Meridian Audio, Ltd.

Meridian Audio, Ltd.

Type	Limited company
Founded	1977
Headquarters	Huntingdon PE29 6YE, United Kingdom
Website	www.meridian-audio.com

Boothroyd Stuart Meridian is a British manufacturer of high-performance, high-fidelity audio and video components and systems. Founded in 1977 by Bob Stuart and Allen Boothroyd, its products have proved popular among music and movie enthusiasts, and more recently in the lifestyle technology and home cinema/home theatre fields.

The company was the first to introduce active loudspeakers (i.e. loudspeakers with power amplifiers inside the cabinet) designed for the domestic (rather than professional) market, and was the first British company to manufacture a Compact Disc player in 1983. It also created the first digital surround-sound processor and the first DSP-based digital active loudspeakers. Meridian products are noted for their appearance as well as their performance, and as a result are popular with custom installers and interior designers as well as with those who require very high quality. Bob Stuart brought a background of psychoacoustics and electronic engineering while Allen Boothroyd's mechanical engineering and industrial design expertise results in products with a distinct emphasis on both audio engineering and aesthetic quality. Bob and Allen are the only design team to have won 3 British Design Awards, and an early product offering is on permanent display at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

The company's product portfolio has grown over the years from an initially modest number of offerings, and Meridian now designs and manufactures a comprehensive range of almost one hundred products, all of which are built by hand in the UK. During the 1980s and 1990s Meridian's 200 and then 500 series systems were generally regarded as among the best in the world, with both the 208 and 508 CD players winning a range of international awards for performance.

In the early 1990s the company was bought over by KEF, another British audio brand, which was itself subsequently purchased by Gold Peak Industries, a Hong Kong based conglomerate. At this point, the family of Bob Stuart's spouse bought the company back from Gold Peak, and it once again became an independent brand.

The flagship DSP8000 active loudspeakers were released in the late 1990s as part of the company's new 800 series. Subsequent loudspeaker models (DSP7000, DSP5200 etc.) took advantage of the styling that contributed to the success of the DSP8000. At the same time, the Tag McLaren audio brand (a competitor to Meridian which was previously known as Audiolab) went bust and effectively ceased trading. Meridian took advantage of this fact and relocated to the larger manufacturing facility recently vacated by Tag McLaren in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire.

In addition to hardware, the company is also known for its software, most notably the Meridian Lossless Packing standard that is used in DVD-Audio as well as the sound on High-Definition formats including HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc. The company continues to have a strong consultancy arm, which carries out experimental research, design and software work in addition to the company's primary product manufacturing activities.

In 2005 the company signed an exclusive licensing agreement with Genesis Microchip Inc. to design, manufacture and distribute video equipment (including digital video processors and projectors) under the Faroudja brand name. Whilst the Faroudja brand has since effectively been decommissioned, this move allowed the company to offer complete home theatre solutions, and the flagship 'Meridian Digital Theatre' is widely recognised as representing the pinnacle of audio/video performance in the home.

In 2006 a significant minority shareholding in the company was sold to the Muse Group, a consortium comprising Richemont SA (the Swiss-based holding company that owns such luxury brands as Cartier, Montblanc, Alfred Dunhill and Panerai) and New Regency (the US film and TV production company owned by controversial movie mogul Arnon Milchan). With this change in ownership came a move away from the traditional audiophile market, as Meridian sought to reposition their brand as more of a luxury goods offering, in keeping with its other Richemont stable-mates.

Most recently, the company has embarked on a brand partnership with Ferrari, resulting in the F80 compact system. Aimed at a more mainstream consumer market, the F80 uses composite materials developed in collaboration with the Italian car giant and has been awarded a plethora of awards for product performance and design. Building on the electronic developments used in the F80 and the principle of co-branding, Meridian launched the Alfred Dunhill AD88 in 2008.

Adding to its audio product family, Meridian acquired^[1] Sooloos LLC in December 2008 from founders Danny Dulai and Enno Vandermeer.

Products

• MCD (1983)
• MCD Pro. Based on a Philips CD player with an enhanced power supply. Used a rubber mat to stabilise the disc during playback. (1984)
• 200 series products (1986–1993)
• 500 series products (1993–2004)
• G series (2004 - )
• 800 series products, including the 808 CD player. (1998 - )
• F80 compact entertainment system (2007 - )
• AD88 compact entertainment system (2008 - )
• Sooloos system (2009 - )^[2]

1. ^ http://www.stereophile.com/news/meridian_acquires_sooloos/
2. ^ http://www.cepro.com/article/meridian_adds_control_10_touchscreen_for_sooloos/