Video Asylum

Posted by chris e. (A) on July 08, 2005 at 21:16:59

In Reply to: A musical pre/pro? posted by Whell on July 1, 2005 at 05:57:57:

Get the Meridian 565/562v combination and get the updated eprom chip. I have this combo for my second HT and despite the units being nearly 10 years old, they provide incredible musicality and HT performance. The downside is that they don't have component video switching (just composite and s-video) so if you need this, then try something else. The point is that you can get a used set on agon for a pittance and the performance is far beyond Lexicon, Krell, etc. on music AND Meridian supports even this old equipment (I recently had a problem with my 565 and I sent it to Meridian -- not only did they fix it and update the eprom, but they returned it to me first class shipping and didn't charge me ANYTHING).

If the component switching is an issue (it isn't for me because I run my dvd player directly into my Sharp DLP projector), then you'll need a more pricey and modern Meridian unit.

Another possibility is the Rotel 1068 -- reasonably priced and it has the component switching. I'm using one of these for a bedroom unit and it is very nice although the music on the Meridian does edge out the Rotel (not by a long distance).