Specifications

Bob Stuart answers Questions about the Meridian 598
Page 7
33 What are the Advanced Display options?
Advanced displays are available for CD and all DVD and are accessed from the 96 menu
(with the tray open, press ‘9’, ‘6’, ‘Enter’). The default setting is ‘Off’.
On DVD the second OSD bar substitutes a bitrate meter for the Repeat status icons. The
display shows the data rate on the disc in kbits-per-second.
On CD, this OSD display gives information about the state of the disc. When a disc is
damaged, has a manufacturing flaw or is ageing (in the case of CDR), then despite 598’s
advanced reading strategies, occasionally some data will be unrecoverable. In this case, 598
will use an advanced algorithm to interpolate data to provide a smooth presentation. The error
counter shows the number of bytes that were unrecoverable during the current playing
session. See Qs. 47 and 32.
What does the 598 play…?
34 Will the 598 play CD-R or DVD-R?
Yes. The drive’s optics allows optimal reading of CD-based, CD-R, DVD and DVD-R media.
35 Will the 598 play hybrid discs?
Yes. The drive allows optimal playback of the CD layer on a hybrid disc that cannot otherwise
be played. For example, 598 will play the CD layer of a hybrid SACD disc but it will play the
DVD-Audio layer of a hybrid DVD.
36 Will the 598 play DVD+ discs?
Yes. A DVD+ disc combines a regular CD on one side with a DVD layer on the other. Such
discs can be played as CDs or flipped to play as DVD. Since these discs are 1.6mm thick
(compared with 1.2mm for standard discs) not all players will accept them. 598 does.
37 Does it play DVD-Audio?
Absolutely! Meridian has been closely involved with the development of DVD-Audio and their
MLP (Meridian Lossless Packing) is not only the highest quality audio format known, it is
mandatory on DVD-Audio discs. DVD-Audio brings you the sound of the original master
recording in a fascinating array of options for surround, stereo, audio rates and often with very
useful video material.
We are delighted to be able to provide a player in the 500 Series that fully supports DVD-
Audio. Meridian’s 800 was the first high-end player and is the benchmark reference for DVD-
Audio playback. 598 inherits this pedigree.
38 Do I need the screen on to play DVD-Audio?
No. Many DVD-Audio discs have very interesting added-value materials such as menus,
playlists, artist biographies, photo gallery etc. Some also incorporate short sections of DVD-
Video (albeit with lower sound quality) so that you can enjoy interviews or a few songs with
moving pictures. Such added content is generally received with enthusiasm and can be very
useful to get to know more about the music and the disc. However, as with all music sources,
there are times when you just want to listen to the music and not bother with or be distracted
by video.
The DVD-Audio navigator in 598 has been deliberately organised so that you are able to just
pop a DVD-Audio disc in the tray and press ‘Play’. On the majority of discs this takes you
straight to the music. In the case of more recent releases (which tend to use some of the