Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems M. DSP 5500s Questions and More Questions?

A local hifi dealer has 2x DSP5500 and a DSP5500HC on demo. Which due to this forum I was forced to go and listen to today.

The DSP5500HC has a smiley face, but the DSP5500 doesn't. I know from the sticker on the back that the DSP5500 have had the 24/96 upgrade.

Are the DSP5500 left and right speakers (without the smiley) MK-I upgraded, or were any MK-IIs produced without the smiley face?

I thought from memory the all DSP5500 MK I were straight faced, and the DSP5500 MKII had a smiley face?

The reason for the question is that I wondered what price in New Zealand $ would be reasonablefor this set-up.(This is from an official Meridian dealer with warranty.)

Is the difference purley cosmetic, or should I be hanging our for a pair of MK-IIs?

p.s. the units are ex-demo units.

Final question, does anyone know the final year of production for the MK-I DSP5500? and when the DSP5500 were introduced?

Thanks in advance.
Sorry for so many questions

yeah...right

If the pair are 96/24 then IIRC there is no difference to the smiley faced sets, other than cosmetic.

Depending on price, three of these as a front set would be really very good. What do you think you might get them for ?

The best way to check is to get the serial numbers and talk to Meridian HQ. They're usually quite helpful over these types of questions.

I checked a pair of DSP5k's with a square face and was told all 200xxx were 96/24 fresh from the factory and were therefore not upgraded. Maybe 5.5k's are numbered in a similar fashion.

regards

Chris

Smileys are worth more in the s/h market.

Keep in mind there are 2 versions of the smilely face DSP-5500HC's as well. All DSP-5500HC's have smilely face but some are 7 Segment Displays (older) and Dot Matrix Displays.

As others stated any that is 24/96 will sound like the latest version of these sld today.

Anything cosmetically older should go for less money.

Thanks Guys,

As you probably know I've got 3x huge B&W Nautilus 801s, and I'm toying with the idea of a single box solution with a higher WAF factor, and easier operation. single button start-up etc.

Also the "boot-up" operation would be easier with a SB3 straight into a DSP5500 solution.

I'm being offered the set-up ex demo at $30k which is about GBP 10,700.

I had a good 2 hours listen earlier in the week and was very impressed. However the bi-amped Nautilus go much much lower, and the bass is superior too. On the plus sound the 3x 55ks integrate wonderfully, and the imaging is great.

My conclusion on 1st listening is that the DSPs are a superior set-up for films, but the Nautilus 801's have the edge on Hi-Fi.

I appreciate this is an Apples and Oranges comparison and I should really be comparing the M.7k or even 8ks but my budget does stretch to this.

Can anyone tell me what they think of the price of GBP 10,700 for this set-up?

Be careful that side firing vs front firing may work better or worse. You really need to play with this in your own room. A 7000 can sound better than an 8000 or 5500 better than 6000 depending on the room (bass wise from the sweet spot anyway). I think front firing is less fussy than side.

Did you compare the 801's side by side instantly switching A/B or based on memory?