If you don't need high res, I do think the North Star is a great value. I haven't heard any of the Meridian players in my rig so hard to say how it compares. My impressions of the DAC are here. I've since had the opportunity to hear it in some very nice speaker rigs, my favorite being an Avantgarde Duo system where I preferred the North Star to a Naim CDS3 system, but still enjoyed the vinyl rig more.