I should also note that the directionality of the kimbers, which isn't noted on the cables, is label end toward the output (no label near source). The high end is very nice and pretty smooth, bass has always been a little thin with these (silver streak and heroes), but they just sound like crap in reverse, so don't screw it up.
I recently acquired some new Van Den Hul cables and they are impressive. I've gotten 2 x .5m pairs of 102MKIII hybrid rca interconnects and a really nice Mainsstream Hybrid powercord. I got great deals on these and have purchased a second identical power cord from the same person on audiogon because it is a great cable at a great price - $108 for a $425 retail cable, in mint condition.
I got the .5m pairs ($52/pair) to replace the audioquest turquoise and they are much superior, I think I like them better than the kimber silver streak which is more than twice the cost. Hopefully I can get some 1m lengths to replace the rest of the AQ turquoise. The powercord easily competes with the ZCord II and so far wins the battle, so I'm going to use one for the transport and one for the amp and the ZCord II's for everything else in the stereo playback chain. We'll see how that works out when I get the second powercord hopefully this week. I also found another MIT Proline AES/EBU Digital cable 1m length for $250 delivered, which isn't as good of a deal as the audio pimp, but since they're hard to find and I want a matched set, I paid. I'll put the straightwire ad up again when this one arrives, and I think it will improve performance significantly used between the 500 and 518.
On a whim, I bought an M-Audio Audiophile USB external USB audio device today. It sounds very good with EAC ripped cds, though it is still not quite as good as the Meridian 500. I have replaced the long run of spidf coax with USB and have a 1m coax spidf (aq vdm-3) going from the audiophile usb to the 518 and it sounds much better. I think the difference now is the shorter spidf coax cable vs. the aes/ebu. I'm still curious about the slimdevices squeezebox2, which I may get and move this one to the office for headphone use.
The new music only setup is:
Meridian 500 (MIT Z-Cord II) -> (StraightWire InfoLink AES/EBU)
Meridian 518 (MIT Z-Cord I) -> (MIT Proline Digital AES/EBU)
MSB Nelson DAC (Revelation Audio Labs 5pin DIN umbilical) w/PowerBase 1000 (MIT Z-Cord II) -> (MIT AVT-1)
McCormack TLC-1 (MIT Z-Cord I) -> (MIT AVT-1)
McCormack DNA-125 (MIT Z-Cord I) -> (MIT AVT-1 BiWire)
Monitor Audio Silver 7
The 518 is definitely a worthy addition, even just as a digital processor with the TLC-1 as preamp.
Had a great listening session last night. Used noise shape D on the 518 with emphasis on, listening to Alison Krauss and Union Station live at louisville. An amazingly good live recording, I felt like I was right in front of the stage with no one else in the audience. Awesome. The cd is great and Alison Krauss has the most amazing smooth and silky voice. So far, the 518 is very impressive (except the clicking).
I recieved the meridian 518 2 days ago, it appears brand new which is nice. First I hooked the DAC up directly to the amp and used the 518 as a digital pre between the 500 and the DAC. This worked but switching inputs made a really loud popping/clicking noise that did not sound good at all. So I put the TLC-1 back in between the DAC and amp and used Type 1 on the 518 which is as a processor only with controllable gain (-99 to +12dB), the clicking sound is still there, but I can now turn down the passive pre and avoid having it sound like the click/thumping is going to destroy my speakers.
Anyway, the 518 does make a pretty big difference. It does so many things that it's hard to quantify the changes. Adding pre-emphasis really makes cd's bright and high end shines on most cd's. I haven't used all of the noise shaping options, but the high-pass with the pre-emphasis seems like a good combo so far. It also seems to have sharpened the focus of the stage, making it even more wide and deep, but also pinpoint placement. I'd like to be able to use it as intended, skipping the passive pre altogether, so I posted the problem on the hitchikers guide to meridian site and several people have responded. We'll see how it turns out. Someone mentioned switching cables fixed the problem for them (using VanDenHuls) so I tried the kimber heroes instead of the AVT-1 but it made no difference. I also want to switch out the straightwire aes/ebu with another mit, but I'll have to wait on a good deal since they're $800 retail.
I would also like to pass all the digital signals from dvd and a/d converter through it, but the input switching noise really makes that undesirable. I called meridian america about it and they said that was normal behavior of the relays switching and sending out a digital thump, annoying.