Meridian 861 v4 pre-amp / surround processor 7.1 THX Ultra

Meridian 861 v4 pre-amp / surround processor 7.1 THX Ultra Introduction

For sale is an excellent condition Boothroyd Stuart Meridian 861 surround sound pre-amp / processor. If you’re looking at this post, you probably know that Meridian is one of the top audiophile HiFi brands from the UK and the 800 series are their cream of the crop. The entire 800 series of products are customizable with a variety of input and output cards available to tailor the products to your needs and setup. This is a factory v4 model, which you can tell by the fact that the serial number starts with a 4, rather than an older unit that was upgraded. It is configured with both analog and digital input cards, and can accept up to 96/24 stereo, and matrix 7.1 Dolby Digital / DTS audio over the coax and optical inputs, and features THX Ultra2 certification and post processing, and full bass management. The digital inputs can also be configured for discrete 5.1 input. This particular unit is fitted with the quad SPDIF coax digital output card, designed to feed into the Meridian DSP-series loudspeakers, which can keep the audio signal completely digital all the way from source to speakers. One of the cool features of the DSP series speaker is that the volume control is actually performed inside the speaker, and the electronics are optimized for optimum sound at any given volume level. A variety of analog output cards are available (not included), in either single ended (RCA) or balanced audio (XLR) to feed your choice of power amps if you are running traditional passive speakers. Other interesting expansion cards include AC-3 RF demodulators, Sooloos / Roon Ready network music streaming cards, and many more. There are also analog composite / S-Video and Component Video input/output cards, for studio quality switching. HDMI switching and audio extraction can be added using a HD621 or UHD722 outboard switcher. There is a large online community of Meridian Audio enthusiasts with helpful information and I have found Meridian tech support to be very helpful as well with any questions, even on older products. The original price on this unit was around $22,000 + tax and the latest v8 model is $28,000 + tax! Asking a very reasonable $2,000, including a remote control.