[rgs9200m]

OK, got the Director (now called the Direct DAC), listened for a few hours and it's a keeper. It seems to have no sonic character, it's just there, with no raw treble, lots of unforced detail, transparent bass that's not overripe,
well defined vocals with just the right amount of silkiness, and is sweet without being syrupy or cloaking.
I replaced the Dragonfly with the Meridian, and while I really liked the Dragonfly, the Meridian is more balanced, with deeper bass, more ambience, more ease, and less fatiguing highs, especially in my Audeze LCD3 phones.
System:
Windows 7 desktop(from Puget Custom Computers) --> AQ Carbon USB cable --> Meridian Director --> Stealth Indra ICs --> Headroom Max amp.
Phones used: Audeze LCD3, Oppo PM-1.
(The PM-1 is superb, actually my favorite with this setup, very refined with extended highs and lows and silky mids and lots of speed and attack.)
I just listened to youtube music, some in HD, some not. It's all good.

 

[amvolante]

I just wanted to comment, and I hope my input is useful to someone.  I've had the meridian director (direct) since about January.  I know people have had problems with usb 3.0, but not me.  It's worked perfectly on my pc, and I'm very fortunate I think.  It does seem to work flawlessly on USB 2.0 however, only USB 3.0 ports seem to currently have issues.  You can check my sig for others I've tried, I think this is easily the best sounding DAC I've ever heard.  I haven't heard the multi-thousand dollar dacs, except for the $700 USD arcam IRDAC (if you count that close enough), this is the best I've heard by a large margin.  Disclaimer:I don't believe price equates quality.  I've been lurking for a while and wanted to give my input.  I have Earsonics S-em6 iems, and it's almost the best setup I can imagine.  I just wish I could find an amplifier to pair with the meridan, which recommendations are welcome.  This is a serious audiophile piece of kit.  If not for the family situations, which are now over, I would have never even considered selling the meridian.  It has such a lush midrange and high end, without the lack of detail, that I can't imagine anything else being better.  The bass I do find a bit lacking, but I may be a basshead.  I like the 'punch', not 'boominess.'  I just wish I could find an amp that translates the meridian signature to my earphones.  Bass, in my opinion, can be set to appropriate levels via an equalizer.  I know it's blaspheme on here.  I can't imagine anyone disappointed with this dac, and I thank the head-fi community for not buying mine in a time of need (in otherwords, when I had mine for sale.)  It all worked out...  I'm glad I have the meridian, and if this is this is the meridian house sound, call me a 'forever fan.'

 

[rgs9200m]

I think the bass is fine in depth, control, and transparency, even on my LCD3. With a good amp that delivers good quality bass, the Director provides a wonderful low end.

 

[Sam Edwards]

  I just wanted to comment, and I hope my input is useful to someone.  I've had the meridian director (direct) since about January.  I know people have had problems with usb 3.0, but not me.  It's worked perfectly on my pc, and I'm very fortunate I think.  It does seem to work flawlessly on USB 2.0 however, only USB 3.0 ports seem to currently have issues.  You can check my sig for others I've tried, I think this is easily the best sounding DAC I've ever heard.  I haven't heard the multi-thousand dollar dacs, except for the $700 USD arcam IRDAC (if you count that close enough), this is the best I've heard by a large margin.  Disclaimer:I don't believe price equates quality.  I've been lurking for a while and wanted to give my input.  I have Earsonics S-em6 iems, and it's almost the best setup I can imagine.  I just wish I could find an amplifier to pair with the meridan, which recommendations are welcome.  This is a serious audiophile piece of kit.  If not for the family situations, which are now over, I would have never even considered selling the meridian.  It has such a lush midrange and high end, without the lack of detail, that I can't imagine anything else being better.  The bass I do find a bit lacking, but I may be a basshead.  I like the 'punch', not 'boominess.'  I just wish I could find an amp that translates the meridian signature to my earphones.  Bass, in my opinion, can be set to appropriate levels via an equalizer.  I know it's blaspheme on here.  I can't imagine anyone disappointed with this dac, and I thank the head-fi community for not buying mine in a time of need (in otherwords, when I had mine for sale.)  It all worked out...  I'm glad I have the meridian, and if this is this is the meridian house sound, call me a 'forever fan.'

Headphones have wildly different sound signatures, so if you want to play with tone, try different cans. For amps: RSA SR71B has great slam, and pairs well with the Director. If you're a bass head the HD650 is a pretty nice pair of cans and can run Balanced with the RSA. For more money there's always the TH900 for big bass and quality sound. Or maybe Roxanne, if you're looking portable. I don't hate the IE80 for portable bass head fun. Nice little control for jamming up the bass.

 

[rgs9200m]

Sam, OMG you have both the Chord Hugo and the Director?
Thanks a million in advance for any comparisons. 
I love my Director but I'm curious about the Hugo's sonics.
(I am also a fan of Ray's amps as a long time B52 owner. It's the best amp for Audeze phones I think.)

 

[Sam Edwards]

There is almost no shortage of opinion about the Hugo's sound. Read the incredibly long thread. Short answer: The Hugo was enough better that it was worth the extra money for big cans like the HD800 under ideal conditions (no outside noise). My favorite source for it is the Meridian MC200 streaming system. Wow! There's just no noise floor!
But the Director gives me a great DAC for home/office use so I don't have to schlepp between various places where I listen to music on headphones. Director is a great second DAC to the Hugo. 

 

[rgs9200m]

Thanks Sam, I appreciate you taking the time for the comments (yes, I have been wading through the Hugo thread, but somehow I haven't seen direct comparisons vs., say, the flagship Schit or Audio-GD DACs for example).

 

[deanderson]

Does anyone know the following about the director?:
 
1. What the output impedance of the amp section is?
2. What the amp's total harmonic distortion (THD) is?
3. What the signal to noise ratio is (S/R)?
 
I've been looking everywhere for this information, as it's important to me to know how it might fare with my IEM's, but can't seem to find it...it's not even listed on Meridian's website.

Thanks!

 

[Brubacca]

Meridian Direct (Director) has no amp section. It is a DAC only.

 

[deanderson]

No wonder I was having trouble...

 

[yoyo59]

any of you guys using a motherboard with Truevolt technology?
 
could be a good money saver, haven't used a dedicated power supply so can't really say but this looks promising
 
http://i59.tinypic.com/5exzky.png

 

[Lan647]

Just got one of these! The improvement is marginal (probably couldn't tell a different in a blind-test) over the Explorer, but hey I got it for a nice discount and I wanted a "proper" desktop DAC for my STAX rig. 

A question to magical USB-non believers; Would you say it's better to run the DAC through the wall wart and SPDIF or through some kind of USB power supply rather than straight from the computer? I don't believe in differentiating USB cables for audio, but since the DAC is powered via the USB cable I feel I must ask. 

Thanks! 

 

[dwest1023]

I've run my Director from the usb and Wall-wart and I don't hear a difference. As far as usb cables are concerned I DO hear a difference in sound, especially when the cable comes from the same manufacturer. I tried a Audioquest Forest, cinnamon, and carbon. Each cable sounded different and I would have no trouble picking them out in a DB test. Usb cables are system dependent and the price you pay I do not believe makes any difference. Its all in what you like to hear. Right now I  am using a Cardas Clear usb.

 

[Lan647]

I'm confused. Shouldn't this DAC be a bigger improvement of the Explorer? Of course, found the Explorer to be a marginal improvement driving headphones over just plugging them into my iPhone.
 
I believe that a good DAC is a good DAC, but still I can't help wanting more. Using STAX SR-009 with SRM-006TS amp so resolving capabilities should be no concern...

 

[dwest1023]

I do not think you will hear large difference between dacs. The differences I found have been very subtle. It really comes down to system matching and listening preferences.