Price Paid:  $21614.00 from Meridian

Summary:
Meridian 861 s/n 100803. Tested with: Pioneer DV747 DVD Player, Marantz CD17 KI Signature, 5 Marantz MA500 THX Mono Power amplifiers, ProAc Response 2.5 front, ProAc Response CCone center, ProAc Response One SC rear speakers, Rel Q100E subwoofer, Van den Hul First Ultimate and Inspiration cables, Kimber Reference Powerkord mains cables, Kimber Powerblock, etc. This Meridian 861 digital surround controller has been installed and set up in my home, customizing it to my system by Meridian Marketing Manager. This unit should be, in theory, a truly reference to any home cinema system but I really cannot use it due its awful noise.

Strengths:
Trifield is the best DSP mode I have found in the few minutes I could have used this strong beast machine

Weaknesses:
Very high level and wide band noise produced by simply opening the DVD player tray. The same noise has been gotten with other DVD players. Saturation of input signal with analoque source like tuner

Price Paid:  $21000.00 from Meridian

Summary:
Meridian 861 s/n 100843. This unit is part of the following system: - Pioneer 747 DVD Universal Player - 5 Musical Fidelity M250 mono power amps - ProAc Response 3.8 front speakers - ProAc Response CC2 center speaker - ProAc Response 2.5 rear speakers - Rel Stadium III subwoofer - Van den Hul First Ultimate interconnect cable. - Van den Hul Inspiration speaker cable - LAT AC-2 mains cables, etc The system above should be a reference music and cinema system. As a reference heart of a digital theatre system, Meridian 861 seemed to me a very good machine until it turned off by itself in unpredictable way. After turning off, this machine was blocked. Once it turns on again the sound had been lost. This failures on its basic functions can be repeated in any uncertain moment.

Strengths:
When the machine works normally, all can be a strengt. But, unfortunately, this Meridian 861 unit works without failure very litle time.

Weaknesses:
This Meridian 861 unit: - Turn off and on by itself at any moment, without any AC mains cut or electrical disturbance - All unit botoms are locked and unavailable for use - Being bottoms blocked, the sound disappear and the unit seems dead.

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
simply the best processor money can buy worth every penny

Strengths:
sounds great

Weaknesses:
none

Similar Products Used:
had onkyo 989v2

Price Paid:  $9000.00

Summary:
It is the most expensive piece of hi-fi that I have ever purchased but I feel like it is a lifetime investment. This is the type of kit that you will have till the end of time. The modular architecture of the system means that it theoretically can be upgraded well into the future. I for one will want to keep it till I retire - and then would want to hand it down as an inheritance to my children. Since is it designed around a passive backpane with removable cards for inputs, outputs and processing power, it can be upgraded and upgraded. Now, that's now something you can't do with most other hardware.
I have it connected up to two DSP5000 24/96's, a DSP500C 24/96 with two Acoustic Energy AE1's for rears being powered by a Meridian 556 power amp.
It continues to amaze me - how clear and realistic the sounds can be from this combination - and with Trifield - well most of my friends are astonished.
If you have ever been to a hi-fi show and listened to top end gear and then gone home, put your own hi-fi on and been dissapointed then buy one of these and say goodbye to post hi-fi show blues.
At the last hi-fi show, I heard some pretty expensive kit such as Wilson Bensch, Naim etc. But, when I got home and turned on the Hi-Fi, well, I was grinning from ear to ear.
If you want to invest in a product that will stay with you for you entire audio "career" and you are fed up with a continual cycle of upgrades and system changes, then I would highly recommend you audition one of these babies. However, make sure you have a portable PC available too. If you don't then the configuration of this beast would be most difficult indeed!

Strengths:
Amazing flexibiliy, Great upgradabiliy, Wonderful sound (see Stereophile ratings!) and fantastic pedigree.

Weaknesses:
Without your own personal computer, it would be really difficult to set up correctly

Summary:
I think the others here have said it very well. I can detect a slight improvement with upsampling. I like the modular approach and the fact that it can be software upgraded. When comparing to the Lexicon MC-1 I was very surprised at how much better the 861 sounded, not just with music but also on any surround sound (DD,DTS,DPL). As a matter of fact, their DD sounds so good, its easy to get it confused with DTS! The price is expensive, but as the others have said, it is well worth it.

Strengths:
Fantastic sound. Amazing flexibility.

Weaknesses:
Remote is clunky. Setup is a little confusing, especially bass management. Instructions arent the greatest.

Similar Products Used:
Lexicon MC-1