Specifications

Bob Stuart answers Questions about the Meridian 800 V3
Page 8
39 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 that this new 800 fully supports DVD-Audio. 800 is both the first high-end
player and a reference for DVD-Audio.
40 Does it play DAD?
DAD (Digital Audio Disc) and SAD are actually DVD-Video discs that have 96kHz 2-channel
audio streams.
The 800 plays them very well!
41 Does the 800 play DTS DVDs?
Yes. 800 can decode DTS from DVD and it can provide multichannel or 2-channel outputs.
The 800 can also be configured to provide the DTS bitstream on its digital outputs for feeding
an outboard decoder like a Meridian 861, 568.2, 561 or 565. See Q. 51.
42 Does the 800 play DTS CDs?
CDs encoded with DTS are non-standard red-book discs. The 800 detects these discs and
provides the DTS stream on the digital output. Currently the 800 does not decode DTS from
CD, so if you play one of these discs the analogue outputs will be silent. To hear these discs
you will need an outboard decoder like a Meridian 861, 568.2, 561 or 565.
43 Can 800 play LP?
Obviously you can’t fit an LP into the drive! However, by fitting a phono input card, you can
connect a turntable to the 800 and get fantastic performance.
44 Will it decode HDCD?
No, but HDCDs are CD-compatible and will play back just fine.
45 Does it put out MPEG digital streams?
Normally 800 decodes all MPEG audio streams internally and puts them out as PCM.
However there is a configuration option that allows 800 to pass an MPEG bitstream to a
downstream decoder like 861 or 568.
46 Will it play SACD?
Not the high density DSD layer. Of course 800 plays the CD layer of hybrid discs.
800 has been carefully designed to provide absolute state-of-the-art playback and media
handling for all mainstream formats that use PCM coding.
SACD is different as it employs DSD – an analogue-like bitstream lossy coding. Whilst there
are some so-called universal players available, in the high end we try to maximise each and
every source. There are no immediate plans to offer support for SACD in 800 and we suspect
no really high-performance player will optimise CD, DVD and SACD for some time.
As new formats appear, Meridian will continually assess both their viability and their
importance to our customers. In principle the flexible architecture of the 800 allows us to
consider upgrading to any future format that can use a standard drive bay as can be seen