La Mitchell
I've been following this thread for a little while. I have most certainly enjoyed your enthusiasm for the Meridian Director. In fact, I would say Meridian owes you a cut of their profit
I too have been keen to see a comparison between the Director and one of the more "trusted", mainstream, I would almost say "truthful" DAC products, such as the Schiit Bifrost. But when I sit down to make such a comparison, I find it very difficult indeed. And who exactly is to say what is more "truthful".
When I first listened to my Schiit Bifrost, I could definitely tell that I was hearing something new, an upgrade over previous DAC implementations I had heard. Through the new DAC, I heard more textures and details, extra ringing in a note, extra vibrato in a singer's voice. The sounds that were there became that much more realistic and present. I sat and I listened to it for hours, gulping down entire albums when I would normally just listen to a track or two. It was good stuff. I'm certain it still is good stuff.
On the one hand, I now have the lush, supple, suspended in the midair, almost as if the speakers weren't there sound of the Meridian Director. I'm accustomed to turning up my speakers to the point where they begin to sound harsh, but I'm not feeling that same sensation from the Director. I was just now listening to a Cello performance by Yo Yo Ma (not with headphones as yet, still in my speaker system) and the bass movement of air was unreal. It was not until the song stopped that I was actually certain the low frequency sounds were from the song and not some machine running outside.
I read once a suggestion that the best DAC is the one that would win in the following game. You take the original sound and record it to digital, using an ADC. Then you run it through a DAC to convert it to analog. Image you do this looping several times. The DAC that produces the most unchanged sound at the end of the looping is supposedly the right DAC.
But I think the Meridian takes a different approach. They seem to process the sound in a way that makes it easier for the listener to hear. In direct comparison with say the Bifrost, perhaps the highs aren't as shimmery. Perhaps the bass is a little more full. Perhaps it is not the bit-for-bit accurate sound that everyone strives for due to the Meridian processing algorithms, but I really like the sound. I want to put my ears right up next to it. I want to go back and play every album that I had trouble listening to before, to be that much more engaged in the music.
As far as a direct comparison with other DAC, I'm not sure I'm up to it. As far as enjoyment of the sound, this is definitely it!
