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"Can The Meridian G08 Rock?"

[Gasp and sigh...] My posts about the Meridian G08 CD player could have been written a little more definitively. It seems I left the impression that the Meridian G08 can't reproduce rock music. It would take me too long to answer everyone's e-mails, so let me be lazy, and put the answer here.

First of all, thanks for asking about rock music. I'm glad you recognized the fact that, unlike other audiophiles, I grew with and love rock. And the good news is, as I've gotten deeper and deeper into high-end audio, that love just grows and grows.

Before I answer the Question, let us assume that everything downstream of the G08 can keep up, and doesn't alter what the G08 puts out.

I did find a way to make the G08 sound more like the Naim CDX2. Use the Electroharmonix 12AX7 in your tubed preamp and amp :-) The EH 12AX7 is a decent tube. Its main faults are: (a) it often overlays the music with a steely texture, (b) it doesn't quite capture low-level detail, and (c) there's a moderate loss of focus.

Okay, back to the Question.

The G08 has the proper amount of clarity to make sense of the difference between the original and remastered versions of Sepultura's "Arise." The original lacks depth, and some grain kicks in. The remastered version has greater separation, and more accurate timbres. The Sonor drums sound more woody, less like hitting an oatmeal container. The guitars are nice and rounded, yet firmly anchored on track. There's a nice sense of churning growl, without resorting to smearing or bloating. Other CD players, such as the Naim CDX2, gloss over these differences.

The G08's clarity really comes up big on Megadeth's "The System Has Failed." If you take, say, Erasure's "Here I Go Again Impossible," and give it the heavy metal treatment, you might (musically) come up with Megadeth's "Die Dead Enough." The G08 makes this mental connection possible. The G08 has enough flavor, that "Back In The Day," Megadeth's tribute to those of us who were thrashers in the 80s, suggests that it could have been part of Metallica's "Kill 'Em All." The G08's refusal to blur things pays off big time on "Of Mice And Men." Here, while the lead guitar is played with experienced hands, it's the galloping rhythm guitar that moves things along. Too many other CD players, in their attempts to sound "analog-like," screw up the song's rabid pace.

Again, the G08's leave-it-alone clarity puts Anthrax's "We've Come For You All" in proper historical perspective. This is the real deal, the originators of blending thrash and rap. It puts today's nu-metal or whatever-they-call-it bands to shame. It's not quite the same as the 80s Anthrax, nor are there any rap collaborations. Rob Caggiano clearly sounds as if he's in Overkill. But ya know, the G08 gives you this insight. And Charlie Benante hasn't sounded this tribal since, well, since Among The Living. "Indians," anyone?

The G08 has a most beautiful rendition of the tones on Dream Theater's "Pull Me Under." Warning: with the G08 at the front, stick in some monoplate 2A3s in your amp [I have the Wright Sound WPA3.5] and be prepared to lap it up. Check out the way the opening drum shots on "6:00" burst out of utter darkness. Get lost in the artificial sound space on "Space-Dye Vest." And then watch as "The Big Medley" holds your attention, as it changes from cover to cover. Most SET fans I know play more vinyl than CD. But you still need to play those CDs. I swear, the G08 speaks to SET amps' strengths. And that's very rare for digital. So if you're a SET fan, you have to check out the G08.

No, the G08 isn't as chunky, grainy, chewy, and black 'n' blue as my Naim CDX2. But now that I found a way to make the G08 mimic the CDX2 (by using the EH 12AX7 in my CJ MV60SE), the only thing I miss about the CDX2 is its fast loading time.

Okay, let's tone things down a bit. Cue up Air Supply's "Making Love Out Of Nothing At All." Here, the G08's resolving power lets you marvel at the dichotomy between the thin vocals and Max Weinberg's powerful drumming. I've said time and again that you know you're in love when you belt out "Even The Nights Are Better" at the top of your lungs. Well, here the G08, with its classy, refined nature, lets down its guard just a touch. It hums along, but it isn't as at-the-peak ragged, rip-out-your-lungs embellished as we lovers yearn for.

Best of all, the G08 perfectly captures the synthesized falling bomb on the Gap Band's "You Dropped A Bomb On Me." The G08 accurately captures the "bomb's" path, tonal quality, sustain, and decay. Okay, so it's not as analog-licious as the LP or 45, but I think that's more the fault of the CD, not the G08.

The G08 reveals Slade's "Run Runaway" for what it is. Here, the greasier-sounding CDX2 actually sounds more convincing. But hey, I can always sub in those EH 12AX7s...

The G08's character suits all music types evenly. It'll tell you what's on the disc, and (thankfully) not heap more nasties on it. I have other digital gear with me, including the Naim CDX2. But over the long run, I find myself, when wanting the most out of my CDs, automatically sticking them in the G08.

Okay, enough of this. I need to put Van Halen's "Feels So Good" in the G08...

-Lummy The Seahorse


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Topic - "Can The Meridian G08 Rock?" - Luminator 11:45:01 05/18/05 (0)


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