Hi there.

I have a 2012 L322 and my lease is ending, thinking about turning it in for a L405. Do you guys think the Meridian 825W option is worth it? From reading Jaguar forums (not many talking about the 825W in RR forums) -- It seems like the only benefit are if you're into surround sound processing... my HK in my 2012 has simulated Logic7 and it's not that great... I prefer proper stereo. Also, it's just me typically in the car, so not sure I'll benefit from the surround.

I do consider myself as an audiophile, but to me, this upgrade seem like it's mostly surround features vs, the 1700W is a completely different beast...

Thoughts?

More power to help overcome the background noise is a good thing. The car is a very hostile environment to try and play audiophile quality music and it does need the power to drive the speakers.

That said, I heard the 825W system against the 1700W and that was enough to make me want the 1700W. More speaker drive units, better quality units at that. Plenty of power to set it up exactly as you want to listen without stressing any individual components and all round it gave concert hall performance.

By comparison the 825W system sounded flat so if it were not for the processor I can imagine the basic system would sound like something I would rip out to replace with a full Nakamichi or McIntosh system.

LR would like you to spend the money. With that in mind you might consider the entry level system is not going to sound good enough to a lot of people. LR like it that way, once you've tasted caviare so to speak, crab paste is not that appealing really. Being an audiophile you need to let your ears tell you how much money to spend.

The mere fact that the 825w system is standard on the VSE & AB says enough for me

The 1700w system is a significant cost (around £4K IIRC) so I didn't even listen to it - I'm happy with my 825w crab paste

The base system isn't that great, it's what I have. It's not as good as my old L322 Logic 7? However I only listen to Radio 4, so it's not an issue

I have the 825 w and am really pleased with it
sounds sharp and not over stretched at all

I came from 1,200 w system in L322 which was good, to the 1,700 w system into L405 and its amazing, i would say its worth the money any day of the week.

There is a noticeable difference between the base and the 825W system. I have only had the 825W system in my four L405 but when I have been loaned a base Vogue have really noticed the difference. I dare not try the 1700W as I know I'll so want it.

Nick 2019 D5 HSE Lux SDV6 Indus
55 D3 SE
98 MX5 1.8 RS
gone 17 older variants of FFRR