Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems DSP5000 18bit upgrade

Thanks, had a look and I'm not sure how to tell it's really a 24/96 - as there is no label on the back and the serial number is a 2xxxx

I've sent him a message anyway - thank you for spotting it

Mark

Thanks for the tip-off - I’ve done a deal for the DSP board . Shipping is almost as expensive as the part! But still - it’s cheaper than swapping my dsp5000c for a smiley or a 5200c.

Happy bunny here

Now I just need a couple more black 5000’s for rears….. (don’t tell the wife!)

😀

Daft question,

Uhm, I can't find a description of what was changed when upgrading a 18bit DSP5000 to 24/96.

Was it just the DSP board that was changed ? or does it have a different RCA I/O board as well (or something else!)?

I have done a deal with the guy parting out the 5000C for the DSP board - but am just wondering if there was anything else I needed to make this work (obviously I have a working 18bit DSP5000C as a start point!)

Thanks in. advance
Mark

Hi Mark,

It is purely the DSP/Comms board that is changed between the 18bit and 24bit speakers.

You will need to de-solder and re-solder four wires that go off to the amplifier board and the rest are on plugs/sockets.

Make sure that you also get hold of the latest firmware for it.

Probably worth checking the capacitors and load resistors on the amplifier boards too...

Any problems, drop me a PM.

Cheers,

Steve

Steve

My 5000C is the one speaker I have that hasn’t already been recapped. I was thinking to email you and at some point ask to get it recapped - and it would seem sensible to bring the 24/96 parts I have and ask you to fit the boards at the same time.

As and when you have a slot of course and next year (although at this point that’s only tomorrow!)

I’ll drop you a pm in a few days

Thanks again for your help

Mark

Hi Mark,

Happy New Year!

Happy to swap over the boards and re-cap at the same time.

Feel free to drop me a PM when you're ready - can probably offer same-day service to save extra traveling.

Cheers,

Steve

Interesting. So the I/O board, amplifiers section, and power supply are all unchanged and interchangeable between 18 and 24 bit models? This just makes it all the more difficult to understand why only the 24 bit is susceptible to the R1/R9 failure problem. Any thoughts?

An excellent question- I have also wondered about this. I asked this very same question a few years back in one of the DSP5000 threads, but it went unanswered at that time. Maybe someone will have an answer?

All other parts of the DSPs are fully interchangeable, although there have been subtle upgrades and modifications during the long production run. These are only really visible when you compare an early 18bit speaker with one of the last 24/96 'smileys'...

It seems that the 3-watt resistors that Meridian originally chose for the amplifier boards seem to cook in the 24/96 versions of the speakers...

In the latter DSP5000's (in particular the .3's - Smileys) - they used more substantial cement resistors and changed the value from 680 to 330 ohm for one of them.

I can only assume that the 24/96 boards allow the end-user to drive the speakers harder (and louder) or possibly cause the amplifiers to have a greater quiescent current draw.

All this comes from the experience of working on many Meridian DSPs - repairs, re-capping, etc.

Cheers,

Steve

Thanks Steve! This is helpful.