14 DAY TRIAL // Once there was a phone and a laptop. Now it's a Meridian. A sound system, that is. This year, Meridian will celebrate their 30th anniversary and so they decided to team up with Ferrari and pop out a piece of special edition gear, namely the F80. Of course, all in high-end style for Meridian have done nothing different all these years, let alone the friendship with the Scuderia which superimposed an outstanding work by itself.
And Bob Stuart, co-founder of England-based Meridian brand has really done a cool job: the Ferrari Meridian F80 will blast 80W of sound from almost any source such as iPod, MP3 player, CD, DVD, TV, anything. Basically, it is no piece of ultra technology so don't think it will move satellites on the orbit: it is associated with Ferrari but apart from delivering top operation and sound - of course, coming from state of the art components - the meridian F80 brings nothing in the tech world.
What it does bring in a sweet manner is design and class; as a matter of fact, meridian has never been in the front line of tech innovation but have rather walked the known paths; nevertheless, they have always did it in great style. Actually, I found it quite surprising the way Italian design and Latin style has managed to match so well with the English sobriety and Saxon spirit.
The F80 comes in the 4 Ferrari traditional colors (red, yellow, black and white) so you can choose which suits you best. Operation and interface are really simple so no need to attend Meridian classes for a proper use. Anyway, "using" Ferrari could really make some serious driving lessons even for experienced day-by-day drivers.
Finally, if you think you want one (Meridian Ferrari F80, that is) you must be prepared for some Ferrari pricing: the standard edition is somewhere at roughly $2900 and the exclusive, limited versions will drain about $3500 from your pockets. Be sure to check for availability at the Meridian HQs for you surely won't find this piece of gear in your local neighborhood store. Some 17 UK stores will sell it only... truly exclusive!
