Meridian Director USB DAC
Clipdat
Posts: 7,298
in Electronics
I just ordered the Meridian Director USB DAC, for use on my PC audio setup. I required something that was physically small, and preferably USB powered.
Up to 24-bit, 192kHz digital to analogue conversion.
-Meridian Resolution Enhancement technologies
including upsampling and apodising filters.
-16–24 bit 44.1/48kHz inputs upsampled to 24-bit,
88.2/96kHz.
-Takes digital audio from USB, Optical and Coax S/
PDIF.
-Durable, elegant anodised metal enclosure.
-Separate crystal oscillators for 44.1Hz and 48kHz-
based sample rates for minimal jitter and improved
performance.
-Music grade power supply capacitors.
-Direct-coupled, fixed output for connection to an
audio system or powered loudspeakers.
-4-layer PC board minimises noise and improves
performance.
Up to 24-bit, 192kHz digital to analogue conversion.
-Meridian Resolution Enhancement technologies
including upsampling and apodising filters.
-16–24 bit 44.1/48kHz inputs upsampled to 24-bit,
88.2/96kHz.
-Takes digital audio from USB, Optical and Coax S/
PDIF.
-Durable, elegant anodised metal enclosure.
-Separate crystal oscillators for 44.1Hz and 48kHz-
based sample rates for minimal jitter and improved
performance.
-Music grade power supply capacitors.
-Direct-coupled, fixed output for connection to an
audio system or powered loudspeakers.
-4-layer PC board minimises noise and improves
performance.
"Electronic music is human sound adapting to indulge technology, and for some, it feels like the signature sound of energy. New and abstract sounds over hypnotic rhythms can conjure vast soundscapes for escape, pleasure, and transcendence."
Comments
I expected comments of "Why no DSD!? Why no MQA!?" by now. You guys are letting me down!
So, the Meridian Director fit my bizarre aesthetic and needs. It's discontinued so they're selling them for $350. I think they originally went for $700 years ago.
There we go! That's more like it!
Fit and finish of the packaging and the unit itself are top notch. Nice unboxing experience. Great quality RCA jacks. Unit has a pleasing brushed metal texture to it. Feels like "quality".
Also noticed that it's actually made in England, not China! Interesting!
Initial listening impressions on the few tracks I've tried so far:
1.) More extension and clarity in the treble. I thought these Polk Audio Blackstone TL3 speakers were a little laid back on the high end due to the ring radiator. This has brightened them up, which isn't a bad thing, in my opinion. I may have just gotten lucky on synergy here, because it added in a brightness that I had with my previous Klipsch satellites.
I tend to prefer something a little bright for nearfield listening, just my personal preference. It's very possible that this is just the fact that it has zero hours on it, and may mellow out over time.
2.) Increased vertical soundstaging and sweet spot. My motherboard's onboard sound (122db s/n ratio, Japanese audio caps, etc) presented a decent stereo image, but the additional height from the Meridian Direct is one of the first things I noticed.
3.) Increased bass slam. Didn't touch my subwoofer gain knob, but I'm noticing more impact in the bass.
That's it for now, will post more listening impressions in the future!
Not my pic:
Say it ain't so...Joe?
When listening, I was experiencing a sensation in the sound, specifically the highs, that I can only describe as some sort of "phase shift". It wasn't pleasurable to me, and I felt like it was fatiguing to my ears.
I kept trying to figure out why it sounded like the staging of the upper midrange and highs was shifted up and out from where it was on the previous DAC.
I wasn't sure if this was due to the "apodizing filter" or the upsampling in this unit. I did a quick search for "apodizing filter" and found this post: https://mrapodizer.wordpress.com/2011/08/16/technical-analysis-of-the-meridian-apodizing-filter/
It's especially poignant, and almost exactly describes the sensation that I get when I listen with this DAC:
"The difference between the old and new filters is clearly not in the amplitude response, but in the phase behavior: the old filter is linear to 22kHz, but the new filter has a gradually increasing phase shift that increases with the frequency. This is caused by the minimal phase behavior of the filter. Although the resolution of the picture is not high enough to see, the phase shift starts already from the lowest frequency and increases more as the frequency goes up (logarithmic).
So the absence of the pre-echo comes at the cost of an increasing phase shift across the entire frequency range. People may argue that the shift is only small, and this may be good enough for normal audio applications, but for high-end it seems a serious issue. For one the human brain uses phase information of frequencies up to 3kHz for spacial localization. The inner ear itself has an amplification around 3kHz, which makes the ear most sensitive in the 2 to 5 kHz range (for human speech). And the most important one, instruments and voices are not just limited to a single frequency, they operate on a range. For instance drums even operate on the entire range from low to high. Every frequency component of the sound will get a different shift in time with this filter, it is like smearing the sound over the frequency range, with lows first and highs last. This might also explain why the lows are more pronounced."
If this is accurate in terms of the filter that Meridian is using, then perhaps this isn't the DAC for me. I did not like the sensation that I felt in my ears while listening! Interestingly, I asked my wife what she thought of the sound and she had nothing but positive things to say. She liked it very much and thought it sounded great.
Guess I'm just more sensitive to this particular aural sensation.
https://mrapodizer.wordpress.com/2011/08/14/meridian-apodizing-filter-a-review/
"My own experience with the apodizing filter: the advantages are pretty clear from the start, pin point imaging and spacious at the same time. Unfortunately I also noticed some disadvantages. The main problem is that I got a feeling of pressure on my ears which made listening uncomfortable. Also I found the sound to be dull or boring, and I ended up playing 6dB louder than I am used to. I suspect the pressure on my ears killed the highs, so I compensated for that. Another remarkable issue was that the sound was not natural when being not in the sweet spot, for instance when I was just walking through the room. A final remark is that I found the bass to be pronounced too much, this also adds to the unnatural feeling the filter gives."
Office: PC, EAR Acute CD Player, EAR 834L Pre, PASS ACA Monoblocks, Denon UDR-F10 Cassette, Acoustic Technologies Classic FR Speakers, SVS SB12 Plus sub, MIT AVt2 speaker cables, IFI Purifier2, AQ Cinnamon USB cable, Groneberg Quatro Reference IC's
Spare Room: , Antique Sound Labs Wave AV-8 Monoblocks, Tisbury Mini Passive Pre, Tjoeb 99 tube CD player (modified Marantz CD-38), Analysis Plus Oval 9's, Zu Jumpers, AudioEngine B1 Streamer, Klipsch RB-61 v2, SVS PB1000 sub, Blue Jeans RCA IC's
Living Room: Peachtree Nova Integrated, Cambridge CXN v2 Streamer, Furman 15PFi Power Conditioner, Polk RT265 In Wall Speakers, Polk DSW Pro 660wi sub
I'm listening again right now so I'll see if it happens again.
While the soundstage width and height shrunk, and the music sounded more localized to the actual speakers, I'm not getting that strange pressure sensation in my ears.
It's easier for me to listen to again - much more enjoyable.
Well, that was a quick audition, the Meridian will be getting returned.
Office: PC, EAR Acute CD Player, EAR 834L Pre, PASS ACA Monoblocks, Denon UDR-F10 Cassette, Acoustic Technologies Classic FR Speakers, SVS SB12 Plus sub, MIT AVt2 speaker cables, IFI Purifier2, AQ Cinnamon USB cable, Groneberg Quatro Reference IC's
Spare Room: , Antique Sound Labs Wave AV-8 Monoblocks, Tisbury Mini Passive Pre, Tjoeb 99 tube CD player (modified Marantz CD-38), Analysis Plus Oval 9's, Zu Jumpers, AudioEngine B1 Streamer, Klipsch RB-61 v2, SVS PB1000 sub, Blue Jeans RCA IC's
Living Room: Peachtree Nova Integrated, Cambridge CXN v2 Streamer, Furman 15PFi Power Conditioner, Polk RT265 In Wall Speakers, Polk DSW Pro 660wi sub
If anything, this experience has helped solidify the characteristics in a piece of gear that sound "good" to me.
What DAC are you using now on your computer rig?
Office: PC, EAR Acute CD Player, EAR 834L Pre, PASS ACA Monoblocks, Denon UDR-F10 Cassette, Acoustic Technologies Classic FR Speakers, SVS SB12 Plus sub, MIT AVt2 speaker cables, IFI Purifier2, AQ Cinnamon USB cable, Groneberg Quatro Reference IC's
Spare Room: , Antique Sound Labs Wave AV-8 Monoblocks, Tisbury Mini Passive Pre, Tjoeb 99 tube CD player (modified Marantz CD-38), Analysis Plus Oval 9's, Zu Jumpers, AudioEngine B1 Streamer, Klipsch RB-61 v2, SVS PB1000 sub, Blue Jeans RCA IC's
Living Room: Peachtree Nova Integrated, Cambridge CXN v2 Streamer, Furman 15PFi Power Conditioner, Polk RT265 In Wall Speakers, Polk DSW Pro 660wi sub
Office: PC, EAR Acute CD Player, EAR 834L Pre, PASS ACA Monoblocks, Denon UDR-F10 Cassette, Acoustic Technologies Classic FR Speakers, SVS SB12 Plus sub, MIT AVt2 speaker cables, IFI Purifier2, AQ Cinnamon USB cable, Groneberg Quatro Reference IC's
Spare Room: , Antique Sound Labs Wave AV-8 Monoblocks, Tisbury Mini Passive Pre, Tjoeb 99 tube CD player (modified Marantz CD-38), Analysis Plus Oval 9's, Zu Jumpers, AudioEngine B1 Streamer, Klipsch RB-61 v2, SVS PB1000 sub, Blue Jeans RCA IC's
Living Room: Peachtree Nova Integrated, Cambridge CXN v2 Streamer, Furman 15PFi Power Conditioner, Polk RT265 In Wall Speakers, Polk DSW Pro 660wi sub
What model # Logitech speakers are you using?
Pass Aleph 30 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Plus DAC | MIT Shotgun S3 | MIT Z P/C's | updated SDA 1C| SQ Box Touch/Welbourne Labs P/S- Tubes add soul!
@heiney9 did you miss the post up above where I said "Kindly move on then, don't critique my choice of source."?
KEF LS50W I Rega P6 w/ Ania MC I Rega Fono MC I Audience Ohno ICs
Critiquing and criticizing my source of choice, and then implying that I'm mentally deranged, demented or insane meets the above listed definition as making posts that are unhelpful, rude, or uninformed.