Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems 500 Series for Music Streaming - What should I buy?

Tristan,

Welcome.

What's your budget? What are you streaming from. and where is it situated?

dpstjp

You might notice an interesting collection of 500 series gear and some M60&M30 speakers in the adverts. (no connection to me)

Yes, certainly a good alternative however i'm kind of attached to the A2s and want to get them sounding how i imagine they could given a decent amp. The trouble with this game is its an endless quest, active speakers could be the next chapter...

Great thanks Steve. You've got me on the hunt for a 568.2, certainly the puppy for me

Yes, I'll keep my eyes out for either a 556 or 557. The 556 will, I'm sure suffice but I don't think I can resist the physical size and weight of a 557 if nothing else!

Its great you agree with the recommendations of others on the forum and thanks your honest advice. If i can find a 568.2 + 556 or 557 I'll be very happy...

Tristan,

As you say in a previous post, active speakers are the way to go.

I'd actually recommend that you go straight to DSP. A pair of 24-bit 3100s (similar size to your existing) or better still 24-bit DSP5ks can be had for relatively little money, especially as you have other kit to sell to fund this.

Even 18-bit DSPs will not be too much of an issue if you are only listening to CDs and no high rez music, but you will then want to upgrade them as well..

This is another good alternative, with a pair of DSP5000s, you would be able to stream straight* into them; DSP speakers have full pre-amp functionality, crossovers and power amps coupled directly to the drive units.

If you wish to stay 2 channel with this system, it would be far cheaper than a 568.2 and 557.

*depending on what you use to stream; the inputs on the DSP loudspeakers is electrical SPDIF, things like a Apple Airport Express use optical SPDIF and would need to go through a converter like an M-Audio CO2 or even a Meridian 518.

All the best,

Steve.

+1 There is a lot to be said for both the SQ and system elegance of putting a good streamer or CD player direct into a pair of DSP's.

I ran my SB+ direct into 8k's for quite a while until the 3dB tweak surfaced. Very good results.

In my opinion, the cheaper DSPs (33 or 3100) or M60 would be a downgrade in terms of overall sound quality compared with A2s on a decent stands powered by high quality amplification. I've hung onto mine because I've yet to hear any Meridian speakers originally priced at 3k or less that better them with decent electronics in my listening room. I compared my A2-based setup with M60s and DSP 5000 ten-fifteen years ago (fed from a 506) but found the most satisfying result was neither -- it was an M1500 to assist the A2s a little. However, had I been starting from scratch then the DSP 5000 would have been better value overall, but they don't go particularly deep either, and without another expensive upgrade to 24-bit, I'd have been stuck with 18-bit... I can certainly relate to the thread-starters attachment to his A2s -- they really are very good and in my case have got better over the years as they've been fed with ever improving input. They sound superb with 24bit recordings via a 568.2MM -- way better than they did with digital front end electronics when they were new. Older DSP are very good value second-hand now, but I suspect that that is partly because buyers fear being stuck with a quite expensive doorstops if the electronics die. My next Meridian speakers will probably be a second-hand pair of 5200s or 7200s but I'll be hanging on to my twenty year old A2s as their capabilities are far beyond their second-hand value and are thus worth much more to me.

The difference between 5000's and 5200's is subtle IMHO. If you didn't like the 5000's you probably won't like the 5200's. I downgraded from 5200's to 5000's and don't miss the 5200's one bit even though at the time, I loved the 5200's having upgraded from 33's. But I've come to the conclusion that my ears are shot (or maybe merely average) so ymmv.

I should clarify that it's not that I didn't like the 5000s but that adding an M1500 to the A2s (given that I already had the A2s and a decent amp) gave a better result overall for me. I haven't tried 5200s at home, so I guess this is a reminder to always try out speakers in your home system. However, I would expect the 5200s to perform better than the 18-bit 5000s back then, but then my own system also sounds even better now with the 568.2MM replacing the 506/501... I'm sure the original poster will be pleasantly surprised at how much more he can get out of his A2s with a new processor and amp, compared with replacing the lot with one of the lower-end active systems. Of course, there is a caveat here and that is that if you never intend to add a sub, extend to multi-channel, or have more than one source (ie don't need a Meridian processor) and don't need the option to upgrade amplification over time (e.g. cheaper amp now, better amp later), then feeding DSP 5000s directly from an SB Touch would give the best result for the price, but if going from the A2s, I wouldn't settle for less than the 5000.24 if overall sound quality is a significant objective for upgrade, otherwise just upgrading the amplification may give a more significant upgrade for less (given a SB touch as front end in either case). Meridian's passive gear was very good, both amps and speakers although few have heard the Argent series. Meridian A2s driven by 605 monoblocks ca. 1991/1992 were pretty amazing then and they sound better now as electronics have improved. Sadly, the inflation of price of replacement tweeters mean that you have to be a little fanatical/obsessive to keep them alive as a set of new tweeters (same as in the DSP 5000 and 6000) cost more than a pair of used A2s now (if you can find a pair in nice condition...). Mind you, M60 and DSP5000 users are almost in the same boat there...!!!