Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems DSP 5200

I was able to compare 5200 directly against 7000 and agree with crion - they are on par with each other generally, but the 7000 produces much more intense bass;

that said, I was able to use dual subs (for a short while) coupled with the 5200, raised the 5200 crossover and achieve something very much like the 7000 sound for much less money....

Of course much of this depends on your room size and sound quality. i did this in a room small enough for the 5200 to easily fill. If your room is fairly large, the 7000 will really shine.

ken

I also have compared 7k's to 5200's. I agree that the top end is very similar and the differences to the boxed designs is a good one.

However, I'm surprised that no-one has found the mid-range clarity and detail to be a key differentiator between the two models. This was quite noticable when we tried the 52's

Nick-
I heard some of this, it was very material dependent. But you're right right, it was definitely there; however, when I added subs and raised the crossover (offloading the 5200 at the bottom), it was virtually undetectable to me. But without the sub, I could hear that difference in Jazz, Acoustical but not most Rock and surprisingly I couldn't hear it in Vocal music, even though I think I remember you saying that's where you noticed it most.... Must be my aging ears...

ken

My 5200s arrived today. The gloss black looks much better in real life than the pictures.

I was hoping for something better than the plastic feet.

Right now my only problem is I can't get the COMM cable to plug into my G08. I didn't want to force it too hard. Has anyone else had this problem?

Reverse the COMMs cable.

Cheers,

Thanks. I will give it a try.

One additional question. The G08 is suppose to upsample but connected to the 5200s, it only shows 44. In looking through the 5200s manual, I couldn't locate anything to set this. Do I lose this by using the digital out into the 5200s?

I haven't worked with a G08. Let me consult the manual for a moment (time passes)...

See page 13-15 about resetting the player type. You need the G08 to be Type 01 or 02. I'm betting it's set to 03.

Regards,

The only power cord I have heard make a difference was a broken power cord vs a working one. There is a problem that Meridian power cords are not shielded though. I have heard veryclearly and unshield powercord degrade an unbalance linelevel cable. I could hold the cables together and get hum and seperate them and have it stop, in real time. It's a good idea to use shielded power cords so you don't have to worry about routing. My pioneer plasma (both display and media box) came with shielded power cords, kudos to pioneer.

Addict,

the comms cables will not need to be forced. As JK implies, you probably have the wroong end. Look at the M cable at each end and you'll see the pins are set out differently. A S-lead is the same both ends.

Your 5200's will upsample anyway I thought so you may not detect a difference even if you find an on/off switch in the G08 setting. The G08 will display 44 as that is waht it is reading. Toggle the display for the 5200's and you may see that they are receiving 88 which would indicate that the G08 is upsampling.

Addict,

As for the feet you should give Finite Elemente's Cerapucs or even Cerabases a try. Should be a worthwile sonic improvement. At least they work fine for me...

Regards
m

Thanks all.

I found out I had the "S" and the "M" cable reversed. Switching that and everything fit fine. I had even read the manual but not close enough I guess. Too excited hooking it up I guess for my own good.

I did check my G08 and while it showed Type 1 when I entered the reset function, I went ahead and resaved it as type 1. Now the 5200s register the upsampling.

Hi,

I am using power isolator from Transparent Cable. It improves the sound in my opinion. I use DSP 5000 24/96, they sound is more ease and dynamic contrast improves as well. The vocal is just more lively and I can hear slight change of the tone of the singer.
Once you use it, you are hooked.However, regarding changing the digital cables, you must be carefull. My experience is they are different but not neccesarily better. I found that by changing to even much more expensive digital cable will compromise the pace and the rythem of Meridian system. I did not it. It was sparkling at first though.

Cheers,

Harry