Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
Simply put, the Meridian 588 is magic. I have heard things on existing CD I have
never heard before,
It has dynamics and rhythm which brings music to life, with a lot of air.
Open, totally, natural, non-fatiguing sound. Wide and deep sound stage,
not aggravating in any way
The mids are still velvety smooth while not losing the warmth in the mids.the Dynamics
and detail are as good as it gets,. Clear, fast, non-fatiguing sound
The player sounds very smooth, but can surprise with dynamics and also macro dynamics,
imaging is precise, close your eyes and listen to a good recording and the
music in right in front of you three dimensionally, truly amazing and worth every penny


Strengths:
Open, Wide and Deep Sound Stage, Clear, Fast and non fatiguing, Great Dynamics and
pin point imaging and the rhythm brings music to life

Weaknesses:
None

Equipment:
Proceed Amp, Cary Preamp, Rega P5 Turntable, Benz Glider tt psu power,
B&W 805 Nautilus speakers, to many cables, power cords and interconnects to list.

teemacs

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
4.00 of 5, 2.00 votes

Price Paid:  $1600.00

Summary:
Bought second-hand from an acquaintance. Excellent machine. Sound-wise, no better or no worse than others (but as good as a Wadia 16 against which I compared it). I expect to keep it for a long time.

Strengths:
Small and neat and very classy-looking
Makes a very agreeable noise

Weaknesses:
Longish disc-loading time
Hate the remote control
Poor fast forward mechanism

Similar Products Used:
Linn Mimik
Marantz CD-63II KI Sig

Bigaloe

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 3.00 votes

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
Superb cd player,have had no problems or glitches in nearly three years use.It will play any of my cd's,even one with tiny pinholes in the silver coating,that other players reject. It is a very musical machine that doesn't draw attention to itself,it just gets out of the way,while you immerse yourself in the music.Unfatiguing,even after long listening sessions,unless the recording is of a poor/harsh nature,but most cds,even early ones are satisfying. When buying the player,I didn't have loads of time to audition all the competition,and also spending this amount (2,100 gbp) on a cd player to hopefully go the distance,i wanted the reassurance of dealing with an established company,should any problems arise. All in all,I'm very happy with this cdp.

Strengths:
Sound,open and airy.You just know you wont get better,unless you spend thousands more. Small size,easily accomodated in rack. Well built and heavy for its size. Nice remote,works well from most angles.

Weaknesses:
None really.Mind you,it makes you wonder what the new model,the G08 with upsampling sounds like!

Price Paid:  $2300.00 from Audiogon

Summary:
I sold my BAT VK-D5 24 bit with Amperex tubes ($6K) in favour of this machine. Incredible detail retrieval and top to bottom balance without being analytical. Smooth, warm and inviting midrange without being bloated. In comparison to Linn's Ikemi, which is close to the Meridian, I found the 588 more inviting and organic. Both machines do sound more like analogue then do most cd players. I measured the 588's frequency output using Stereophile's test cd and it is basically flat except for a couple of 1.5 db peaks in the mid bass. My BAT had up to 4 db peaks in the midbass and treble region which I believe is why the treble seemed to jump out unnaturally. The retrieval of low level details is better than anything that I have ever heard and blows BAT and Theta away without sounding etched or analytical. Music simply flows from my speakers without any frequency range drawing attention to itself. I find that I drift off into the music, as I do with LPs, instead of hearing BAT's treble or Theta's bass as I did in the past. The soundstage size and precision is on par with other top end machines and I notice that when I stand up I don't lose the sweet spot as badly as with the BAT. The 588 also passes the out-of-room test with honours. It sounds very close to live music when listening out of the room. Try this with your system. Put on music with piano, drums and/or brass, turn up the volume and then leave the room. If it sounds real then you have a pretty good system. Yesterday the Purolator Man at my front door, hearing Harry Connick Jr.playing in the other room, asked if one of my children was practicing piano. The question caught me dead in my tracks so before answering him I listened and it really did sound like a live instrument. Although $3895 is not cheap for a cdp, the 588 seems like a bargain when compared to the $6000 BAT and megabuck Theta. The only area where these machines are on par (or maybe have a slight edge) is in the leading edge attack of the bass which has an ever so slightly better snap. If you want a machine that honours the music rather than sounding like artificial hi-fi then do yourself a favour and audition the Meridian 588.

Strengths:
Balanced and detailed while being very analogue sounding. Price vs. competition.

Weaknesses:
Very slight softness in the bass compared to machines costing thousands more.

Similar Products Used:
BAT VK-D5 24 bit, Theta Gen V, Linn Ikemi.

Price Paid:  $0.00 from Doug Brady's

Summary:
Thought I'd do a follow up review,as I've had the player for over 6 months now. The 588 has performed faultlessly and given many hours of musical enjoyment,on many different types of music. A very neutral sounding player,it just lets you hear whats on the disc,I really feel this player is that good,that the only limiting factor now is the quality of the recording itself,the cd medium has been exploited to the full. All the hifi strengths are there,soundstage,imaging,timing,slam,etc.Violins sound like real wooden instruments,what constantly amazes me is the variety of different sounds from snare drums,even on the same album,the 588 captures all the many timbres of instruments,and throws them out across a convincing soundstage.I can't imagine cd replay getting better than this. Have been spending more money on the rest of my kit as a result! System now: Meridian 588 cd Michell gyrodeck with VC power supply Rega RB300 arm with Ortofon MC25fl cartridge Chord cpa 2200 pre amp Chord spm 600 power amp Trichord Dino phono amp Trichord Dino + power supply for phono amp Chord co odyssey biwire speaker cables B&W Nautilus 803 speakers

Strengths:
Imaging,depth,slam,dynamics,etc.

Weaknesses:
None really