What can best my Meridian 808.3?

jtein

New Member
Mar 25, 2012
97
0
0
Malaysia
Hi folks, it's been quite some time since I last logged in. One and half years to be exact. In that time I've been enjoying my Meridian 808.3 CD player every time I play it. It is what reviewers describe it to be - very open soundstage, extraordinarily revealing, very analogue-sounding, very 3-dimensional, et al. It is indeed state-of-the-art and my ears bear witness to that. In short, I'm in love with its sound. Having said that, the unit failed me big time twice - it just shut down midsong! It's most disconcerting, to say the least. My dealer has taken it for repair. I suspect it's due to the transport mechanism.

So I'm now with some reluctance scouting for another CD (or CD/SACD) player that would give me as much enjoyment as my Meridian 808.3 sans the reliability issues. I would appreciate any input from the good folks here.
 

JackD201

WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
12,308
1,425
1,820
Manila, Philippines
On my shortlist of CD only players

EERA Tentation (Bobby Ng in Singapore might have it) This is my personal redbook only reference.
EAR Acute

CD/SACD players

Emm's new transport with the DAC2X this betters my CDSD + DCC2 in every possible way

All these have the smoothness and body people love Meridian for
 

still-one

VIP/Donor
Aug 6, 2012
1,633
150
1,220
Milford, Michigan
If you enjoy the 808v3 as much as I do you will find it difficult to switch to some other brands. In my set-up have compared my unit to Playback Design, AR Ref units, the Esoteric D-3/P-03, McIntosh MCD-1100 and two different MSB units and found no reason to change. When I add in SooLoos integration it is going to require something special to get me to change. Maybe the DCS Vivaldi DAC/Transport might be an option but at those prices I doubt it.

The Meridian is not the option for those who can find music they enjoy on DSD, but so far that is not me.
 

tunes

Member Sponsor
Nov 9, 2013
187
1
246
Having had an 808 transport fail twice, I can feel your pain. Nonetheless, i stuck with meridian and ended up with an 808.3 that i've upgraded to .5
Have had no issues with it at all - touch wood.
As Still-one notes, with the sooloos streaming feature, it is very tough to give it up ;)
I have swapped in a Nagra CDP recently and have to say that it is really really good in a different way. Superb clarity. Completely different approach to the drive mech than Meridian. Nagra's moves the entire solid transport, while Meridian uses a flimsy rom-drive tray.
I'd love to compare the emm labs in my system but personally, i have no interest in the DCS stack in my system due to funds and space.
 

thedudeabides

Well-Known Member
Jan 16, 2011
2,127
651
1,200
Alto, NM
Hi folks, it's been quite some time since I last logged in. One and half years to be exact. In that time I've been enjoying my Meridian 808.3 CD player every time I play it. It is what reviewers describe it to be - very open soundstage, extraordinarily revealing, very analogue-sounding, very 3-dimensional, et al. It is indeed state-of-the-art and my ears bear witness to that. In short, I'm in love with its sound. Having said that, the unit failed me big time twice - it just shut down midsong! It's most disconcerting, to say the least. My dealer has taken it for repair. I suspect it's due to the transport mechanism.

So I'm now with some reluctance scouting for another CD (or CD/SACD) player that would give me as much enjoyment as my Meridian 808.3 sans the reliability issues. I would appreciate any input from the good folks here.

My Cary Audio 306 SACD CDP had a similar issue. Shutdown for no reason.

Bought a Allsop CD lens cleaner for $6. Ran it for several minutes. Problem gone.

GG
 

mbovaird

Banned
Jan 5, 2013
146
1
0
Linn Klimax DS (but no DSD) is worth considering.

I'm very happy with my Meitner MA-1 - which I bought after I attended three separate DAC blind shootouts this summer.
 

jtein

New Member
Mar 25, 2012
97
0
0
Malaysia
If you enjoy the 808v3 as much as I do you will find it difficult to switch to some other brands. In my set-up have compared my unit to Playback Design, AR Ref units, the Esoteric D-3/P-03, McIntosh MCD-1100 and two different MSB units and found no reason to change. When I add in SooLoos integration it is going to require something special to get me to change. Maybe the DCS Vivaldi DAC/Transport might be an option but at those prices I doubt it.

The Meridian is not the option for those who can find music they enjoy on DSD, but so far that is not me.

That's exactly what I'm afraid of, still-one. I can only think of EMM Labs XDS1 that could be a viable alternative but it's cost is prohibitive in my country (about $90K!!!). Do you have any experience with the new ARC Ref CD9?
 

jtein

New Member
Mar 25, 2012
97
0
0
Malaysia
Having had an 808 transport fail twice, I can feel your pain. Nonetheless, i stuck with meridian and ended up with an 808.3 that i've upgraded to .5
Have had no issues with it at all - touch wood.
As Still-one notes, with the sooloos streaming feature, it is very tough to give it up ;)
I have swapped in a Nagra CDP recently and have to say that it is really really good in a different way. Superb clarity. Completely different approach to the drive mech than Meridian. Nagra's moves the entire solid transport, while Meridian uses a flimsy rom-drive tray.
I'd love to compare the emm labs in my system but personally, i have no interest in the DCS stack in my system due to funds and space.

Yeah, what you said resonates with me. Meridian's transport is rather flimsy. EMM Labs XDS1 really interests me, but as I mentioned above, the price is prohibitive in this part of the world :(
 

jtein

New Member
Mar 25, 2012
97
0
0
Malaysia
My Cary Audio 306 SACD CDP had a similar issue. Shutdown for no reason.

Bought a Allsop CD lens cleaner for $6. Ran it for several minutes. Problem gone.

GG

Wow, really? Maybe that's all I need to do for my unit. But the way it shuts down and won't play after that is pretty scary.
 

thedudeabides

Well-Known Member
Jan 16, 2011
2,127
651
1,200
Alto, NM
Yes, really in my case.

Need to determine if it is simply a dirty laser lens or something else.

Worth $10 to see if it resolves the issue.

GG
 

Lee

Well-Known Member
Feb 3, 2011
3,210
1,738
1,260
Alpharetta, Georgia
EAR Acute 3 CD Player/DAC
 

still-one

VIP/Donor
Aug 6, 2012
1,633
150
1,220
Milford, Michigan
That's exactly what I'm afraid of, still-one. I can only think of EMM Labs XDS1 that could be a viable alternative but it's cost is prohibitive in my country (about $90K!!!). Do you have any experience with the new ARC Ref CD9?

Yes, I have listened to the Ref CD9 and similar to their Ref DAC I find their gear does not resolve the higher frequencies as well as other gear. I have a couple of compilation discs tI use to audition gear and on a couple of tracks the AR sounds like hash where some other players/DAC's differentiate the guitars/cymbals etc.
 

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