Meridian F80
After the appearance of several all in one lifestyle boxes over the last eighteen months such as the Arcam Solo, I thought I had seen it all but Meridian have gone one better and managed to cram a 2.1 loudspeaker, amplifier, tuner and CD/DVD player into the F80.
At first glance the Meridian F80 looks like an oversized clock radio which to be fair is extremely unkind because this little fellar packs a punch. Designed and produced as joint venture between Meridian and Ferrari, the Meridian F80 boasts an 80 watt amplifier powering and left and right channel complete with a built in sub woofer, a DAB/FM/MW/LW tuner and slot loading CD player. What is even more impressive is that slot in your favourite DVD and connect the composite or S-vhs to a television and you can watch as well.
But the most important question to ask about the Meridian F80 is what does it sound like. I unfortunately have not had that luxury but reading most of the hi-fi press reviews the sound is surprisingly natural, open, clear with plenty of bass. In fact the Meridian F80 has just won What Hi-Fi's best hi-fi system over £500. Other magazines have commented on how incredible it is that such a small box can sound so big.
However all this technology does not come cheap and the Meridian F80 carries a hefty £1500 price tag although Meridian have been keen to point out that it is affordable and offers value for money as a second system that is truly portable. It remains to be seen whether this is the case and the Meridian F80 does not become something more than just an eye catching object that gets noticed at a Chelsea tractor driver's dinner party. It has already surprised a few observers in the industry so who knows.
This entry was posted on Wednesday November 7th, 2007 at 7:52 PM and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response.
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