Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems Meridian DIY cabling possible?

I am a newbie to Meridian that picked up at an auction the following “system”

1 – 568 Surround Processor
1 – 586.2 DVD Player
2 – DSP6000
2 – DSP5000
1 – DSP5000C
1 – M2500 Sub

Unfortunately except for the DSP6000 speaker cable to hook the tweeter to the main speaker, it came with no cables. I have no knowledge of Meridian, but do have an engineering background.

In looking around I find that I cannot just buy the cables (or connectors) that hookup the system. So I had a Meridian dealer estimate the cost to put the system together and it was a lot more $ than I expected. So I would like anyone who would care to comment on if they would recommend even attempting DIY as from what I can tell, you cannot just get the materials needed to hookup the system. As for example the quote said I needed 1 M lead and 13 S lead adaptors, but I am not sure I can obtain those unless I am a Meridian dealer, is that true?

Basically just looking for opinions on DIY and if recommended any points on how to get started, especially in terms of getting the cable / connectors.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Welcome to the forum! You have a great system there!

M and S cables can be easily bought second hand or made by anyone proficient at making cables with DIN plugs.

How much did the dealer quote you?...

Talk to Marc Koval.

A little over $4K but he said that was probably worst case. I told him he could just runs the cables on the floor (I would hide them after) and he thought it might reduce to $3K. The cable/connectors were ~1K and the rest was labor which included programming / tuning / etc.

Sorry in my haste as I was surprised to see such a quick response, I missed "Welcome to the forum! You have a great system there!"

Thanks! I know it is a high end system that I would have never been able to buy new. Hopefully with a little (or even a lot) of work it can replace my existing setup.

That's pretty outrageous - the cables will not cost more than about $200 and if you are relatively technical you should be able to set it up yourself. It is involved but straightforward if you read the manuals (available on this site) and proceed in a logical manner. Post on this forum and plenty of people will help you if you get into difficulties.

BTW You don't need 13 S Leads with this setup and if you are capable with a soldering iron you can make all these yourself too. All the wiring diagrams are on this site and standard 75 ohm coax cable is very cheap.

Thanks so much for the input. Sounds like this great site has the info I need to get started and I assume where I can get the connectors, etc. I will start the process of discovery on this site this weekend (actually at work on my lunch break at the moment) to see what my next steps are.

Thanks again for the quick responses.

Liberty makes DIN to coax dongles that allow you to use RG59 and compression BNC connectors to make cables to length.

PM me if you go this route. It is very easy.

Congrats on your new baby!

Setting up the system is part of the fun (albeit at times I felt much akin to giving birth!). It's more complex that a Curry's system, but not so much you can't do it yourself, as long as you read the manual.

As has been said, the DIN connectors can be made yourself and I expect the pinouts are somewhere on this site. The only other thing you need is some decent coax.

Congrats on that purchase, that's one hell of a good system!

This site is a veritable mine of information with a lot of extremely knowledgable people willing to help out and save you a lot of money!

That said you should be able to find much of what you require by searching the forums and trawling through 'Duncan's Meridian Info'.

These two resources should be your first port of call before asking for help as 99% of the time the answers you seek will be found there.

Enjoy!

T

Have a look here:

Hitchhikers Meridian Custom Cables and Interconnects

I don't make up cables anymore, but Ian is still knocking them out!

All the best,

Steve.