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Meridian M2 - a journey

Have you got a set of eq plugs?


Also it might be an issue with decayed ferrofluid.

you could try taking a tweeter apart and see if it suffering from sticky gunk syndrome.
 
I don't remember treble like you describe, rather the opposite in fact. Perhaps something has deteriorated with age - don't ask me what though!

David, I don't think the M2s ever came with equalisation plugs, didn't those come with the M3s to adapt them for bookshelf or free space use and were replaced by miniature DIL switches on later models?
 
I am pretty sure the T52b tweeter does not use ferrofluid and if they're not mechanically compromised should be fine.

I suspect component failure somewhere.

Have you another variable line level source you can hook up to isolate the treble issue to the pre amp or speakers?
Chris Tarling said:
So a little bit of listening and...

...I'm finding them very strident in the treble. The treble has an unattractive hard, sibilant characteristic.

Is this a facet of their sound or a pointer to deteriorating components?

I'm using them with the supplied 101 preamp (actually a 101 NOT a 101B as the seller described it to me) and a Meridian G06.2 CD player.
Click to expand...
 
Thank you for all your helpful replies.

I have a set of new caps on order so will replace those and then see where I am.
Could the op amps be worth replacement as well?

I have a Naim pre-amp I am going to try with the speakers to see what that gives me.
 
If anyone fancies an excellent pair of Meridian M10’s Keith at Purite has my old pair that I owned from new and had for 38 years are for sale in the Trade Sales thread https://pinkfishmedia.net/forum/threads/meridian-m10.260950/#post-4512051
These are still in excellent condition. They had better tweeter plates fitted than standard for the Kef T33’s and I also had xlr sockets and a better supporting plate for these as well. All were fitted prior to production after discussions with my deal Howard Popeck then running Subjective Audio and Colin Howard then with Meridian. They were very reliable all the time I had them with the exception that Meridian replaced one tweeter once and fully checked them over.

I found nothing better that I could afford or would fit and work in my room all the time I had them, but finally traded them in with Keith for a pair of Dutch & Dutch 8c’s about 2 years ago. Keith was keeping them for his self originally as a Meridian fan, but now is selling them. The D&D’s are better but at a much higher price and mainly because of the DSP room correction they have. I would have kept them, but I don’t have room for two pairs of speakers and SWIMBO said one pair had to go. It is though still a case of diminishing returns compared to the D&D’s So in my (possibly biased) opinion this pair is a bargain at the price Keith is asking.
 
poco a poco said:
If anyone fancies an excellent pair of Meridian M10’s Keith at Purite has my old pair that I owned from new and had for 38 years are for sale in the Trade Sales thread https://pinkfishmedia.net/forum/threads/meridian-m10.260950/#post-4512051
These are still in excellent condition. They had better tweeter plates fitted than standard for the Kef T33’s and I also had xlr sockets and a better supporting plate for these as well. All were fitted prior to production after discussions with my deal Howard Popeck then running Subjective Audio and Colin Howard then with Meridian. They were very reliable all the time I had them with the exception that Meridian replaced one tweeter once and fully checked them over.

I found nothing better that I could afford or would fit and work in my room all the time I had them, but finally traded them in with Keith for a pair of Dutch & Dutch 8c’s about 2 years ago. Keith was keeping them for his self originally as a Meridian fan, but now is selling them. The D&D’s are better but at a much higher price and mainly because of the DSP room correction they have. I would have kept them, but I don’t have room for two pairs of speakers and SWIMBO said one pair had to go. It is though still a case of diminishing returns compared to the D&D’s So in my (possibly biased) opinion this pair is a bargain at the price Keith is asking.
Click to expand...

I created this thread to record and discuss my experiences with my M2s, not for random 'for sale' ads.
 
Chris Tarling said:
I created this thread to record and discuss my experiences with my M2s, not for random 'for sale' ads.
Click to expand...
Apologies I was not intending to hijack your thread. I have owned both M1’s & M10’s, heard all of the early ones and still love them I just thought people who were interested in a Meridian M2 might be interested in purchasing one further up the range. It is not me that is selling this I just wanted to point it out.
 
I have a Naim NAC92/Flatcap combo that I would like to try into the M2s.
But I confess I don't know how to connect the Flatcap to the M2s.
Does anybody on here know?
 
I wouldn't connect the flatcap directly to the speakers, is it not a power supply to the preamp section, of the 92.The M2's are active so just need a preamp.to get them going
 
andvinylly said:
I wouldn't connect the flatcap directly to the speakers, is it not a power supply to the preamp section, of the 92.The M2's are active so just need a preamp.to get them going
Click to expand...

The NAC92 has no power supply of its own so I have to connect the Flatcap. The NAC92 either takes its power from a NAIM power amp or a power supply, like the Flatcap.

In a Naim set up the preamp connects to its power supply and the signals are routed via the Flatcap signal outputs.
I do not know which of the Flatcap signal outputs to us.
 
Yes Naim connections are peculiar sometimes, so does the connection between flatcap and power amp just carry musical signal, but no power, sometimes using din connectors they can also be wired differently by different manufacturers, sorry I can't be any help, just worried that putting power into the Meridians could cause severe damage
 
andvinylly said:
Yes Naim connections are peculiar sometimes, so does the connection between flatcap and power amp just carry musical signal, but no power, sometimes using din connectors they can also be wired differently by different manufacturers, sorry I can't be any help, just worried that putting power into the Meridians could cause severe damage
Click to expand...

Signal AND power.
I've just remembered that the Flatcap outputs are 4 pin so I actually don't have a cable to make the connection to the M2s :(
 
The best preamplifiers I found that worked well with all the early Meridian Active loudspeakers and were a real stepup from the 101B were all from the Burmester range of around the same vintage. I did home trials of very many others including Audio Research SP8, SP9, SP10, Perreaux (can’t remember which model), but this one was good as well. A bit better than the Burmester 785.

The Burmester pre’s I tried were the 785 (a popular choice for M2’s and M10’s then), 846 and separate matching phono stage (better). I ended up though with an early Burmester 808 that was way better than anything else. I got it a a very good price, but it was still much more than my Meridian M10 Speakers. I still have it though and I am using it now with my Dutch & Dutch 8c’s so has been a very good investment and been totally reliable all this time.

There was a Burmester 785 on sale here a few months back at £400 that may not have sold?:

https://pinkfishmedia.net/forum/threads/burmester-785-preamp-with-phono-mm-mc.255008/
 
poco a poco said:
The best preamplifiers I found that worked well with all the early Meridian Active loudspeakers and were a real stepup from the 101B were all from the Burmester range of around the same vintage. I did home trial very many others including Audio Research SP8, SP9, SP10, Perreaux (can’t remember which model), but this one was good as well. A bit better than the Burmester 785.

The Burmester pre’s I tried were the 785 (a popular choice for M2’s and M10’s then), 846 and separate matching phono stage (better). I ended up though with an early Burmester 808 that was way better than anything else. I got it a a very good price, but it was still much more than my Meridian M10 Speakers. I still have it though and I am using it now with my Dutch & Dutch 8c’s so has been a very good investment and been totally reliable all this time.

There was a Burmester 785 on sale here a few months back at £400 that may not have sold?:

https://pinkfishmedia.net/forum/threads/burmester-785-preamp-with-phono-mm-mc.255008/
Click to expand...

Thanks for that.
Unfortunately I have cleaned my piggy bank out getting the 101/M2s :(
I'm going to get the combo as good as I can over the winter and see where that gets me. Part of the attraction with getting the 101/M2s was that I saw them as a restoration project. I love the design of the 100 series components - I remember the impact they made on my as an impressionable youngster!
Wow - just found that the Burmester 808 was over £20k new. Holy moly!
Ah 785 was their launch model. Interesting!
 
Chris Tarling said:
Thanks for that.
Unfortunately I have cleaned my piggy bank out getting the 101/M2s :(
I'm going to get the combo as good as I can over the winter and see where that gets me. Part of the attraction with getting the 101/M2s was that I saw them as a restoration project. I love the design of the 100 series components - I remember the impact they made on my as an impressionable youngster!
Wow - just found that the Burmester 808 was over £20k new. Holy moly!
Ah 785 was their launch model. Interesting!
Click to expand...
Yes 785 was their launch model. There model numbers are based on the month year first made or released eg. 785 = May 1978, 808 August 1980.

The Burmester 808 MK5 is now about £25K with only just a couple of modules. I bought mine a MK 1 (I had the power supply upgrade later) in 1981, for bit over £3K I think, with 4 input and 2 output modules. It was Burmester’s demo and review model imported by Jacob Zellinger of Automation Sciences and tested my Martin Colloms and used as a ‘reference’ for a while when he was writing the original (small size) HiFi Choice magazine. So while £3K was expensive in 1981 that was still a big discount over the full UK price although I can’t Remember what that was and it also depended, as now, on how many modules you have fitted. Burmester 808 MKIII’s can be found occasionally at around £4K again depending how configured. It was so good from the start though that most of the improvements since have been refinements rather than major upgrades. I like to have the opportunity to compare a MK5 to mine at home though even though I couldn’t afford it. ;)

There was a good HiFi News review of the Burmester 785 into Meridian M10’s years ago. It was on the internet, but I can’t find it.

There are interesting differences (changes) in sound in of the Meridian 101 & 101B versions over the years they were current, especially with different versions of the phono modules) I had about 3 different versions before I moved to the Burmester. The best I had was in a 20,000 (I think) serial number range? with a transimpedance MC phono module.
 
Chris Tarling said:
Signal AND power.
I've just remembered that the Flatcap outputs are 4 pin so I actually don't have a cable to make the connection to the M2s :(
Click to expand...

Chris, Can I assume that you are powering the 92 via the usual SNAIC5 to the FC? And the FC is of the Olive persuasion?

If "yes" to both then, the SNAIC5 will go into socket 4 on the FC. You will take the output from socket 3 on the FC. The correct pins are shown on the back of your FC (Ch.1=left, ch2=right.- there is no power on sockets 1-3 on the FC.

My M2's have both RCA and DIN input sockets. The RCA sockets are for unbalanced inputs, such as you will get from the FC. If you wish to use the DIN sockets on the M2 then Pin 1 is signal and pin 2 is return(ground).

Your cable will have to be a "Y" configuration with both returns connected to the single '-ve' pin on the FC. By coincidence I've just made up a similar Y-cable for the 101B-M20 setup currently on loan to daughter#2. I used Mogami 2549 cable.
 
suzywong said:
Chris, Can I assume that you are powering the 92 via the usual SNAIC5 to the FC? And the FC is of the Olive persuasion?

If so to both then, the SNAIC5 will go into socket 4 on the FC. You will take the output from socket 3 on the FC. The correct pins are shown on the back of your FC (Ch.1-left, ch2=right.- there is no power on sockets 1-3 on the FC.

My M2's have both RCA and DIN input sockets. The RCA sockets are for unbalanced inputs, such as you will get from the FC. If you wish to use the DIN sockets on the M2 then Pin 1 is signal and pin 2 is return(ground)
Click to expand...

Correct - and thank you!
 
suzywong said:
By coincidence I've just made up a similar Y-cable for the 101B-M20 setup currently on loan to daughter#2. I used Mogami 2549 cable.
Click to expand...

In this case the left & right signal returns are on separate pins at the 101B end. However the output module currently fitted in that 101B is the unbalanced version. My plan is change it to a balanced module over the weekend. At the M20 end, balanced/unbalanced operation is determined by one of the dip switches on the rear face.
 
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