Meridian Ellipse

Do you need a complete audio system? You know, some kind of player, an amplifier and a pair of speakers? Or would you rather have it all packaged up in one unit, complete with streaming, and controlled by an app on your phone? Well, before you say ‘An all-in-one’s not proper hi-fi,’ maybe it’s time to think again. The days of glorified Bluetooth speakers are behind us, and the likes of the Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin models and Naim’s Mu-so series have been raising the stakes in ‘lifestyle’ hi-fi, while even some high-end home cinema soundbars – think Sennheiser’s huge Ambeo Max model – can put in a pretty convincing turn when it comes to playing music.

The latest arrival is Meridian’s Ellipse, first shown at the 2024 High End Show in Germany – which, given the nature of some of the systems demonstrated there, was fairly ambitious – and now, after some fits and starts apparently due to all those licencing agreements required for systems of this kind, is in the shops at around £1900.

We’ll come back to that gasp you just gave in a moment, as the immediate impression of the Ellipse is impressive whether you’re listening to it or simply unboxing it. Meridian is big on the whole user experience thing, and extracting the unit from its packaging and getting it up and running is as enjoyable as it is simple. For a start, this thing is small: more compact than the Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin and dwarfed by a full-size Naim Mu-so, it’s just over 41cm wide and stands 17cm tall. And at just 3.9kg it is easy enough to move from room to room, where it’ll work anywhere you have a power socket.

It's a flexible network player, too. While it doesn’t set any new standards in terms of formats or services, the Meridian offers the choice of wi-fi or Ethernet connectivity to a home router, and works with Bluetooth, Airplay, Google Cast, Spotify Connect and TIDAL Connect. It’s also Roon-ready, and can play music from local storage, such as on a computer or NAS unit running UPnP software.

You can also connect to it using USB-C, for example from a laptop, and there’s a hybrid 3.5mm socket offering both optical and stereo analogue input, while control is either via the touch-panel on the top of the unit, or Meridian’s own control app. For those wanting a conventional remote handset, there’s an infrared sensor eye - but the compatible MSR2 remote is a £300ish extra.

Meridian makes great play of the fact the Ellipse is the result of the same Extreme Engineering Programme that’s behind its flagship DSP9 digital active speakers (yours for £60,000) and says that its little tabletop model is ‘a complete Meridian system in a compact form factor,’ and ‘a distillation of everything we do.’ Handbuilt in the UK, whereas some more affordable rivals are made overseas, the Ellipse looks quite simple within, with just a 9cm full-range driver for each channel, and an oval 15x10cm ‘racetrack’ driver to handle the low bass below 180Hz. Neither does it seem too powerful, at least not on paper: it has 25W per channel, plus 30W for the subwoofer driver.

However, the Ellipse is packed with Meridian digital processing technology. There’s ‘Bass & Space’ to optimise soundstaging, ‘E3 bass’ with filters to expand, extend and enhance the low-frequency response, ‘Image Focus’ to adjust for off-centre listening, ‘Free-Q’ to compensate for the positioning of the speaker (in free space, on a shelf, close to a wall or in a corner), and ‘Image Elevation’ to create the impression of the sound coming from a higher position than the Ellipse’s location. All of these are controllable from the app, as well as treble and bass adjustments, and it doesn’t take long to get the various services dialled in and the sound set up to your personal taste.

Sound quality

With a little care in positioning, and some time spent exploring all those menu options, the Ellipse can pull off some remarkable tricks. First, it manages to sound so much bigger and more detailed than anything this small has any right to. Second, it will fill even large rooms with music. And third – most amazingly of all – it manages to create credible stereo images even when listening way off to the side of the room.

But then the sound is never localised on the unit itself, especially when that ‘Image Elevation’ facility is used to make the sound float up in the air above the Ellipse. It’s a neat psychoacoustic effect and somewhat uncanny in action, creating a three-dimensional sonic image completely detached from the stylish unit sitting on the shelf.

Load up the soundtrack from Never Too Late, the Disney+ Elton John documentary, and the Ellipse sounds beautifully refined and detailed with the 2016 remaster of Tiny Dancer, the piano and voice resolved beautifully, the slide and acoustic guitars having a lovely presence in the mix - and the effects and build of Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding sound almost like surround sound, filling the room.

It's all a little unnerving. The Ellipse delivers on its promise of being a real hi-fi system distilled down into a small package, and it even impresses with large-scale music such as the Czech Philharmonic’s Dvořák Legends & Rhapsodies set. It delivers suitable orchestral weight, and proves more than capable of playing at hefty levels when required, while keeping everything under control. I’m sure the music would eventually harden up if you really pushed the levels, but even at levels as high as most people will ever want, and way beyond normal comfort levels, the Ellipse keeps its cool.

It'll even rock out hard, slamming through the chaos of Hawkwind’s Master of the Universe from the recent Live at the Royal Albert Hall set, with that chugging riff seemingly unstoppable. OK, so it’s not the cleanest recording you’ll ever hear, but it does prove that this compact unit is always up for it, even when somewhat outside its comfort zone.

Living with

As befits a lifestyle hi-fi product, the Ellipse is both easy to set up and a breeze to operate, whether streaming from online services or playing your own music from USB or network storage. Yes, some will bemoan the lack of a conventional remote (unless you’re willing to spend the extra cash), but the app is neat and effective, as well as opening up all those menu options.

Conclusion

There’s no escaping the fact that the Ellipse is expensive, especially when compared with some of the excellent alternatives on the market. You could have several Zeppelins or Mu-sos for the money, and the latter has it comprehensively outpointed for power and sheer slam - but what Meridian has achieved with so much technology packed into a unit so compact is pretty remarkable.

Listening notes

Deep Purple Speed King

From the classic In Rock album, this is Purple laying down a marker for the sound that became the band’s trademark – all driving rhythms, snarly guitars and hysterical vocals. And the Meridian drives it beautifully

Art Pepper Too Close for Comfort

Superbly remastered in 2024, Pepper’s Intensity album sees his alto sax soaring over a tight little trio of piano bass and drums. Yes, it may be chemically enhanced – Pepper was in prison for heroin offences when it was released – but the sound is sweet, clean and swinging

Brahms Symphony No. 1

From the Danish Symphony Orchestra’s complete ‘small ensemble’ boxset of the symphonies conducted by Adam Fischer, this is a superbly clear and rhythmic account of the work, perfectly suited to the Meridian’s refined sound

You know those old ads for magic tricks that screamed ‘Amaze your friends’? Well, that sums up the appeal of the Ellipse: a big sound from a small, stylish unit that’s going to be a real talking point on your sideboard, and will silence the room when you fire it up. Unashamedly luxurious and a real statement device - but if you buy it with your heart, your head won’t be complaining.