What happens when a company updates a classic? Often disaster results, as anyone who ever sipped a New Coke or drove a Mustang II can attest. But occasionally the new version preserves the original’s magic while smoothing its minor imperfections, as anyone who owns a Mini Cooper will happily confirm.

Consumers have yet to decide the fate of Meridian Audio’s G-Series audio products, which discard the idiosyncratic design that audiophiles consider integral to the company’s identity. Gone is the trademark shrunken chassis that never quite looked quite right in a standard equipment rack. Gone are the slivered controls that left indents on your fingertips. Gone are the plasticky front panels.

The G98DH DVD player (top) and the G68ADV surround-sound processor (bottom), with Meridian’s new remote (far left).  (Click image to enlarge)

Esteemed industrial designer Allen Boothroyd sized the G-Series components to suit industry convention; they measure 17 inches wide, just like everyone else’s. He wrapped them in brushed aluminum, a garb almost as expected in a high-end audio salon as white shirts are at Wimbledon. He adorned them with control buttons whose prodigious girth accommodates the fingers of even the most overfed operator.

When I saw the G-Series products at their introduction last year, I worried that “normalizing” the Meridian line might rob it of its panache. After all, brushed-aluminum products arrive at my home almost as regularly as credit-card offers. (G-Series products are also available in black, by the way, for the diehard traditionalist.) Even after Meridian Vice President of Operations Marc Koval sets up the G98DH DVD player and the G68ADV surround-sound processor in my home, I remain skeptical. Perhaps lengthy exposure will convince me....

Fortunately, the G-Series products are all-Meridian on the inside, packed with technologies available from few competing brands. Most notable, perhaps, is the proprietary digital audio link between the G98DH and the G68ADV. Like many DVD players these days, the G98DH plays DVD-Audio (DVD-A) discs in addition to DVD-Videos and CDs. However, it is one of only a few players that can output DVD-A signals through a digital connection; most of its competitors offer old-fashioned analog outputs.

The G68ADV processor has a corresponding digital input that mates with the G98DH’s digital output.  The digital connection produces a purer sound.  With an analog connection, digital sound from DVD-A is converted to analog inside the DVD player, then typically reconverted to digital inside the surround-sound processor. It’s like reading Herman Melville’s Moby Dick by translating it into Japanese, then back into English—something’s bound to get lost.

The two Meridian comms connectors (right) let the G68ADV surround-sound processor control the electronics built into the DSP5000HC, DSP5000 and DSP33 speakers (below, left to right).  (Click image to enlarge)

The Speakers
In fact, one could consider digital to be Meridian’s watchword, carried all the way through to the speaker drivers. The version of the G68ADV that Koval delivers has 10 channels of digital outputs, as well as eight channels of analog outputs, while almost all surround-sound processors only have analog outputs.  These digital outputs would be largely useless but for the fact that Meridian’s speakers have digital inputs. The speakers boast internal digital sound processing that divides the sound into appropriate frequency bands for the woofer, midrange and tweeter speaker drivers, and that also controls volume. Each speaker has separate amplifiers for the different drivers, and the large models have alphanumeric readouts that show the selected source (DVD, TV, radio, etc.) and the volume level.

(Click image to enlarge)

Luckily for me, Koval has shipped a full complement of Meridian speakers in addition to the G-Series electronics. These include two DSP5000 tower speakers for the front left/right channels, a DSP5000HC center speaker and two small DSP33 speakers for the surround channels. Each speaker also has two digital inputs, a digital output, and input and output “comms” connectors that allow the speakers to communicate with the G-Series electronics. Meridian provides special cables to connect the speakers, and has thoughtfully made the cables slim and fire-rated so they can be wired through your walls instead of strung along your baseboards.

The alphanumeric display on the front of the DSP5000 and DSP5000HC speakers indicates volume and which source is selected.  The DSP33 speakers (below) lack this display.  (Click image to enlarge)

Koval also provides a pair of DSP420 speakers, the new in-wall version of the DSP33. I find installing these speakers to be quite a chore—an operation vastly more complicated than putting in conventional in-walls, in part because the DSP420 requires 120-volt AC power. However, it is convenient that those of us who prefer our speakers heard and not seen can now have a full Meridian system, instead of having to mix Meridian’s digital speakers with in-walls from another manufacturer.

The Sound
I experience countless enjoyable hours with the Meridian system. Of course, I cannot share every moment with you, so allow me to describe three.

(Click image to enlarge)

One: I play Yes’s Fragile DVD-A, a disc I think I know well, having listened to it eight times the weekend I bought it and many more times since (not to mention hundreds of times on record, 8-track and CD). But I have never heard DVD-A sound like this. It is as though I am at the mixing board in the recording studio’s control room, watching through the window as guitarist Steve Howe performs in the studio 20 feet away. I hear little finger scrapes and taps that other DVD-A players have obscured. I can even hear the guy breathing. I’m right there in 1972, hanging out with my favorite guitarist in his prime.

Good thing Led Zeppelin II isn’t out on DVD-A. I would never have finished this review. I’d still be in my listening room.

Two: The lights are off and I’m in the middle of the Kill Bill: Vol. 1 DVD, which boasts one of the most intricate and unpredictable soundtracks I have heard. Suddenly, a fly buzzes into the room and wanders around my coffee table. I curse myself for leaving a window open, and start scrounging for a magazine I can use to swat the intruder. I bring the lights up, but realize after scanning the room that the fly exists only on the soundtrack. I have heard many a fly on many a soundtrack through many a speaker, but I have never been fooled like this.

Three: Holly Cole’s Temptation CD—one of my all-time favorites—is playing in the G98DH, and the second cut, “Train Song,” comes on. I become aware of a sound buried in the mix that I have never noticed. Is it a brushed gong? An out-of-breath rottweiler? I cannot tell, because the sound is too soft. I have used this recording to test several hundred speaker systems, and none revealed this sound—or conveyed the sense of air moving in and out of the f-holes on the acoustic bass.

A few quick notes just to fill in the blanks:

The sound is as natural as I have heard, particularly with voices, which are usually the first things that sound unnatural through an audio system. The DSP-5000 produces surprisingly deep and accurate bass; adding a subwoofer would be a good idea, but I am satisfied with the system as is.  The speakers do not play as gleefully loud as some of the megasystems I often test, but if gleefully loud is your thing, Meridian offers larger speakers. The system does not create the huge, enveloping sound that some music-oriented audiophile speaker systems produce; the focus here is more on perfection than on sonic pyrotechnics.

Also, Meridian’s new illuminated system remote looks cool and is relatively easy to operate. Of course, I would prefer a touchscreen, but this remote beats the cheap “throwaway” remotes Meridian’s competitors use.

Unfortunately, I can only touch upon this system’s capabilities and quality, but your local Meridian dealer can fill in the details. I heartily recommend you pay him or her a visit.

DESCRIPTION
G68ADV: Surround-sound processor. Decodes surround sound and stereo, controls volume, routes audio and video from source devices (DVD, satellite TV, etc.) to TV and amplifier. Outputs any combination of digital and analog signals

G98DH: Universal disc player with such features as progressive-scan output. Plays DVD-Video, DVD-A, CD and MP3

DSP5000: Internally amplified speaker for use in front left/right or surround channels of stereo or surround-sound system. Accepts digital audio signals only

DSP5000HC: Internally amplified center speaker for use in surround-sound system. Accepts digital audio signals only

DSP33: Internally amplified bookshelf or stand-mounted speaker for use in any channel of stereo or surround-sound system. Accepts digital audio signals only

DSP420: Internally amplified in-wall speaker for use in any channel of stereo or surround-sound system. Accepts digital audio signals only

SURROUND MODES
G68ADV: THX Ultra2, Dolby Digital and Pro Logic IIx, DTS ES-Discrete and Neo:6, proprietary Meridian DSP modes (Music, Trifield, Super, TV Logic, Mono)

COMPONENTS
DSP5000: 1-inch aluminum-dome tweeter, one 6.5-inch polypropylene-cone midrange, two 8-inch woofers, three internal 75-watt amplifiers (one for woofers, one for midrange, one for tweeter)

DSP5000HC: 1-inch aluminum-dome tweeter, one 6.5-inch polypropylene-cone midrange, two 8-inch woofers, three internal 75-watt amplifiers (one for woofers, one for midrange, one for tweeter)

DSP33: 1-inch aluminum-dome tweeter, two 5-inch polypropylene-cone woofers, 85-watt internal amplifier for woofer, 65-watt internal amplifier for tweeter

DSP420: 1-inch aluminum-dome tweeter, two 5-inch polypropylene-cone woofers, 85-watt internal amplifier for woofer, 65-watt internal amplifier for tweeter

CONNECTIONS
G68ADV: Five analog stereo audio inputs, six-channel analog audio input, two sets of multichannel digital audio inputs (three RCA jacks each), six coaxial digital audio inputs, five Toslink optical digital audio inputs, five digital audio outputs (10 channels total), analog stereo audio outputs for zones 2 and 3, six-channel analog audio outputs; three each component video, S-video and composite video inputs; one each component video, S-video and composite video outputs; two ⅛-inch trigger outputs, one ⅛-inch IR input and output, RS-232 and USB inputs, two Meridian comms connectors (connections vary with version)

G98DH: Digital multichannel output (three RCA jacks), coaxial digital audio output; three component video, three S-video and one composite video inputs; component (progressive) video output, HDMI digital video/audio output; two Meridian comms connectors, RS-232 input, one ⅛-inch trigger output

Speakers: One Meridian comms input, one Meridian comms output; two coaxial digital audio inputs, one coaxial digital audio output

DIMENSIONS
G68ADV/G98DH: 3.5 x 17.3 x 13.8 inches (hwd)
DSP5000: 43.3 x 11.2 x 17.7 inches (hwd)
DSP5000HC: 11.2 x 43.3 x 16.3 inches (hwd)
DSP33: 15.6 x 5.9 x 9.2 inches (hwd)
DSP420: 17.7 x 17.7 inches (hw), fits in standard stud bay

PRICE/CONTACT
PRICE: G68ADV $8,995; G98DH $5,995; DSP5000 $7,645/pair;
DSP5000HC $3,925; DSP33 $4,725/pair; DSP420 $2,495
CONTACT: 404.344.7111
www.meridian-audio.com