only a smaller fraction of audio consumers understand what the 861/G68 is all about.
he Meridian is very sophisticated (the Bryston is the opposite) and complex in its software, most people in the audio business (ie dealers) do not understand a fraction of what the unit is capable of, some have even been compelled to call it a toy.
The reason the 861 costs so much is exactly why Ttowntony bought the Bryston. Not because it is a poor performer but you're not using it for what it was intended. Using the 861 as a two channel analog preamp is dubious at best and not reccomended. I am surprised that almost everyone doesn't own one, for many it integrates without compromise, if you're stuck in 2 channel world. It is designed specifically for people who would be inclined to use their surround sound system for two channel, which a great deal of people on this forum would qualify. The Bryston after that is a basic surround processor, with little software sophistication. So it is designed to do well in this area, an area where it pretty much equals the 861. The reality is the Bryston is a two channel preamp with a rudimentary surround package bolted on.
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