Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems Fix my Meridian 800 or buy a used G98

My Meridian 800 seems to be as reliable as an old 1980s Merkur XR4ti Automobile. Great when she runs, but there seems to be no end to it breaking down. I love the sound of the 800, but if the G98 sounds as good, I think that might be a way to go. I have a chance to pick up the G98 for a very fair price. Any opinions? Thanks for taking your time in answering.
Chuck

Personally, I think you may regret moving to a G series player from an 800. I couldn't listen to a full track with the G98 before skipping to the next and I never made it through a full album before fatigue set in.

The G series has a different sonic signature to the 500/800 series. In fairness, a lot of people like it, but it wasn't for me.

Cheers

George

Hi Chuck,

In my experience, the two main things that go wrong with the 800, are the power supply and the DVD drive. Both are relatively easy to source and providing you are handy with a screwdriver, not too difficult to replace.

Having listened to Meridian kit from the 200 series up through to the wonderful 818, the SQ just keeps getting better. Whilst the G98 is a fantastic player and has some of the technology from the 800 series, there is still that last 'ounce' that it is missing. Mind you, if you are just feeding it into the 861, the differences will be very small.

It is a shame you're not in the UK, otherwise I'd offer to take a look at the 800 and return it to working condition.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

Steve

Any ideas on where to pick up a power supply?
I will be in London in March. should I put it on the plane with me? (The Meridian 880)

How long for (in London)? A new power supply will cost approximately £40-45 and is easily obtained. A new drive is trickier because they seem to need to be ordered from China or Korea, hence shipping delays. Of course, you could order the drive and bring it with you from the US. Fitting is easy. How old is your existing power supply? I always keep a spare for my 800 because they seem to last only 3-5 years.

I bet you're a joy to be with in the car then!

Indeed!

Must admit to being pretty disappointed with the stereo in my current car... I often just switch off as silence is the preferable option!
Shame, as the older equivalent model had a much better unit.

But back on topic... repair that 800!

Cheers
George

Whilst I agree the PSU can easily be replaced, just replacing the PSU is not a good idea,

Some Caps I would recommend on the Cap board as well as a general check. Also if you use the new PSU version you need to modify the display board to have a new reset chip.

If you are in the UK we can look at your item, we may be able to consider a 2-day service as we always soak test the products before shipping them out.

800 is always a better player than the G9x players, the clock and highspeed interface on the 800 is far better.

Regards
Edd

Marc Koval is your guy in the states.