Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems DSP6000's can't handle high volume? 85-90

Hi George,

The amplifiers are in the 75 watt range for each driver I believe. Most of that power isn't needed for the high frequency drives and may be over kill and waisted. Remember the max voltage range of the amplifier is a lot lower than a 400 watt amp. So if the impedance rises to high then peaks might hit the voltage rail. I would think M designed it to have plenty of headroom in the top end though. It would be pretty loud by then. The highest power levels is needed for the low bass range. How big is the bass driver amplifier? I'm not completely familiar with the DSP speakers but I'm sure they are not designed for sustained SPL over 110dB. We are talking 15 to 30 minutes of sustained high level sound. The 114dB rating is dynamic peaks not sustained SPL levels. It would be good to find out what his calibration settings are so we can get a good picture of what might be wrong. Like you said if the cal setting are 0 - +5 then anything over 83 - 85 is probably clipping the amplifiers on peaks. Thus his over heating and distortion. IMO

Ron

Hi

I have just set up a Denon 3910 with a pair of DSp5500's and I've found that the digital output is rather low compared to the 800. The 5.5k's need to be run at 70 to output the same as 61 from the 800 according to my meter. Bearing in mind that every 9db is a double of volume thats quite a difference in output level. So I guess it would be quite feasible to run them up at 90 from my Denon DVD player without my ears staring to bleed as they would be doing with the 800 at that level in my room.
Saying that there must be a problem if they are clipping at 75. I would imagine that if the problem was there when you purchased them and you did not tell Meridian they would not have known anything was amiss.
Meridian may change the DAC's but I'm pretty sure everything else is more or less left untouched. They don't change the drivers thats for sure. I'm sure that when they tested them they would have no need to run them at 75 or above or Meridian would be paying out a lot of compensation for deaf tec's in the future!

Regards Paul

I had the DSP600s for four years. Suddenly the right speaker began to distort - badly. It sounded like when you pull the mains plug on a huge amplifier - the sound lingers on for a while in the speaker, but is weak and sort of crackly. The problem was not there all the time, only when "stressed" at loud volumes for quite some time. My dealer never found out what it was. The drivers were OK. Meridian UK sent a new board, the problem persisted. I checked my mains system/cables/supply. Nothing wrong. At last I (and the dealer) gave up and swapped them for a pair of DSP700s. Mucho monetas extra, but full satisfaction. As far as I know, one of the 6000 is still in some warehouse somewhere, waiting to be diagnosed correctly and repaired. The other is still in my basement, waiting to be picked up nearly three months after the 7000s arrived.
Might be unrelated to this, but I just thought I should give all you "there is never ever anything wrong with Meridian speakers" something to chew on...

We are not saying nothing is wrong, quite the opposite. Most of us are saying something is wrong. A typical good DSP6000, in a typical large untreated room should run fine for a typical listener.

Either 2 things are happening.

1) He is over driving them.
2) They are broken.

If he is over driving them, then why?

a) He is deaf
b) He has bass cancelation issues.
c) Room really is too big/unfriendly

P.S. It really sounds like you had a bad driver. As the driver warms up, things move around a bit. If the driver is not perfect the coil can start to rub. If it does, it sounds horrible, crackle, snap, pop. Bad tweeter can cause snaps and pops too and the only way I know to test it, is to swap it out.

A faulty driver will be contstantly bad-sounding, I guess. This was clearly periodical. The speaker could behave well for weeks, then the problem started (after driving the thing hard, not excessively - more like 75 than 85). After turning the speaker completely off (standby or a long pause didn't fix it) , it was OK again. I mean, two guys from the dealers service dept virtually LIVED in my house for a while. They tried everything. Swapped the back panels. The problem followed the old panel (which in itself proves that it is no driver problem). Then the problem started again - in the speaker with the NEW panel. Ghost in the machine kind of thing, really.

I did not mean to imply that every one of you distinguished Hitchhikers are tunnel-visioned Meridian fundamentalists. Just happened to notice that some seeem to hold technical malfunction as the least likely cause here...

If you can listen to music at 85+ for sustained periods, the issue you may have, could be with you; and not the 6k's

The issue you describe here is fading, and not cut-out. If you cannot isolate that the tweeter alone is shutting down, then it may not be a fried Tweeter, Rather Thermal clamping. If the tweeter is fried it may be a scorched coil, which may give you trouble for a day or so, but bad tweeters typically are either dead, or playable.

If the bass fades in kind with the tweets, then the real issue is your penchant for Db, and you may need to fix the room first with calibration... Keep the speakers cool, and listen more attentively, rather than louder.

How near to the speakers are you listening at 85 upwards?

If you can listen at '87ish' consistently then you may have some substantial hearing deficiency/loss, which you are making up for with volume.

But the question this raises is whether you should be able to hear this fault after sustained bombardment at high volume.

Are you playing two speakers with a surround configuration, while you fix the center? If so; then the digital gain is too low, and more pointedly, your center is missing, so you are overdriving the pair to make up for it. Check that your config is set to Two Channel Digital.

Last thing...

See a professional audiologist about your hearing.

Best,

Bernie

Lots of more good information. I am learning quite a bit.

For alot of you--my hearing is not that bad, although it may not be as good as it was at age 25.

There were indeed 4 Meridian people in my home this past Monday for over 3 1/2 hours. Their conclusion was that my room is too large in that it is a family room where the speakers are located and the family room opens to a large kitchen and sun room area.

They never played with location or calibration, in fact, I'm not sure how to calibrate them aside from trying to locate them throughout the room. I have not done this as I already have my M&K surround system set up in the right places and I have not wanted to disconnect them until I could get the 6000s to work properly. The Meridian people said it would not make a diff based on my room and volume taste.

By the way, I love the 6000s and Meridian equipment which is why I want so badly to either get them working or find something that does.

I am sending the center to Atlanta for diagnosis and repair. The upgrade was done at the dealer in Chicago. I did not get any kind of certificates, but the backs were c ompletely changed out and I had new higher serial numbers, 96/24 stickers, and a 2 year warranty.

Sounds like guynextdoor's experience is closest to mine except, my 6000's ALWAYS AND EVERY TIME, get so hot you cannot keep your hand on the middle backs for more than 5 seconds, and they fade and screech loudly (on volumes of 75-85). The lower the volume, the longer it takes, but so far the longest I have been able to plaY them is 35 minutes. This happens with the original 48/16 panels, power supplies, etc. and then with the new complete upgrades to 96/24.

My 2 original D6000's purchased on eBay have serial numbers 100248 and 100249 meaning they were among the first ones made.

Basically, the Meridian people say I am indeed overdriving them (per George Mills input also). They did say that 1 or 2 subwoofers might be a great idea (which I already have 1 M&K). I am considering 2 Velodyne DD15's?

Something is not right. 75 shouldn't distort. Above 85 would be in the on set of clipping range is my guess but not 75. Big room or not 75 shouldn't distort. Some amplifiers do run very hot but I'm not familiar with the DSP6000's so I wouldn't know. Something tells me your calibration levels are cranked up real high and you may have digital clipping. The clipping even at low volumes would over heat the amplifiers. You really need to attach a PC and calibrate the digital levels. You have to do this.

Ron

I find it hard to believe anyone from M would say that 75 is overdriving the equipment. You could put these speakers in a cathedral and play them at 75.....they shouldn't over heat or distort.

Are any of the bass/treble settings on the master speaker set to maximum ? Is the power supply the correct type for your voltage ? I could imagine that would cause some over heating. I've run 5k's, 55k's and 8k's.....all have had periods of extended 80-85 during parties etc and do not fall over.

Does it occur with all speakers simultaneously?

Does it occur if you set a different speaker to be master?

I play my 6000 from 75 to 85 for hours without overheating,I was driving them with a 500 and 518 so no calibration other than drivers calibration in the 6000 which in my case is at 0 for all.

Before I replaced the tweeters I could not play them higher than 78 for more than 20 or 30 minutes.It also was dependant on the ambient temperature.(Florida)

I am now using them with a 500,518,561,5000c and enjoying every minute.(At 85 or more).

I have been watching this thread with interest and whole heartedly agree with Ron. If you want to listen at sustained levels of 110db or more the DSP6000`s are not the speaker for you. Meridian specifically designed the DSP8000`s for larger American style living rooms / home theatres etc. as the rooms are generally larger than those in the UK. To be quite blunt you have probably damaged your DSP6000`s, I expect the drivers are partially melted which is common with overdriving and due to the lower impedance the amplifiers are now running red hot even at levels as low as 75. I have personally owned numerous pairs of DSP6000`s in my time and I honestly believe with the exception of the newer DSP8000`s you cannot fault them.

My kids play them extremely loud on occasions but I normally make them back off if the house begins to shake. Meridian DSP`s are designed for high quality audio playback not for driving to near destruction.

Nick

I agree, but I think they were fried before they shipped them. But I don't understand why 4 Meridian reps couldn't figure that out.