Meridian DSP8000 XE: Major upgrades include completely modified speakers

Meridian Audio's flagship DSP8000 XE speakers have received many major upgrades. In the basic proportions of the double cabinet, they repeated the DSP8000.2 model  , which appeared almost 5 years ago.

At the same time, the DSP8000 XE is the first product of the company created under the Extreme Engineering program, launched just at the time of the release of the previous model.

The DSP8000 in the XE version received a set of completely modified speakers. These are 20 cm woofers with 24 mm cone travel, 160 mm Evo midrange and tweeters with a 25 mm beryllium dome and a silver wire wound voice coil as before.

The tweeter waveguide geometry has also changed. Like the midrange, it is powered by a 150-watt Class AB amplifier, while the woofers are powered by bridged Class D amplifier pairs that deliver 240 watts to each of the three speakers in the speaker.

You can send a signal to the DSP8000 XE via Bluetooth (via a Meridian B-Link), via USB, or via a Meridian controller. The analog signal can come through the optional IA21 analog input module. Control – via IR or RS232 interface.

The DSP8000 XE is the first in the company's signature Precision Sonic Transport (PST) design concept and uses the new Atlas software engine to drive its most powerful DSP to date.

The hardware infrastructure of the digital and analog circuits running in the DSP8000 XE has been called the R1 Electronics Platform. It includes the Command Board processing center, where the DSP processor and the Sync-Link digital audio synchronization system are located.

The speaker cabinet is complemented by flush-mounted metal grills and an aluminum base plate. The main color of the DSP8000 XE is black, although the manufacturer did not rule out other options. The first commercial samples of the speakers should appear in March 2022.

The Meridian DSP8000 XE will cost £ 75,000 in the UK.