Measurements and conclusion DSP5200 SE
Contents
We also measured the Meridian DSP5200 SE. This has to be a little different than usual, since the Meridian only has a coaxial digital input. Or of course speakerlink, but that’s a Meridian system.
For these measurements we took the Mutec MC3+ as a source. It is connected with usb to the measurement PC and can drive the Meridians via coax. The microphone remains a DPA 4091 going to an Audient ID14. We measured the Meridian in neutral mode.
The Meridian DSP5200 SE measures pretty straight in our room. If we look from about 200 Hz on, the respsons are swinging +/- 1dB. That’s neat. The treble continues nicely up to 20 kHz. We would have expected more rounding given the character. It will be down to balance; the bass is quite round and full; especially in the listening position. That’s where the treble does drop off slightly, which is not surprising: all speakers do.
This can be compensated for in the speaker. Just like we could tame the low a bit. That’s the power of an active speaker. The distortion is under control, but we have seen better results. The bulk is around 0.3 – 0.5%. It’s notable, though, that the low end dips below 1% fairly quickly.
Conclusion
Meridian is a special brand with a special approach. We like brands that approach things differently. The DSP-series has been around for about 30 years with which Meridian shows that they are pioneers. The SE version is in all aspects an improved DSP5200: nicer tweeter, nicer hardware, better filters... etc. The speaker sounds relaxed, complete and can be tuned to the room; a power not to be underestimated!What we notice is that Meridian has an ecosystem in mind. This speaker falls into that system. So don't expect countless connection possibilities; there are hardly any. A good (digital) pre-amp is therefore a requirement for this speaker to be widely deployed. Or better yet: a Meridian pre-amp / processor with speaker-link.
I have been enjoying these speakers since 2017, and have yet to find their limit with every improvement made to a source for the AES/EBU (Speakerlink) inputs. My most recent successful experiments are dual (cascaded) AudioPhool Meraki network switches feeding a RPi4 running audiolinux with Shunyata and iancanada power.