Meridian America CD Player 800 Version 4 User Manual

800 Version 4  
Reference Optical Disc Player  
The 800 optical disc player from  
Meridian has received equally high  
praise for the unparalleled quality of  
its video as it has for its world-beating  
audio performance.  
For over 20 years, Meridian has created  
superior optical disc players that have  
delivered better and better sound quality  
with each successive generation, keeping  
step with continually improving digital  
recording and disc mastering techniques.  
World-beating performance  
with all PCM-based optical disc  
media  
Superb image and sound quality  
that places the 800 in a class of  
its own  
The new 800 Version 4 takes this  
critically-acclaimed player still further,  
with support for HDMI and video inputs.  
Important milestones were the identification  
and near-eradication of player design  
problems including jitter, mechanical  
feedback, servo instability, playability,  
converter linearity and interface design,  
along with support for DVD-Audio.  
In addition, the 800 Version 4 can be  
configured with the new MConfig  
application which includes step-by-  
step configuration and graphic system  
design.  
Includes HDMI output card for  
the latest digital displays  
Bob Stuart, Meridian’s chief designer, was  
heavily involved in the evolution of audio  
formats for DVD – resulting in MLP (Meridian  
Lossless Packing) being selected as the  
definitive coding system for the DVD-Audio  
format. It should therefore be no surprise  
that Meridian’s design team has brought the  
full benefit of their experience to the 800  
Series Version 4.  
Multiple analogue video inputs  
for selection and scaling within  
the 800  
Two standard variants are available:  
the 800D with digital outputs and the  
800DAX, which adds balanced and  
unbalanced analogue outputs.  
Video converted to common  
format for single display output  
The 800 Version 4 is available new in  
traditional Meridian black lacquer or a  
sleek new silver finish, with the latest  
MSR+ infra-red learning/programmable  
remote, and existing Version 3 players  
can be upgraded to Version 4.  
Supports MConfig Windows  
graphical configuration tool  
Meridian also brought important  
psychoacoustic and psychovisual insights to  
the design of the 800. As a result the 800  
Version 4 Reference Optical Disc Player is  
able to offer sound and picture quality that is  
second to none.  
Latham Road, Huntingdon PE29 6YE, United Kingdom • T +44 (0)1480 445678 F +44 (0)1480 445686 • www.meridian-audio.com  
Meridian America Inc 8055 Troon Circle Suite C, Austell, Atlanta GA 30168-7849, USA • T +1 404 344 7111 F +1 404 346 7111  
 
800 Version 4  
Reference Optical Disc Player  
The press on Meridian’s 800  
“…The Meridian 800 is a true reference-  
quality product, offering not only first-rate  
CD sound, but also state-of-the-art DVD-  
Audio playback. …lesser players simply  
don’t have the resolution, timbral accuracy,  
or dynamics. Further adding to the 800’s  
attraction is the ability to configure the  
machine for your system. It’s an outstand-  
ing DVD player, too. What we call a good  
conclusion.”  
Rear panel of the 800v4DAX version  
The Absolute Sound, January 2004  
Crystal-clear Image Quality  
The pictures on DVD Video are stored using  
a high-quality compression system called  
MPEG2. MPEG2 has a flexible data rate,  
allowing more data to be used for some  
scenes than others. Complex motions and  
textures can be conveyed accurately without  
using an unnecessarily high data rate on  
simpler material. Consequently, the encoders  
(that make MPEG2 streams from the original  
film) have improved in quality continually  
over the years – a situation somewhat  
analogous to CD, where recording  
that digital chain to the creation of the image  
itself. Other cards deliver broadcast-standard  
video encoding, providing NTSC and PAL,  
while video conversion and amplification  
of the highest studio quality provide RGB,  
Component, S and Composite formats.  
DVD has never sounded this good  
before. The soundfield is enormous, the  
power and control awesome…the 800’s  
combination of world-leading technology,  
flexibility and killer performance makes it  
the best DVD-A player we’ve heard by a  
long way.”  
DVD-Audio  
DVD-Audio is the latest feature of the  
DVD specification, and it is one with which  
Meridian was deeply involved. It is a fact  
that DVD-Audio offers the highest audio  
quality available on disc today. At its heart is  
Advanced Resolution 24-bit PCM technology  
– a super-quality version of the same digital  
techniques employed in the immensely  
successful Compact Disc, but offering a  
dynamic range of 144dB all the way across  
the frequency range. And with sample rates  
of 96kHz in 6-channel surround and 192kHz  
in stereo, that range is immense – extending  
up to 100kHz and without the filtering  
required by other, incompatible disc formats.  
Digital Home, September 2003  
“…the Meridian 800 is as good as it gets  
for DVD-Video playback…the internal  
parts, quality and video DAC design… sep-  
arate the 800 from the rest of the high-end  
AV market. For movies, CD and DVD-Audio  
you cannot do better than the Meridian  
800. When you are designing your dream  
system… be sure to add the Meridian 800  
as your main source component. …the 800  
is good enough for its own category.”  
AudioRevolution.com  
equipment has steadily improved.  
Because the picture is stored as digital  
video, it has some remarkable qualities  
– including high bandwidth, low noise, very  
low frame and line jitter and the potential  
for deeply saturated colours. To recover this  
quality requires a superb MPEG decoder  
and immaculate care in de-jittering and  
processing the resulting video.  
“Overall, the 800 is perhaps the finest CD  
player I’ve ever laid ears on.… In the past  
I’ve been lucky enough to be in close prox-  
imity to top class orchestras banging out  
the best music, and at times this [800/861]  
combination with DVD-Audio discs honestly  
brought me closest to the experience than  
any other hi-fi system I’ve encountered. And  
that is no mean feat. Takes audio to another  
level…. Without doubt the finest optical  
disc playing system we’ve encountered.  
Smooth and cohesive, it plays anything you  
chuck at it with ultimate finesse.  
The 800 offers a number of video output  
options. The standard VE12 output card  
delivers HDMI digital signals and progressive  
component analogue video. Meridian  
These characteristics give DVD-Audio the  
most extensive coding space of any current  
disc format. In addition, DVD-Audio discs  
can include images, videos, text and even  
downloadable AAC-encoded music files for  
your personal stereo.  
successfully pioneered audio systems in  
which the signal remains in the digital  
domain from the source, through a Digital  
Surround Processor, to DSP Loudspeakers.  
The Meridian 800 Reference Optical Disc  
Player follows this example by maintaining  
the video information in the digital domain  
until the last minute – and now that displays  
are available with digital inputs, the VE12  
video output card supports them, extending  
Needless to say, the 800 handles DVD-Audio  
superbly, bringing out every subtle nuance  
in DVD-A recordings. As the originators of  
MLP, the core technology of the DVD-Audio  
format, it’s true to say that nobody does it  
better.  
HiFi World, December 2002  
“Staggeringly sophisticated, totally flexible,  
and astonishingly accomplished, both in  
terms of sound and vision. The very best  
there is…”  
What Hi-Fi, February 2001  
I found that the Meridian… was  
clearly superior… not just to my reference  
components, but to any other CD front ends  
that I’ve auditioned or reviewed.… The  
performance of Meridian’s 800/861 with  
CDs is superior to the performance you get  
with the great majority of SACDs and DVD-  
As through any player.”  
Absolute Sound, December 2003  
Meridian’s MConfig graphic utility allows the 800 Version 4 to be set up from a computer screen.  
 
800 Version 4  
Reference Optical Disc Player  
The architecture of the 800 ensures that  
all functional parts of the machine can  
be upgraded, improved, added to or  
interchanged, within reason. In this way  
we set up not only the best opportunity to  
stay ahead of changing technology, but we  
retain the maximum flexibility to improve  
performance through future changes to  
software or hardware. This architecture  
allows our customers to enjoy and invest in  
the best audio/video systems now.  
a display via a single interconnect, the 800  
providing video switching and scaling of  
internal and external video signals.  
800 Version 4 also includes the VE00 card  
providing interlaced and NTSC/PAL-encoded  
outputs, and supports analogue video input/  
switching cards designed originally for the  
861. Controls provide adjustment of aspect  
ratio, picture position (progressive only),  
brightness & contrast, and NTSC hue.  
The VI00 provides two composite, two S-  
Video and one interlaced component video  
input, and allows analogue video sources  
to be converted to the common broadcast  
resolution standard digital video format that  
is used internally in the 800.  
Full details of the cards installed in the  
two standard versions of the 800 can be  
found on Page 2 of this document. Note  
that these versions are not upgradeable  
on an individual card basis. If this is what  
you need, special configurations can be  
created to order, and Version 3 units can be  
upgraded in many cases: contact your dealer  
or installer, or Meridian Audio to discuss your  
requirements.  
The VE12 provides HDMI output for  
Set-up and adjustments can be made via  
the OSD or by using MConfig, the latest  
computer-based configuration system from  
Meridian. This Windows application also  
supports the 861 with Meridian Room  
Correction. MConfig includes a graphic  
system definition tool (see illustration  
on previous page) which enables a  
compatible displays, and automatically  
handshakes with the display to determine the  
highest quality signal that can be provided by  
the player. The card also provides analogue  
progressive component video out.  
comprehensive system architecture to be  
built up on-screen and then uploaded to  
the unit(s) concerned. All the decoding  
algorithms are in video and audio DSP, so the  
800 can be re-programmed in the future to  
improve or extend its capabilities. Software  
updates are available on Meridian’s website.  
800 Version 4  
Version 4 is the latest incarnation of the  
800 Optical Disc Player, which combines  
new software with a modified ‘core’ card  
complement offering a significant increase in  
the quality and flexibility of the system.  
The new VI00 Video Input card is included  
along with the recently-released VE12  
HDMI/Progressive Component output card.  
These enable the 800 to be interfaced with  
Outline Specification  
Audio DSP
:  
800 uses Meridian’s proprietary DSP software to provide  
on-board decoding for DTS, Dolby Digital and MPEG  
Audio, error correction, resolution enhancement, up and  
down-sampling and high-resolution digital gain control.  
Formats
:  
DVD-Video, DVD-Audio, CD Audio (Red Book)  
CD Video (White Book), MP3  
Drives
:  
Supplied with 1 x ATAPI 2 DVD ROM drive. A second  
drive bay is included for future expansion.  
Video in and out
:  
Selectable inputs for 2 composite and 2 S-video in NTSC  
or PAL format signals, plus component in. Outputs scaled  
and available simultaneously as composite, S-video,  
component, HDMI or RGB.  
Audio outputs:  
Independent copy and 2room+ capabilities where second  
room can receive raw or decoded audio streams.  
6-channel main and 2-channel auxiliary 24-bit, 96 kHz  
S/PDIF digital outputs with MHR  
Video DSP
:  
Software-based video decoding for MPEG1 and MPEG2  
video. Digital video backplane allows options for future  
video processing enhancements.  
Option for simultaneous digital outputs at different  
sample rates from DVD and CD  
Controls, etc:  
Front-panel fascia controls for Play, Stop, Pause, Previous,  
Next and Off. Hinged control panel provides additional  
switches for Drive switching, Source, Copy, DVD menus,  
Display, Mute, Volume  
Option for simultaneous output of Dolby Digital com-  
pressed stream for a decoder (like 861) and a decoded  
version for a second zone.  
Display:  
20-character dot matrix display with adjustable bright-  
ness and contrast. Lights for CD, DVD, MLP, Drive A/B  
and Repeat.  
Optional 2 + 4 channel analogue outputs on both phono  
and XLR (balanced) with 24-bit, 192 kHz converters  
(800DAX version).  
Information contained in this data sheet is correct as far as possible, but Meridian Audio accepts no liability for errors or omissions. Meridian Audio reserves the right to amend  
product specifications at any time. Third-party trademarks are recognized as the property of their respective owners. Further technical details, images, product reviews and  
800V4 v2.6 • 04022005 RE  
 

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