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Meridian CD players

O

Olsen

pfm Member
In my quest to source a better player than my current Cambridge/Arcam I was looking at some Roksan & Meridian offers recently
Opening a Roksan thread didn't bring me much.

My budget £1-1.2K max, happy with less and would be prepaired to add value of existing kit, maybe ending into £2K absolute max.

I have zero interest in streaming and ripping.
(My dream mashine is Naim CDS 3 but this will have to wait for the lottery win)

I noticed a Meridian G08 player, maybe a successor to the old 508.24 ? which I remember a pal had, rather nice and solid build but if memory serve it was a bit "friendly" performing
Also a 500/566 combo available, looks fab.
Are these mashines good and reliable in generel terms ?

In my google search I learned that Meridian repair shop no longer exist
Support and reliability is important words for me

Where will I get service then ?
 
Well the 500/566 is over 20 years old, things have moved on. I would listen to a Rega Saturn R or Exposure 3010 rather than older 'high end' players.
 
The original Meridian 500 transport is superb. Generally the 500 series are very good transports, and as you say solidly built. I'm not sure about the specifics of service/spares.

Solidly built is not the first term which comes to mind where the G series are concerned, by a number of accounts not Meridian's finest hour in terms of quality control either.

If I were buying s/h, generally I think I'd tend to look for something manufactured in the last 10 years or so.
 
Ptah said:
Well the 500/566 is over 20 years old, things have moved on. I would listen to a Rega Saturn R or Exposure 3010 rather than older 'high end' players.
Click to expand...

Thanks

The Saturn/R is allready on my list

Did you ever compare it to the new Roksan K3 or a CDX2 ?
 
notevenclose said:
The original Meridian 500 transport is superb. Generally the 500 series are very good transports, and as you say solidly built. I'm not sure about the specifics of service/spares.

Solidly built is not the first term which comes to mind where the G series are concerned, by a number of accounts not Meridian's finest hour in terms of quality control either.

If I were buying s/h, generally I think I'd tend to look for something manufactured in the last 10 years or so.
Click to expand...

Good info, thanks
 
If transport mechanisms and lasers are still available for the 500, could still be a very good buy at the right price. I have seen recently serviced models coming up occasionally.

The like of the 596 was also very good as a transport, although a much more complex beast, but with older stuff generally I tend to think that the simpler the better if you're going to try to keep it on the road longer term.

The more there's in it, the more there is to go wrong, basically.
 
I'd second trying an Exposure 3010, particularly the S2. Saw off a CDX2 and a 500/563 combination. It gets out of the way and plays music.

As others have noted, service on older Meridian components is hit or miss at best. Which is a pity, because some of it played music very well, though is understandable.
 
I have a G08 in my office system. It's not that great to be honest. You could do a lot better for your budget.....

But I wouldn't assume that the newer players in the £2k range are better than something that was £5k a good few years ago. The best CD player I ever heard was a 25 year old Wadia. The best Dac I've ever heard (inc. totaldacs, big msb's, DCS's etc) is my 10+ year older Boulder....
 
I think if you're buying something more upmarket then the 10 year guideline can probably be relaxed. I know for instance that the likes of the Levinson 390s can still be serviced, and that would be a superb transport.

In theory, I would happily consider the likes of Reimyo, Accuphase, CEC of greater vintage - but only after doing a careful check re service/parts options on specific models.
 
Olsen said:
Thanks

The Saturn/R is allready on my list

Did you ever compare it to the new Roksan K3 or a CDX2 ?
Click to expand...

I thought nicer than a CDX2 without power supply, but different. You also get a DAC. Not heard the Roksan. Try and hear the Cyrus CDi as well - the latest Cyrus transports are very reliable!!!
 
Thetiminator said:
I have a G08 in my office system. It's not that great to be honest. You could do a lot better for your budget.....
Click to expand...

I had a G08 and loved it; so did everybody else who heard it through Naim 552/135s into gigantic ProAcs. Well-build, dependable and with a fine, balanced s.q. The remote was bling, but the machine excellent. Went valved CDP after that. No idea about servicing, though, as Huntingdon was operational and friendly then (isn't it now?)
 
Ptah said:
Well the 500/566 is over 20 years old, things have moved on. I would listen to a Rega Saturn R or Exposure 3010 rather than older 'high end' players.
Click to expand...

I had a Meridian MCD Pro, tried it against a Saturn R and wondered what the audio industry had been doing for 30 years !:D
 
I seriously contemplated a G08.2 a few years ago. The dealer had the last one left on demo and I could have had it for about half the retail price. The trouble was I already a very good, nay - excellent - Densen B-400XS. Comparing the two at home, I concluded the G08.2 was more atmospheric and reached deeper into the FR extremes, but the B-400XS held the edge on listener engagement, but only just. I could have easily lived with either and might have changed if the dealer could do a no-cost swap.

My B-400XS died a few years later and I hunted high and low for a lightly used G08.2 to no avail. In the end, I took up the Densen lifetime warranty arrangement and landed a new B-440XS to keep me going. It took a while for the B-440XS to come on song, but it's a really excellent CD-P as well.

You might like to consider one of those as an alternative to the Meridians.
 
I'd be very interested to know how later Meridians stack up against the 506.24 I used to own. Mine had a lovely fluid rich tone - but not the last ounce in detail or slam. I wondered how far up the Meridian chain you need to go to get significant improvement
 
A few years back, I was looking to upgrade from my Meridian 507, and listened to, amongst others, the GO8; which sounded like someone had pressed a loudness contour button in comparison.
In the end, there was nothing I listened to that was decisively better; so kept it until I went the streaming route a few years later.
 
I had the G08 mark one with a sliding horizontal tray, but its successor, the GO8 mark 2, had a different mechanism which drew some criticism at the time.
 
Found a 500/566 with a third box called 518 processor
The drive seem to be a mk3, no idea if spares available ?

Very old stuff but should be in working condition (for how long?)

My experience says if in doubt don't :cool:
 
Mike Reed said:
I had the G08 mark one with a sliding horizontal tray, but its successor, the GO8 mark 2, had a different mechanism which drew some criticism at the time.
Click to expand...
The .2 just had a slot, which was the one reservation I had about (un)loading reliability in the long haul.
 
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