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Author Topic: Meridian Explorer DAC/AMP Review  (Read 8499 times)

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Marvey

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Re: Meridian Explorer DAC/AMP Review
« Reply #20 on: March 19, 2013, 08:07:41 AM »
Oh, I figured I should follow up on this because somebody asked me a question about it.

The ME is OK as a DAC. Still on the warm syrupy Lebenesque side. Everyone kind of knows that's not my preferred sound. It's cool though if you like it though. At least the Pixies sound more like the Pixies. Sort of. I guess.
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Tyll Hertsens

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Re: Meridian Explorer DAC/AMP Review
« Reply #21 on: March 19, 2013, 02:53:00 PM »
I have received the revised version and the output impedance is 5 Ohm. 
 
Ken Forsythe of Meridian has provided me with a statement which includes:
 
"If any customers feel that their experience may have been affected by the headphones they are using with their Explorer then they should contact Meridian at explorer@meridian.co.uk telling us their name and shipping address; where they bought their Explorer, its serial number, how they use it (which outputs, OS, etc.) and the headphones models they enjoy, and we will get right back to them. Meridian is always happy to engage with enthusiastic customers."
 
The new unit does sound better to me.  Full story here: http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/meridian-explorer-case-study-effects-output-impedance
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Marvey

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Re: Meridian Explorer DAC/AMP Review
« Reply #22 on: March 19, 2013, 03:44:25 PM »
Good news. Thanks Tyll for following up on this - and kudos to Meridian for fixing the issue.
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Tyll Hertsens

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Re: Meridian Explorer DAC/AMP Review
« Reply #23 on: March 19, 2013, 05:39:34 PM »
Well, I think it remains to be seen if they'll be fixing the issue for current owners.  We'll see.
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Marvey

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Re: Meridian Explorer DAC/AMP Review
« Reply #24 on: March 19, 2013, 05:55:14 PM »
Well, I'm trying to take the tact of giving them a preemptive Nobel Prize in the hopes that they would act like they were worthy of such a Nobel Prize going forward.
 p;)
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Tyll Hertsens

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Re: Meridian Explorer DAC/AMP Review
« Reply #25 on: March 19, 2013, 06:02:47 PM »
Indeed. Stick and carrot. Been working for all of history.
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Anaxilus.

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Re: Meridian Explorer DAC/AMP Review
« Reply #26 on: March 19, 2013, 06:12:37 PM »
While that's nice, the DAC itself still needs work (uneven sounding), perhaps new FW if anyone is after uncolored sound.  5ohms is still too high for multi-BAs w/ a crossover.


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justin w.

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Re: Meridian Explorer DAC/AMP Review
« Reply #27 on: March 20, 2013, 12:38:11 AM »
sounds like someone went with the example values from a headphone driver IC data sheet
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Marvey

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Re: Meridian Explorer DAC/AMP Review
« Reply #28 on: March 25, 2013, 12:46:46 AM »
Anyways, I wanted to follow up on the Meridian Explorer, its ~45ohm output Z, and why it messed up so badly with the UERM.



Above is a graph with uncompensated measurements for the UERM. The blue FR output is from the O2, which I measured to have an output Z of 1.5 ohms. The lavender colored FR is the output from the ME. Obviously not good (in fact, more like WTF shitty as -10db over such a wide range is HUGE!) But from this, we can gather that the impedance curve of the UERM is pretty screwy.



I took a measurement of it, and as expected, it is pretty screwy. As we can see, the effects of the FR are similar to the impedance curve itself. The FR drop in the lower treble and slight bump in the midrange is only but assured.


The revised ME will have an output Z of 5 ohms, which many people think is still on the high side. What I will do for the next set of measurements is to simulate the 5 ohms using a resistor with a few IEMs I have lying around. I know many people on HF have asked this question: Is 5 ohms good enough?

P.S. And oh, BTW, I don't wouldn't want people to think CS has changed in attitude from when it first began.
« Last Edit: March 25, 2013, 02:27:12 AM by purrin »
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Marvey

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Re: Meridian Explorer DAC/AMP Review
« Reply #29 on: March 25, 2013, 01:07:18 AM »
So anyways, I took another measurement of the UERM, this time using 5 ohms in series to simulate the effects of the revised ME:


  • The green FR graph is from O2.
  • The orange FR graph has 5 ohms in series to the O2. (For a total of 6.5 ohms, but close enough to 5, and for some reason, output impedance never quite measures as low as most manufacturers claim anyways, but we digress, and it's not a big deal.)
As we can see, the ~5 ohms output Z of such a revised ME could actually be beneficial to the UERM. The upper mids and lower treble get pushed down a slight bit. If there are any criticisms of the UERM, it's probably that it is a little bit on the dry side. Of course, this effect only applies to the UERM because of its specific impedance curve, and does not apply to other headphones or IEMs.
« Last Edit: March 25, 2013, 01:22:37 AM by purrin »
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