Back in The Olde Days, the “wireless” used to be the focus of a living room: families would huddle around the radio set to hear news bulletins, serial drama like The Lone Ranger and The Shadow, and tap into the latest dance tunes. (You know, from that hep cat Glenn Miller.)
High-end audio developer Meridian is aiming to bring some of that mystique back to the living room with its all-in-one F8O tabletop entertainment system. The F80 combined an AM/FM Tuner, DAB digital radio, and CD audio player with an integrated 80-watt amp, full-range speakers, and a subwoofer. And, if you connect it up to a display (PAL and NTSC S-Video and composite outputs) you can even play your DVD video discs. The F80 sports an OLED display for showing station information and other programming features, and a variety of accessories will be available (like antennas and iPod docks) to make the F80 the center of your living room experience, with analog and digital aux inputs to support external devices. It even comes with a remote control and an alarm clock function.
The F80s are hand-built in the UK and carry a suggested retail price of $3,000; they’re available in dark red, yellow, silver, black, and off-white.
