Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems Do I re-cap?

I have just required a pair of M2 speakers to go with a 201 Pre. Both Speakers and Pre look like they have the original caps in them.
All the caps look to be in good shape, no bulging or leaking. I have no issues with hum or any signs of a problem.

I would rather change the caps before I do get one fail just for peace of mind Any recommendations for caps. I do not really trust eBay too much.

Hi,

Welcome to the forum.

I would certainly recommend re-capping the speakers. They're probably getting on for being 30 years old, so would certainly benefit from new capacitors and a service.

I tend to use Panasonic capacitors, although you could use Nichicon. There are a number of suppliers - CPC/Farnell, RS Components, etc. that can supply.

If you are not proficient with soldering, then there are a number of us on the forum who can assist (myself included).

If you need any help, feel free to drop me a PM.

Cheers,

Steve

My solder skills are pretty good, The M2 are 40 years old. Come out in 1982 the 201 come out around early 90s so that is got to be going on 30 years old. so Both will be in for a recap.

+1 on the re-cap advice. My experience is with DSPs, but I have done several now and it really makes a huge difference in the sound quality. For peace of mind, you can order your replacement caps from a reputable source.

Good luck on the re-cap! In my case each time the difference was no less than monumental.

I have been looking at caps from HiFi collective as I have used them before, The caps I intend to use are Elna Cerafines ROA Although I might be looking at diffrent options for the Tank caps

I really want to get the most out of these speakers so all the wiring will also be replaced with decent quality fresh wiring. As I only payed £180 for them I think it would be worth spending a bit on them to get them as good as they can be.

When I re-capped my DSPs about a year ago, I found Mouser to be competitive price-wise.
May be worth checking

May I also add I have no affiliation with them.

Thanks for that, They do seem much better price the HIFI collective.
I am currently writing up a list of caps. I have to few bits of hifi gear that need doing.

No problem.
They were cheaper!

Hello,

If your M2's have never been recapped be prepared for a big difference when you do it. I recapped many years ago, the main PSU caps first from the 80's gold ROE's and went for some BHC Slit Foils. These were made under license by BHC (now Kemet) utilising a DNM intellectual property (Dennis Morecroft) and Meridian, as well as others, used them in the 90's when they were consistently available. The bottom end became better defined, faster and the image projection became more three dimensional. Be careful handling these and make sure they are fully discharged before attempting to handle them. Kemet have begun to offer them again and can be purchased with provenance from Mouser as well as other suppliers, you may need to buy a small quantity to get the best price delivered.

The big gains will be in replacing the 6 smaller 10/100uF electrolytics, with the M2 amp enclosure not being ventilated they will most probably have dried out and drifted slowly over the years, the change is gradual so is difficult to perceive until it becomes quite apparent something is not 'sounding as good as remembered'. I tried Cerafines first and found that although they were an improvement, had a relentless character in this amplifier design. I switched to Silmic II's, a bit of a squeeze physically in some of the positions, and found the results highly agreeable with the M2 design and character, the image projection extended beyond what I ever remembered, full 3D on good feeds, the mid and treble sweetened and was voiced beautifully for jazz and vocals. I purchased some Nichicon Muse for these positions as well (the top end Muse are available in these smaller values) and may do a comparison at some point.

The M2 bass and top amplifiers are close design derivatives of the 103/ 105 classics, with design refinements to drive the Kef driver parameters and the total design at optimum. I have heard that the 103 design has offered immense strides when people fitted Black Gates in special configurations to the electrolytic positions and always wondered what these may have offered in performance tothe M2 / M3 backplane amplifiers.

I always mention this to M2 owners that they should always try to feed them in balanced mode (using a balanced source), there is easily an extra subjective 10% of M2 magic coming to you this way with the correct interconnects. 568 or 518 feeding a DAC with its balanced outputs padded down going direct into M2s is a good starting point.

Have fun!

Does anyone have an idea what a re-cap of the M20's would cost

Both DIY i.e. - Me or Getting someone to do it - All to decent spec caps of course.

Thanks in advance

Shaun

Finally got round to ordering the caps,
I was also thinking of recaping my 201 pr3 and 203 DAC. Has anyone else tried doing this?

I'm wanting to re-cap my pair of M20s so have the same question.

Can anyone provide a list of recommended parts to order? I've never done this before so am pretty clueless

Thanks!
Stu