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808/808i
The Meridian Compact Disc Heritage
50 awards for our CD players, including par-
ticularly prestigious awards for our landmark
207 in Japan.
Over the years we have researched, pio-
neered and ultimately mastered the art of
refi nement of every aspect of CD playback.
We showed how jitter was a major challenge
to audio quality – indeed, Meridian was the
fi rst company to isolate jitter, as far back as
1984. Our technologies include advanced
servo implementations, unique power supply
designs, signifi cant innovations in the digital
arena and, of course, peerless analogue sec-
tions. Meridian also pioneered the idea that
special disc navigation could improve the
playback quality on diffi cult discs (such as
those with fi ngerprints, scratches or manu-
facturing defects). Our players also benefi ted
from digital output capabilities.
Meridian was also the fi rst company to offer
a 2-box solution (utilising an outboard DAC),
and has developed special phase-locked
loops and FIFO buffers to produce the very
best result in such systems – including of
course our preferred system, a CD player
directly connected to a pair of Meridian DSP
loudspeakers. The quality of digitally-con-
nected Meridian systems is further enhanced
by our music-industry-approved MHR inter-
connection system.
Meridian has also offered its technologies
for the mastering of Compact Discs. Some
of the highest quality recordings were made
using our 607 A/D converter, while even
more have used the 618 Mastering Proces-
sor to maximise the dynamic range on disc.
Top recording studios tend to use a Meridian
player for checking, and over the years a
Meridian CD player has become synonymous
with the best sound, and ‘a reference’. This is
a reputation we cherish, and one which we
aim to defend by making each player better
than the one before.
Of course, today there are new formats avail-
able – with more on the way – promising
higher resolution. However, after 20 years,
the CD catalogue is overwhelmingly compre-
hensive and strongly-supported. Today there
are believed to be tens of millions of CD titles
available, with thousands added to that total
every month. No matter what the success
of music on DVD or other formats, many
serious music lovers already own a cherished
collection of Compact Discs and will con-
tinue to buy them to satisfy their particular
interests. The serious listener needs to enjoy
the very best sound from this huge musical
resource.
1984
1989
1993
2004
Meridian MCD and Pro-MCD
Meridian’s first CD player, the MCD, based
on a Philips chassis with completely custom
analogue circuitry, was the world’s first
audiophile CD Player. Its successor, the Pro-
MCD shown here, included a separate cus-
tom-designed power supply, DAC and oscil-
lator, mounted underneath the transport.
1985
Meridian invents the CD Transport
The idea of separating the transport from
the rest of the player – to minimise jitter
and other distortion from the mechanism
– was developed to produce the world’s
first separate Transport/DAC product – the
critically-acclaimed 200/203 shown here.
Meridian 208 CD Player
The highly successful 200 Series included sev-
eral CD players. Using different DACs as the
technology developed, the 208 was a land-
mark in Meridian’s CD player development,
with up to 20-bit conversion capability and
preamplifier functionality.
508 – Compact Disc Classic
The 500 Series, launched in 1993, developed
into a full range of audio/video products,
including Meridian’s first DVD player,
the 596, in 1997. Meanwhile, from 1994
onwards, the 508 set the standard for CD
until the advent of the G08 in 2003.
Meridian 808 Reference Series
Originally a superb DVD player, the Meridian
800 has developed to become one of the
most highly-specified optical disc players in
the world, with full DVD-Audio/Video capa-
bility. Now, from its impeccable pedigree
comes the 808 – the highest quality Compact
Disc player Meridian has ever built.
1991
Meridian 602 Transport
& 601 DSP Preamplifier
The 600 Series was highly regarded by
reviewers and owners alike, especially the
602 transport and its companion 601 DSP
Preamplifier, 603 Digital Control Unit or
606 DAC.