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800/861
Version 3
800 Series DVD-Audio Update
Sales Information
1
st
January 2002
Meridian Audio Limited
Stonehill, Stukeley Meadows
Huntingdon
Cambridgeshire PE29 6EX
T +44 (0) 1480 445678
F +44 (0) 1480 445686
Meridian America Inc.
Suite 122, Building 2400
3800 Camp Creek Parkway
Atlanta GA 30331
T (404) 344 7111
F (404) 346 7111
www.meridian-audio.com
Working together
The MHR Smart Link has profound ramifications for the system. By passing the signals at
full resolution between 800 and 861, the system can provide perfect and unified bass
management for all sources where it belongs – in the surround controller.
861 receives the full bandwidth and resolution of the original recording allowing it to offer the
highest possible sound quality on both its exquisite studio-grade analogue outputs (for
conventional, analogue-domain amplifiers and speakers), or on individual MHR-capable
digital outputs (for the multiple DSP speakers of a Meridian Digital Theater).
The MHR Smart Link also passes information about the disc content, whether it be high
resolution multichannel or stereo from DVD-Audio, CD, Dolby Digital or DTS on a movie or
PCM from a music video.
This means that with no intervention from the user, the 861 can automatically select the
optimum DSP modes and speaker settings for movies, for music, for stereo and
multichannel sources – a welcome feature at a time when the ever-expanding offerings of
source formats holds the potential for considerable confusion.
Multichannel system architecture
Meridian’s 800 Series now has comprehensive DVD-Audio capability with full multichannel
support for high resolution sources throughout the entire system.
Meridian have re-defined optimum movie playback in this latest series. 800 now has the
option to decode movies inside the player, and there are a number of benefits to this
approach. By taking the Dolby Digital decoding task from the 861, it is freed up to apply its
considerable signal processing power to optimize resolution – typically working at 48-bit
internal precision. Meanwhile the extensive DSP power in 800 is used to provide upsampling
and resolution enhancement for all sources including CD and DVD-Video. Until you have
experienced movies in 96kHz/24-bit resolution you might find it hard to anticipate this huge
improvement to movie sound. Important low-level details and a much clearer sense of space
bring intimacy to Dolby Digital sound tracks. A lasting impression of this new 800 Series is
greater and more natural dynamic contrasts.
The 800 Player can optionally upscale the audio from any disc (including DVD-Audio) and
send it, via MHR Smart Link, to the 861 for further processing – which may include
upsampling, bass management and upscaling for playback with as many as eight channels
and ten speakers.
DVD-Audio
DVD-Audio offers up to 6 channels of 96kHz/24-bit audio direct from the recording studio,
using the disc’s large capacity to deliver vivid, life-like surround recordings. DVD-Audio also
offers the same ultra-high quality in stereo and many discs provide additional content, such
as menus, pictures and video clips.
Meridian was an important contributor to the DVD-Audio standard, which mandates MLP
(Meridian Lossless Packing) as the format for the highest quality sound. We are in a unique
position to understand all the nuances of this exciting new format.
Without question, DVD-Audio offers the highest sound quality option for music in the home
and the 800 gives simple access to all the content. In the 800 we have control over all
aspects of the playback process and have developed a user-friendly interface for all media –
including DVD-Audio – as well as providing the highest possible sound and picture quality.
Now, with the 800 Series, we offer a playback system where the original audio can be
passed without degradation all the way from the recording studio to the loudspeaker.
High resolution multichannel pushes the boundaries of technology, and we are proud of our
achievement in the 800 Series: the sound is exquisite.