Dossier — Meridian Explorer2
The brochure speaks; the silicon answers. What follows is what each has said.
Claims breakdown
| Claim | Bucket | Witnessed | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCM 24-bit / 192 kHz | PCM | Alt 1, Subslot 4 — 24-bit PCM. Sample Rates Supported (kHz): 44.1 48 88.2 96 176.4 192Alt 2, Subslot 2 — 16-bit PCM. Sample Rates Supported (kHz): 44.1 48 88.2 96 176.4 192 | ✓ Match |
| MQA decode + render | Silent | MQA is a licensed software render carried over PCM frames; the USB descriptor witnesses only format, depth, and rate, and cannot see it. It is the sole feature distinguishing this unit from the original Explorer. | — Silent: claims unwitnessable by descriptor |
Remarks
A stalwart instrument from an old and respected forge. Meridian has built in Cambridge since 1977, and the Explorer2 carries that lineage — hand-assembled, engineered to the principles of the firm's reference work.
From its predecessor it differs in a single respect: MQA, the fold-and-unfold codec devised by Meridian's own founder. Yet that sole distinction lies precisely where the descriptor cannot follow. MQA is a licensed render riding ordinary PCM — invisible to a wire-shape that reads only format, depth, and rate.
What the Explorer2 does declare, it declares true: advertised at 24-bit / 192 kHz, and the silicon shows exactly that, no more and no less. One quiet detail the brochure never mentions — that 24-bit path is carried 24-in-32, each sample seated in a 32-bit word as the converters of its day expected. Innocuous, but worth the witnessing. A fine instrument from a brighter age.
+ See the full Concordance +