[tyrion]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrarroyo Yes it was a lot of fun and if further enphasized how little I know of this hobby. Time to learn (learn = spend $$$ )

We will be glad to help you spend your money any way we can.

I am sure you have heard this before, but just in case. Welcome to Headfi, sorry about your wallet!

 

[tyrion]

I've been spending some time this morning comparing the Meridian and Berendsen. There is no question in my mind that the Berendsen portrays a better seperation of the instruments. The bass sounds more focused to my ears. The comparison is done through speakers, same interconnects and power cords using the Quintete box by fidaudio (great product). This is the same finding I made during a session at Let There Be Sound using his System Audio SA1530 floor standers.

 

[Guss2]

Wow looks like you had a kick ass mini yesterday guys,wish I could have been there to meet the new guys and choke down some Dogfish Heads.Gary.

 

[tyrion]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Guss2 Wow looks like you had a kick ass mini yesterday guys,wish I could have been there to meet the new guys and choke down some Dogfish Heads.Gary.

I had some Dogfish Head 60 minute in the house but John and I decided to go light with the Flying Dog Tire Bite.

 

[Guss2]

I'll have to give those a try Mike.By the way,next time beers are on me.Gary.

 

[jp11801]

I forgot to thank Todd our gracious sponsor for the Meridian loaner. It was a really class move to let a $4k CDP travel around the country for evals. This along with his other loaner programs is an awesome move. Thanks!!

 

[raaj]

First off, kudos to Mike for hosting yet another li'l bitty mini meet in his house, and for making it fun. And of course, thanks to Todd's big heart, we had the chance to compare a couple of awesome sources head to head. I have always had a soft corner for the Meridian's sound, as I find that the music sounds much more "organic" and "euphonic" on the Meridians compared to the other sources I've heard over the past couple of years, and I rate the Meridian 508 and the Sony SCD-1 to be the absolute cream of the crop of audiophile sources.

Though the head-to-head comparison of the Meridian G08, the Berendsen, and the Eastsound sources was not the most scientifically sound evaluation of the capabilities of the respective sources, and all prejudices considered, I've found that I liked the sound of the Meridian the most, followed by the Eastsound and then the Berendsen. But, when not comparing the three sources straight up, I would say that all the three sources were very very good and were true audiophile class.

The Meridian and the Eastsound sounded close to each other, with the Meridian having a more fuller sound, particularly in the lower octaves, and the vocals having more "body". The Berendsen sounded more analytical and highly resolving, with a more forward sound and a higher emphasis on the upper midrange and high frequencies. I would compare the Meridian G08 to a Senn HD650, the Eastsound to a Senn HD600, and the Berendsen to an Ety ER-4 or a Sony CD3K.

I also listened to Matt's Cary CD player with an MPX3 powering the Senn HD650 w/ Zu cable (I don't remember the make of tubes and the interconnects), and compared to an AKG K501 out of the same setup playing the same tracks, for the first time, I felt like I heard the proverbial "Sennheiser veil effect".

May be it was a bad synergy between the components involved.

Overall, I enjoyed this meet very much, and I look forward to the November meet in Tampa/Melbourne. I came back from the meet, packed my bags, and flew off to Raleigh, NC, for a week long project. Time to go to bed.. TA !!