Bob Stuart and Allen Boothroyd founded Meridian Audio in 1977, and they’re still running the iconic British hi-fi brand today. They produced the first-ever fully integrated active loudspeaker (i.e. a speaker with an amplifier built inside), and they are the first English company to produce a CD player. That alone would be enough to secure any brand’s position in the pantheon of audio tech, but the duo have never been interested in coasting. Meridian forged on, creating the first digital surround sound processor and the first DSP-based digital active loudspeaker, among many other advances.
We visited their Huntingdon HQ — where all Meridian Audio designs are conceived, engineered and manufactured — to catch a glimpse of how their flagship DSP8000 Loudspeakers are made. With price points ranging from $40,000 to $80,000+ depending on the version, they’re not exactly lining the shelves of the local Best Buy. Thankfully, their sound is just as out of this world as their price.