Meridian DSP9
Meridian’s DSP9 combines tight, subterranean bass with startling resolution, expansive three-dimensional imaging and effortless high-level composure. Steve May found its low end exceptionally fast and extended, while Like Hifi praised its reference-detail retrieval and tangible spatial depth. This active flagship brings room-filling dynamics, refined balance and adaptable DSP control to ambitious listening rooms.
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Deliciously Crispy
Sound Quality
95/100
Build Quality
90/100
Value for Money
85/100
Pros
Exceptionally deep, tight and controlled bass with physical impact, yet strong overall tonal balance.
Huge, convincingly three-dimensional soundstage with exceptional depth layering and precise detail retrieval.
Maintains delicacy, balance and ample headroom at high playback levels.
Room-friendly placement and image-adjustment features offer useful flexibility in real-world systems.
Cons
At 68kg per speaker, installation and positioning require assistance.
Its cost-no-object pricing places it firmly in the ultra-high-end category.
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What Reviewers Are Saying
SOUND QUALITY PERFORMANCE 95/100
Reviews portray the DSP9 as an exceptionally complete active loudspeaker, combining immense low-frequency authority with unusually fine detail and a very large, convincing acoustic picture. It is repeatedly described as balanced and delicate despite its physical scale and formidable output capability.
Bass
97/100
Bass is a defining strength: Like Hifi calls it breathtakingly big, full-bodied and perfectly controlled, reporting couch-vibrating output without the usual need for a subwoofer. StereoNET likewise finds it phenomenal, tight and fast, with uncanny extension and a physical impact that remains composed.
Mid
93/100
Vocals and piano are said to remain finely resolved even when the speaker is delivering substantial bass energy. Reviewers also praise the close integration of the midrange and low frequencies, while voices are described as taking convincing shape in the room.
Treble
94/100
The DSP9 is praised for extracting very fine recorded information, including delicate guitar shimmer and the air around hi-hat cymbals. StereoNET's comments on extraordinary resolution and the speaker's delicacy support a highly revealing, refined top end rather than an aggressively analytical presentation.
Soundstage Imaging
97/100
Spatial performance receives especially emphatic praise. Like Hifi hears remarkably tangible space and exceptionally expansive depth, while StereoNET describes a huge stage that is taller, deeper and wider than expected, with convincing three-dimensional ambience and a stable central image.
Dynamics
94/100
Reviewers find the DSP9 highly expressive and able to fill large rooms with ease. StereoNET reports rediscovering the dynamic contrasts in familiar music and says the speaker remains unstressed at high volume, with convincing headroom still in reserve.
Assessments of Build Quality, Usability, and Overall Propositions.
Build Quality
90/100
The 68kg cabinet is a substantial, carefully engineered enclosure rather than an imposing oversized box. StereoNET highlights its purposeful curved form, intended to reduce diffraction and internal standing waves, alongside a serious complement of beryllium, midrange and four long-throw bass drive units.
Value for Money
85/100
At US$85,000 per pair, the DSP9 is firmly a cost-no-object proposition. StereoNET recommends an audition for buyers considering genuinely high-performance loudspeakers, but the supplied reviews do not make a strong comparative claim that it represents exceptional value against similarly priced alternatives.
Reviews & Sources
Professional reviews and sources for this product's Watt'n Potatoes analysis.
Online Reviews & Mentions
YouTube Reviews
Forum Mentions
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Specifications
- Input Connectivity
- 1 x Meridian SpeakerLink connector [RJ45] 1 x co-axial digital audio [RCA phono] supporting up to 192kHz @ 24-bit 1 x optical digital audio [Toslink] supporting up to 96kHz @ 24-bit 1 x USB digital audio [type C] supporting up to 384kHz @ 24-bit Bluetooth via the Meridian B-Link [supplied] 1 x balanced analogue audio [XLR] on analogue input module 1 x unbalanced analogue audio [RCA phono] on analogue input module
- Output Connectivity
- 1 x Meridian SpeakerLink connector (RJ45)
- Control Options without Analogue Input Module
- Meridian comms via SpeakerLink Bluetooth via Meridian B-Link module [supplied] and the Meridian Control app Integrated IR receiver External IR receiver connection RS232 via SpeakerLink input USB via Maintenance connection
- Control Options with Analogue Input Module
- Automatic signal-sense detect. Switch on detect time less than three seconds; switch to standby timeout approximately 20 minutes Trigger input on analogue input module [3.5mm minijack]
- Performance
- Peak SPL: 119dB@1m for a single loudspeaker Frequency response in room within 3dB: 20Hz – 40kHz
- Tweeter Amplifier
- Class AB, capable of greater than 150W into 4Ω, < 1% THD THD + noise @ 1kHz < 0.005% Bandwidth >100KHz
- Mid-Range Amplifier
- Class AB, capable of greater than 150W into 4Ω, < 1% THD THD + noise @ 1kHz < 0.005% Bandwidth >100KHz
- Bass Amplifiers
- Four bridged pairs of Class-D amplifiers - each pair capable of greater than 240W into 4Ω, < 1% THD THD + noise @ 1kHz < 0.008%
- Tweeter
- 25mm beryllium dome with silver voice-coil, steel custom waveguide
- Mid-Range Driver
- 1 x 160mm with non-conductive voice-coil former and anti-resonance clamp-ring mounting system
- Bass Drivers
- 4 x 200mm polypropylene long-throw [up to 24mm excursion] with anti-resonance clamp-ring mounting system
- Front-Panel Indicator
- Blue in Standby, White in use [can also be unlit in use]
- Rear-Panel Controls
- Power On/Off, channel selector switch, input sensitivity switch [on analogue input module]
- Dimensions / Weight
- WIDTH: 392mm [15.43in] tapering to 158mm [6.2in] DEPTH: 511mm [20.1in] tapering to 187mm [7.4in] HEIGHT: 1101mm [43.5in] WEIGHT: 68kg [149.9lbs]
- Loudspeaker Packed
- WIDTH: 660mm [26.0in] DEPTH: 550mm [21.7in] HEIGHT: 1240mm [48.8in] WEIGHT: 80kg [176.4lbs]
Manufacturer's Description — Meridian
Loudspeakers
DSP9
With our Select finishing option you can choose whether to blend the loudspeakers into the room with a complementary colour, or to make a statement with something bold and vibrant. In addition, you can refine your choice by selecting between matte, satin, or gloss finishes. To provide inspiration, we’ve provided this colour visualiser so you can see how your loudspeakers could look.
Technologies
Bespoke Signal Mapping
Meridian Bespoke Signal Mapping delivers an optimal response from multi-way loudspeakers, ensuring that all drive units complement one another, providing a consistent response at all frequencies.
E3 Bass (Expand, Extend, Enhance)
Meridian E3 bass uses specifically designed filters to expand, extend and enhance the low-frequency response of the loudspeaker.
FFA (Full Frequency Alignment)
FFA is a combination of digital filters and delays to correct the group-delay of a loudspeaker. It ensures that all frequencies reach the listeners ear at the same time.
Q-Sync
Meridian Q-Sync deploys Meridian's multiple “First In, First Out” buffering system which minimises jitter, ensuring perfect timing and improved clarity.
Pro-Active Bass
Meridian Pro-active Bass protects the bass drivers from over-excursion, ensuring maximum bass output without damaging the drive units.
Pro-Active Thermal
Meridian Pro-active Thermal monitors the audio being sent to the mid-range drivers and tweeters and limits the overall volume of the loudspeaker if there is a risk of the drive units getting too hot.
True Time
True Time is Meridian's proprietary apodising filter that avoids pre-ringing and cleans up the effects of early filters, converting pre-echo to post-echo.
True Link
Meridian True Link is an encryption method for transferring high-definition digital audio over SPDIF connections. It allows secure movement of digital audio whilst ensuring that the SPDIF clock signal can be transmitted with minimum degradation.
Free-Q
Meridian Free-Q is used to compensate for acoustic problems associated with specific loudspeaker placement conditions.
Verified Dealers
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Authorized dealers for Meridian DSP9
- Absolute Sound (SG) — online and in-store — Singapore, Singapore (website)
- Alex Audio Video — in-store — Sofia, Sofia City Province, Bulgaria (website)
- Alpha High End — online and in-store — Brasschaat, Vlaams Gewest, Belgium (website)
- American Sound — in-store — Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada (website)
- Analogue Seduction — online and in-store — Whittlesey, England, United Kingdom (website)
- Art & Voice — online (website)
- Audio Connection — online and in-store — Verona, New Jersey, United States (website)
- Audio Evolution — online and in-store — Volla, Campania, Italy (website)
- Audio High — in-store — San Jose, California, United States (website)
- Audio Reference — in-store — Hamburg-Nord, Hamburg, Germany (website)
and 54 more verified dealers