New York –
Meridian, long known for its DSP-equipped speakers, launched its first
DSP-equipped subwoofer, the $5,000-suggested DSW digital active subwoofer.
It’s designed to complement the company’s active
DSP speakers and will replace two powered subwoofers priced at a suggested
$4,500 and $6,000. Those subs feature digital and analog inputs and DACs but no
DSP.
Instead of using the digital and analog inputs
of its predecessors, the curved-cabinet DSW uses only the company’s proprietary
SpeakerLink connection, which sends
balanced 96kHz/24-bit digital audio and control signals from Meridian
components over 300 feet of CAT-5e cable to Meridian’s active DSP speakers and
to the new subwoofer. SpeakerLink eliminates signal losses and coloration
induced by analog signals riding on a cable, and it simplifies cable
connections because Meridian DSP speakers can be daisychained to avoid
home-running cable from each speaker to Meridian components.
The new model’s closed-loop Class D amp is
rated at 600 watts max. The sub’s 3dB down point wasn’t specified.
The sub’s DSP
features include thermal monitoring and bass protection to prevent the sub from
bottoming out or damaging its amplifier, a spokesman said.
In addition,
unlike the previous subs, the new sub is completely “optimized” for
Meridian’s DSP speaker range and is completely phase-correct for use with the
speakers, the spokesman added. “This ensures the best performance when used
with Meridian’s range of DSP loudspeakers as well as makes the DSW truly plug
and play,” the spokesman added.
