Business Weekly - Cambridge, UK

Meridian has constantly pushed back the boundaries of audio performance and design over 30 years as well as creating a successful manufacturing business.

The new F80 system incorporates Meridian’s traditional focus on ultra high-end separate hi-fi systems and components – CD players, DVD players, surround-sound decoders, amplifiers and loudspeakers – with a DAB/FM/AM tuner and 80 watt, 2.1 digital loudspeaker system into a single, portable, desktop unit.

Available in the UK in March before being rolled out across the rest of Europe and later the world, the F80 will be the first audio product to carry dual branding featuring Ferrari, whose logo sits side by side with Meridian’s.

The F80 will be entirely hand-built at Meridian’s Huntingdon factory where the firm has a 120-strong local workforce and at a recommended retail price of £1,495, it will continue Meridian’s long tradition of designing and manufacturing exclusive entertainment systems at the very high-end of the industry.

Ferrari and Meridian have had an unofficial relationship for a number of years, which took a more formal footing in 2005 when the two decided to collaborate on a range of co-branded audio products.

For the F80, the Italian car manufacturer used the expertise in materials and composites technology it has fashioned from years on the Formula 1 track to help develop a ‘cabinet’ that could densely pack the carefully designed electronics into a base without compromising performance.

The enclosure used a unique alloy-injected composite plastic that is very light but also extremely rigid and dense, to minimise vibration and which was also used to house the high-quality loudspeakers.

The audio engine powering the device comprises three power amps delivering over 80 watts to the two front speakers and integral rear subwoofer. By comparison, the average transistor radio outputs less than five watts.

The loudspeakers themselves are special full-range designs – custom-made for the F80 – with powerful neodymium magnets and hi-tech cones fashioned from magnesium and aluminium alloy.

The F80 is a versatile performer at home wherever you plug it in. It’s the ideal bedside alarm clock, kitchen radio, computer speaker system, lounge hi-fi, iPod speaker dock and home cinema package.

Founded by Bob Stuart and Allen Boothroyd, to manufacture the high-quality audio products they had designed, the duo’s early projects included the famous Lecson Audio product line, which is on permanent display in the New York Museum of Modern Art.

Stuart was also involved in the very earliest stages of the development of Compact Disc through his technical connections with Philips in Holland.

In 1983, Meridian launched the first CD player to be made in Britain, the MCD which received awards for the best-sounding CD player in seven major countries including Japan and the US.

Through the 1980s, Meridian continued to advance its audio capabilities, pushing into the whole range of domestic hi-fi and becoming the first design team to win Design Council Award’s on three occasions.