Meridian early pre/amp combos
- Thread starter Lucio
- Start date
Mick Seymour
Member
A bloody good combination. IMO, the 103 was only bettered by the Meridian M2 Active 'speakers. I listened to both in 1981 and ended up with a 101 and M2 combination. I went for shiney black as I thought the brown furry ones looked bad.
Mick
Now I thought I was all alone around here ;-)
I have the following Meridian 100 series gear:
3 x 101 pre-amps
1 x 104 tuner
4 x 105s mono block power amps
1 pair M2 active speakers
1 pair M3 active speakers
Imho, it still sounds great and looks stylish...
Currently looking for a 103D power amp to complete the collection.
Mark
I have the following Meridian 100 series gear:
3 x 101 pre-amps
1 x 104 tuner
4 x 105s mono block power amps
1 pair M2 active speakers
1 pair M3 active speakers
Imho, it still sounds great and looks stylish...
Currently looking for a 103D power amp to complete the collection.
Mark
Patrick Dixon
Imagineer
I love the 100 series Meridian gear. I once had a 101, and persuaded a friend to buy an LP12/101/M2 system. I also know someone with a 103D, but I'm not sure he wants to sell it - you never know if the price is right! He looks in here, so I'm sure he'll see this thread. (I guess he might swap for a pair of your 105s!)
Do any of you have any info on the 100 series Meridian gear? There seems to be very little on the web and Meridian don't seem to have much either (although I believe they still do their best to service it). I'm thinking particularly of circuits and revisions/updates - I know there were a few updates to the 101. One day I'd like a 104/101/105 system just to remind me of what I lusted for in my youf.
It would be great to scan any info and get it on-line somewhere. I'm loath to talk this stuff up before I've bought some, but it was state-of-the-art in its time, and IMV is still the best looking kit out there (you can keep your chome and big knobs as far as I'm concerned).
Do any of you have any info on the 100 series Meridian gear? There seems to be very little on the web and Meridian don't seem to have much either (although I believe they still do their best to service it). I'm thinking particularly of circuits and revisions/updates - I know there were a few updates to the 101. One day I'd like a 104/101/105 system just to remind me of what I lusted for in my youf.
It would be great to scan any info and get it on-line somewhere. I'm loath to talk this stuff up before I've bought some, but it was state-of-the-art in its time, and IMV is still the best looking kit out there (you can keep your chome and big knobs as far as I'm concerned).
Andrew L Weekes
Reverse Engineer
A friend of mine has an old Meridian CD player and they were very obliging with schematics (at no cost, IIRC).
Maybe give them a ring, you may be surprised.
Andy.
Maybe give them a ring, you may be surprised.
Andy.
Patrick
The best 101's are the early versions that use discrete transistors. The middle and later versions coincided with a downturn in Meridian's fortunes and as a cost cutter the trannies went out and op-amps came in and sound quality went down.
Of the three 101's in my collection only one is discrete, which I have owned from new.
The best power amps are the 105's - essentially sorted and upgraded 103's. I drive a pair of Sara's with the 105's and have no problems in this dept ;-)
The M2, M3, M20 & M30 are all powered by 105's with single pair complimentary o/p transistors vs the 105's proper having two pairs & bigger transformers.
However, having said all that, my favourite setup is my LP12/Ittok/Karma/Nac 32.5/Snaps/M2's.
Mark
The best 101's are the early versions that use discrete transistors. The middle and later versions coincided with a downturn in Meridian's fortunes and as a cost cutter the trannies went out and op-amps came in and sound quality went down.
Of the three 101's in my collection only one is discrete, which I have owned from new.
The best power amps are the 105's - essentially sorted and upgraded 103's. I drive a pair of Sara's with the 105's and have no problems in this dept ;-)
The M2, M3, M20 & M30 are all powered by 105's with single pair complimentary o/p transistors vs the 105's proper having two pairs & bigger transformers.
However, having said all that, my favourite setup is my LP12/Ittok/Karma/Nac 32.5/Snaps/M2's.
Mark
BarryJHart
Member
These units are good, their biggest shortcoming is lean bass, the contemporary reviews of the time (Practical HiFi January 1981).
"Bass and drums well controlled but lacking body".
I believe this is due in part to the way these are connected to the mains, they use the power cord for the pre-amp and are daisy chained to the pre-amp.
I currently use four 105s and two NAP-135 on active Isobarik.
I use the NAP-135 for bass, in the above review the 105s were unable to deliver 100 watts into 4 ohms .
Also I feel the 105s is more detailed in the higher frequencies.
I have modified these to provide better inputs & outputs and more importantly a dedicated power cord.
Regards Barry Hart
"Bass and drums well controlled but lacking body".
I believe this is due in part to the way these are connected to the mains, they use the power cord for the pre-amp and are daisy chained to the pre-amp.
I currently use four 105s and two NAP-135 on active Isobarik.
I use the NAP-135 for bass, in the above review the 105s were unable to deliver 100 watts into 4 ohms .
Also I feel the 105s is more detailed in the higher frequencies.
I have modified these to provide better inputs & outputs and more importantly a dedicated power cord.
Regards Barry Hart
MUTTY1
Waste of bandwidth
Had them in a second system with some cheap tannoys mounted in the ceiling - the ultimate invisible system as all four boxes [tuner as well]can be tucked away so easily. I think they won a design award for these.
A bit lean sounding but didn't try with decent speakers so...
The tuner is superb - I still have it - dumps all over the Quad FM3 which I also have. Dinky dial with tiny recessed screws for the pre-sets. A real must have/keep in my opinion.
Paul
A bit lean sounding but didn't try with decent speakers so...
The tuner is superb - I still have it - dumps all over the Quad FM3 which I also have. Dinky dial with tiny recessed screws for the pre-sets. A real must have/keep in my opinion.
Paul
All my 105's have had the mains cables upgraded to the fattest I could get thru the cable gland, and, I never run them of the switched outlet in the 101 but straight out of the wall mains socket. Big improvement.
The power supplies are not that powerful(circa 250va transformer), hence you tend to run out of steam earlier, but that is the price of the elegant visual presentation ;-)
LesW told me that if you put a hefty transformer & decent caps on a 105 you can really motor...
Mark
Patrick Dixon
Imagineer
Mark/ Anyone who knows,
Do you know what other modifications were made; in particular to the 101?
The one I had dated from 1979 and had three seperate modules; one being cartridge specific (I had MM & Entre). I believe that two modules were later replaced with a single 'IMCOS' module, but I have no idea what improvements/changes that brought with it. I have also seen pictures of 101s with modules removed/linked out, so as to convert the phono input to CD.
Were there different modules or variants for the balanced i/o versions too? IIRC, the 101 drives M2s using balanced signals, and I recall Meridian recommending siting 105s at the speaker to reduce speaker cable length.
I saw some M1s go on ebay a while back. Didn't fetch that much IIRC.
If you ever fancy scanning your manuals, I'll love a copy. I never had a manual with mine and when I contacted Meridian with a connection query a couple of years ago, they were a bit vague and sent me a diagram of something completely wrong!
Do you know what other modifications were made; in particular to the 101?
The one I had dated from 1979 and had three seperate modules; one being cartridge specific (I had MM & Entre). I believe that two modules were later replaced with a single 'IMCOS' module, but I have no idea what improvements/changes that brought with it. I have also seen pictures of 101s with modules removed/linked out, so as to convert the phono input to CD.
Were there different modules or variants for the balanced i/o versions too? IIRC, the 101 drives M2s using balanced signals, and I recall Meridian recommending siting 105s at the speaker to reduce speaker cable length.
I saw some M1s go on ebay a while back. Didn't fetch that much IIRC.
If you ever fancy scanning your manuals, I'll love a copy. I never had a manual with mine and when I contacted Meridian with a connection query a couple of years ago, they were a bit vague and sent me a diagram of something completely wrong!
Patrick Dixon
Imagineer
Mark
Brilliant, will do.
Brilliant, will do.
Mick Seymour
Member
Hi Patrick
This was the moving coil cartridge module. IIRC, it was designed with the Linn Asak in mind; a stunning combo I thought.
Mick
Well guys I have been running 101/103D for the last 28 years and only one trip back to Meridian during that time.
I must admit that it probably could well do with another servicing.
During this time I have also run the 101 with a Michealson Austin TVA1 and ESL57s.
Only now am I changing to active bariks but contrary to what my wife believes I will still keep the 4 little boxes safe and sound.
Yes they can be a little brittle at the top end and the bass isn't the fill you boots and pin you to the wall variety however after seeing how clean an output is then I can't complain for the £408 I shelled out at the time.
Mark
I must admit that it probably could well do with another servicing.
During this time I have also run the 101 with a Michealson Austin TVA1 and ESL57s.
Only now am I changing to active bariks but contrary to what my wife believes I will still keep the 4 little boxes safe and sound.
Yes they can be a little brittle at the top end and the bass isn't the fill you boots and pin you to the wall variety however after seeing how clean an output is then I can't complain for the £408 I shelled out at the time.
Mark
Just fished out a couple of IMCOS modules to refresh my memory...per each channel 1x 2sa1085 + 1x 2sc2564 as the main mc transistor input stage with the riaa eq done via a ne5532n op-amp follower.
It is to be remembered that this item represents their lean period cf the previous i/p & eq modules which were more sophisticated than their Naim counterparts at the time.
I did run an Asak on the IMCOS/101 for a number of years until I heard a 32.5/snaps at which point the 101 went into honorary retirement.
Mark
kasperhauser
pfm Member
Silly question, but here goes anyway... anyone ever try to refinish the aforementioned "furry brown" ones? Heck, seems like a good sanding followed by a shiny coat of black or even clearcoated bare metal would be more appealing. I'd even sacrifice the faceplate lettering.
I ask because there's a rough, rough looking set (101/103s) about to go on ebay for nearly nothing. Anyone?
I ask because there's a rough, rough looking set (101/103s) about to go on ebay for nearly nothing. Anyone?