Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems DSP5200 Display Flicker

I've searched using every combination of "flicker" "junk" "characters" etc... but couldn't find another user with my problem who doesn't appear to have a much worse overall situation!

I run a pair of DSP5200 via SpeakerLink to a G61R. It's a great combination, no issues with sound quality, nor functionality.

However... my right-hand "slave" DSP5200 display has started sporadically flashing with junk characters, flickering, blinking a little, nothing terrible, very rapid to the point that you might miss the flicker if you weren't paying attention, but it's there. Again, the speaker is fully configurable and performing as expected, it just has this intermittent display flicker/noise.

So, anybody ever seen that? Known loose connector somewhere or something? Known weak capacitor? Software issues between G61R and the DSP?

It looks like the speaker doesn't have a solid digital sound stream. Can you use another cat cable to feed the speaker?

What equipment do you have near to the DSP or adjacent to the SpeakerLink wire feeding the DSP? Any devices? Small PSU's feeding switches, routers, NUC's etc?

Hi,

It sounds like the connector to the display panel may be a bit lose or need reseating...

The display has a 10way ribbon cable that links it to the DSP board on the rear panel. I have had displays do similar things (i.e. generate random characters, flicker and go off) and had to end up carefully pulling the display unit off the front of the speaker and re-seating the little red ribbon-cable connector on the display PCB. Sometimes there is oxidation on the contacts and they are intermittent.

If you're not confident to do this, find a local tech who can sort it for you.

Cheers,

Steve

Yep, can try, thanks for idea. I'm using SPLNK Cat8 at the moment, have plenty of Cat7/6 around I can swap out, haven't tried yet.

Mostly just the G61R, the speakers, an AppleTV, and a Roon endpoint (linear PS, but yeah, still a small PS).

The whole shebang is on a Tripp Lite isolation transformer because my house is straight out of the early 1950s, and it has some of the most noisy power I can imagine considering normal, but on the audio side of the isolation transformer, things measure quite well.

Good to know, this sounds like another strong possibility.

Does the display pop out the front, or do I go in through the back panel? I'm very confident around electronics repair, but I've never disassembled these 5200s yet.

The display assembly is hot-melt glued into place, so will need careful removal from the front of the speaker.

The ribbon cable is shielded and runs through a small plastic pipe to the rear of the speaker, where it plugs into the DSP board.

Once you've got the display assembly lose, you should be able to carefully unplug and re-plug the small red connector.

Good luck,

Steve

Like, suction cups on the very front display panel and pull, or does the whole trim which extends over the top of the speaker and forms a bezel around the display itself come off as one piece with the display?

It is the complete bezel unit (i.e. the entire plastic part is as one)

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Rick

Updates for science and future reference, in case others have this issue (assuming, of course, I solve it eventually!):

- I tried two different kinds of cable, both cat6, in addition to the cat8 which was originally on there, and all three made no change to the display flicker.

- The display flickers even when the SpeakerLink cable is disconnected.

- Interestingly, the display appears to flicker less when the SpeakerLink cable is disconnected, but I the flicker is so random, I cannot tell whether this difference is statistically significant, or just perceived. To be clear, the flicker occurs with and without SpeakerLink connected.

- I tried three different power sources, all on the same house-grid, but from different circuits. The display flickers on all three power sources, with and without SpeakerLink. One of the power sources is behind an isolation transformer, two of them were simply on house-grid. My house is an electrical mess, as aforementioned, but the power behind the isolation transformer measures highly stable, and I can't say the DSP5200s ever cared much about electrical noise, the isolation transformer is for the sake of the more sensitive stuff, such as my Class D amps, which did care about the noise.


Next up in the troubleshooting procedure, for when I have time:
- I'll take a stab at removing the display & bezel carefully, and check the ribbon cable.

- I'll shut down all other power circuits in the house, to eliminate the possibility that a wired or wireless signal is causing this flickering via interference.


I really appreciate the help, all, this place is awesome. Looking forward to participating more here, and reading a lot of these threads!