FEB/20
Audiophiles of an age will surely remember seeing and hearing Meridian’s first active loudspeaker, the M1, back in the late 1970s. The sloped baffle with its 10in woofer was distinctive, but it was the technology inside – a Meridian 105S power amp with electronic crossover – that represented the true innovation. The idea spawned a few other active loudspeakers, but Meridian stuck to its guns and developed the concept, right through to its MQA-ready DSP loudspeakers that are available today. Joined by the likes of Linn, Devialet and KEF, these self-sufficient, ‘system-in-a-box’ loudspeakers are addressing a slightly different scene – not strictly ‘old-school audiophile’ but one driven by the rapid change in the high-end consumer’s ‘digital lifestyle’. While the appeal of these sophisticated, DSP-driven speaker solutions is self-evident, it’s also true to…
