Meridian DSP8000 User Manual page 13

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Technical History
"Human-sized" loudspeakers
Meridian's loudspeakers sound, and look, distinctive, and both these factors are
related. Research shows that loudspeakers that are as close to human-like as
possible produce the best imaging and the most natural sound – mirroring, in
a sense, the position of human sense organs. The "head" of a Meridian DSP
loudspeaker produces the vast majority of sound from 00 Hz up, which is where
stereo and surround localization takes place.
As much effort goes into cabinet design as into the electronics within. Cabinets are
heavy and rigid, for minimal movement. Typically, they incorporate multiple layers of
wood and metal, bonded together for maximum damping. The DSP8000 includes
horizontally opposed woofers, so that their net movement is zero. Advanced materials
ensure that the cabinet is so dead that movement stops at once when excitation
ceases, with no ringing.
The loudspeaker as musical instrument
Meridian DSP loudspeakers are essentially musical instruments. If you were to
record a live string quartet in your listening environment, a difficult test of a "high
fidelity" system would be to replay that experience in the same room. Meridian
DSP loudspeakers rise fully to that challenge. And the DSP8000 is one of the
few loudspeakers in the world that can accurately reproduce the power, dynamics
and subtlety of a full-sized concert grand piano – the most difficult of instruments,
recording engineers will tell you, to capture and reproduce accurately.
This article has been intended to give you an insight into why Meridian DSP Digital
Active Loudspeakers sound so good, and why they are in a class of their own as far
as performance, naturalness and authenticity are concerned. But as always, the truth
lies in what you hear. Listen to your Meridian system. You are hearing 40 years of
research and development, designed at every level to reproduce the original sound
as accurately as possible. Whether recorded in the concert hall, recording studio or
soundstage, this is audio reproduction at its finest.
Bob Stuart
Co-Founder, Chairman and Technical Director