Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems Recapping DSP5000's

I recently decided to recap my DSP5000's and thought I'd share the experience plus the results thus far.

I have only recapped the amp section so far and have yet to replace the 2 large slit foils and the DSP board but having started on the supersounds straddling the large transistors and having heard a marked increase I decided it was a worthy venture, especially as the amp section gets quite warm and heat has a direct affect on the life of the capacitor.

The speakers though in perfect condition cosmetically are 17 years old and a good candidate for a service.

Having inspected the boards and ordered the components it became apparent that the boards are through hole soldered which are a pain in the butt to deslolder without some experience and the right tools and so if you are in any way hesitant I would give Chris a shout at the Meridian repair shop.

I also thought that the individual boards would all be connected via removable connectors although perhaps this was wishful thinking. This means the capacitor board and the amp board have to be unbolted and turned over together whilst remaining connected to the DSP board to be able to work on them unless you fancy de soldering the cables connecting them.

None of the capacitors were showing any of the usual signs of failure and the speakers sounded great although I recall them sounding better when I first heard a pair some 15 years ago. A service of the tweeters bought the treble back to life although the mid range especially vocals sometimes sounded a bit recessed, not alot and to many people's ears sounded just fine but then I had a niggling feeling it could be better so I wouldn't be happy unless I went and serviced them.

Swapping out the supersounds was really easy as the capacitors are soldered on to 3mm lugs which are then bolted down making this a 20 minute job. I swapped out the right speakers caps first and then had a listen, the result was a much more focused sound with what was probably a lack of extra noise on the right channel and very much unbalanced sound showing there was a real difference. Even my wife noticed it sounded better without any knowledge of my tinkering.

The cost of this was about �20 including spares and 2 caps for the DSP board purchased from wilmslow audio. I opted for the 450v over the 250's as one had already been swapped out by the looks of it. The higher rating should also ensure a longer life.

I then listened for a week and whilst the sound had tightened up the mid range still sounded a bit wanting, only a -1 on the axis could restore it.

At the weekend I set aside a few hours to replace the radial cans with Nichicons fine golds, most would consider replacing with a higher rating but I suspect Meridian over engineered the speakers in the first place and space is quite tight on the boards.
5 x 10uf 50v
4 x 100uf 63v
2 x 1000uf 16v
2 x 3u3J 450 - supersounds

There are also what look to be a quantity of polystyrenes on the board although they seem fine and so I will leave these for now.

With the new caps in place it is apparent the mid range is back, the bass seems to be the same, if a little better controlled and there seems to be better visibility of the different layers of music with the sound being less fatiguing, it also appears to be a little bit quieter although maybe this is just the reduced noise.

I have an orchestral piece where I can now hear the musicians turning the pages of their sheet music Which I could always hear on my Grados.

In summary I would say that even with only the amp section tackled there has been a worthwhile improvement in the sound and that if you have a pair of these that haven't been serviced yet I would definitely get them sorted.

When I next have some time I will tackle the DSP board and report back!

T

Great information,thanks for sharing.

Neil

Good infos, maybe put some pictures in the Gallery ?

Thanks so much for writing this up, very helpful indeed!