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older active meridian surround system -buy or run for the exits ?

A

audiopile

pfm Member
Decades ago I heard one of the first Meridian active speaker set ups (actually -probably the first model they made -whatever that was) at the Consumer Electronics Show. It left a vivid impression. So there's a five channel old surround system for sale - it's got unidentified "issues" ??? I'm a former stereo tech (a couple of decades back in time) -any body had any luck restoring older Meridian active systems ? I don't have either use or space for five large speakers in my listening space - but if I could use these for old fashioned stereo - that would interest me. Don't know models or existing service problems - but let's assume these are 20 years old -how supportive is Meridian about products this far back into their ancient history ? parts? service manuals ? software downloads ?
 
The Meridian Unplugged forum will give you all the advice you need but the model and version is critical. I have DSP5500s which are close to 2 decades old. I opened them up and they are absolutely immaculate. However I think support from Meridian has stopped long ago and the people available to fix them are thin on the ground. So do your research first or you will have some very heavy, ugly wooden coffins to dispose of.
 
The older stuff is probably more serviceable for being through hole construction.

It comes down to price and enthusiasm for the sound.

I like meridian equipment and would probably investigate further.
 
Do it. Frankly the only thing likely to stop a system like this in its tracks is unavailability of software if a programmable chip dies, but that’s so rare as to be almost unheard of.
 
I have had both Meridian M1 active speakers (in about 1980 - their first commercial active speaker based on an earlier design) and still run my Merdian M10 active speakers that I replaced them with and have been using for over 35 years. In that time they have proved very reliable and I have only had one Tweeter (T33) replaced. At that time, some years ago, Meridian's support was direct and helpful both by phone and in person. Reports seem to indicate that now they expect you to go through a dealer and not direct and are less forth coming with advice.

On older models like mine it is no longer possible to get some of the drive units. I had one of the last two T33 tweeters Meridian had. In fact they said at the time they would rather not replace both of my tweeters as one was OK and they would like to keep the last one for anyone else with a failure. I felt this was very fair and responsible.

Alternative drive units are available for early Meridian speakers, but since the closure of Meridian Repair Shop (a repairer run by an ex Meridian engineer) fitting alternative drive units and adjusting the active crossover may be a problem if you don't have the expertise yourself.

Ho and the sound quality - still top class, I still have heard no active or amp + speaker packages under say £10K and few over that I prefer and that would fit in my room.
 
If it’s a DSP system, then I would be more concerned with repairability of the digital boards. Had two comms boards die in our 5000 system about 8-10 years ago. Repair bill was £1100.............

OTOH our M2, M20, M3s are still going strong, and they must be well over 20 years old!
 
suzywong said:
If it’s a DSP system, then I would be more concerned with repairability of the digital boards. Had two comms boards die in our 5000 system about 8-10 years ago. Repair bill was £1100.............

OTOH our M2, M20, M3s are still going strong, and they must be well over 20 years old!
Click to expand...

Was this repair by Merdian? If so it indicates how their support has changed for the worst over the years.

I had lots of phone advice direct from a Merdian engineer. Took both my M10's to the factory and they replaced the Tweeter, fully checked and balanced both speakers. All in a week and cost - £110.00. Probably not much more than the cost of the drive unit. Now that's what I call good customer support for loyal customers!
 
The dsp5000 series has well documented faults related to resistor overhearing which are quite easily prevented by some simple replacement before failure. you may be on to a deal here and all can be used in a simple stereo configuration

Rgds
Stuart
 
A pair of M2s here. The best £300 I’ve ever spent on HiFi.

Listening to them as I write - Beatles White Album, disc 6.
 
I've rebuilt a few sets of Meridian active speakers for customers, mainly M2's and involving rebuilding the amps and crossovers with new and better caps, op amps etc. I continue to offer service for the electronics of the analogue models but wouldn't touch the DSP ones with a bargepole. Nor would I buy them personally, even if cheap. Unobtainium digital IC's and software pre loaded ROM's etc.
 
Dsp5500s go for really low prices now and represent remarkable vfm. They’re highly resolved and will blow your head off if you turn the wick up. You’ll need a big room though, their (reflex loaded ) bass can be overwhelming.
 
Thank you all -this is what I needed . My thought is that if the electronics are working -I'd simply hook up a pair of speakers and go. If one or two of the speakers have damaged drivers i probably wouldn't bother tying to fix them - but I'd view anything past 2 working as a plus for future parts pulls. So -I guess I'll go and see if the seller will let me fiddle around with 'em and see what part(s) of the system are still working.
 
poco a poco said:
Was this repair by Merdian?
Click to expand...

I assume so, it was managed by our local Meridian dealer. It was the Centre & Right of a DSP5000 setup. Been OK since then, and it’s now a fully digital 5.1 system. The future demise of the digital bits does concern me; I’ve often considered buying a single 5000 unit to keep as a spare.
 
I bought a pair of M2s a while ago and was very impressed with them. When the opportunity came to buy a pair of DSP5000s at a really good price I jumped at the chance.
The DSPs were sold to me as 'working' but as 'spares or repair' owing to a lack of the test capability. On receiving them I removed the rear panels to inspect the electronics,
and the drivers to check them out. During this I found that one of the bass drivers was kaput, on further investigation I found a problem with the relevant amp,
and had to replace a couple of components. I was lucky enough to find a replacement bass driver in the US and had it shipped over.
I'm not worried about the DSP boards as they do pop up occasionally on 'thebay'. As an aside it appears that the original 18bit 48KHz units are more reliable than the later 24bit
96KHz, as the latter put more load on some of the PSU components causing some component degradation. There is a thread on 'meridian unplugged' that provides a lot of
useful info regarding keeping these exceptional speakers in tiptop condition:
https://www.meridianunplugged.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=268832&page=1
 
Can D5K speakers be used as simple stereo speakers ? IOW - power cord and balanced input used and they will operate full range ? I assume a PSW-2500 has to be run thru the surround sound processor ?
 
I have two sets of Meridian Actives - M3, and M30. I've also worked on another set of M3s with a friend, where we removed the amps and x-overs from the cabs into a separate case and upgraded the PSUs etc... they sounded superb. He then moved on to a set of M1s - we replaced the power amps with a trio of NAP180s, and replaced the PSU for the x-over with stunning results. He then got married and moved on to DSP series for domestic compatibility reasons, but still has the M1s in case he's ever allowed to use them again, and still maintains that they are better than the digital speakers.
They early actives are simply superb, tonally 'BBC' but with a resolution that you'd never get from the likes of LS3/5As - I used my M30's as a substitute for my Quad 57s when renovating my house, and they were amazingly similar in tone and detail. The M30s are now the rear speakers in a 5.1 system with my Quad 57s in our TV room, soon to become vinyl room.
 
I have a pair of DSP5000 used as a simple stereo pair; unless you have a very large room and listen at very high volumes I seriously doubt whether you will need a subwoofer. The DSP5000 goes down to 35Hz and in my living room (15ft x 13ft) I can feel the air moving in my chest with the right material. As I indicated above, the original 18bit/48kHz versions have been shown to be more robust over time, but the later 24bit/96kHz are easily modified to achieve the same level of reliability.
You do need a digital source to drive any of the DSPXXXX speakers, I originally used a very cheap ADC that I bought on 'thebay' fed from my Audiolab 8000c, and was very impressed with the result, but have more recently upgraded to a Meridian 582 to allow easier switching of my digital sources( CD, DAT, TV toslink, and DVD sound). The DSP boards have been shown to boringly reliable, and though there is no firmware upgrade available, there are circuit diagrams for the amplifiers (which are the same as the earlier M60 active speakers as far as the power amplifiers are concerned). Meridian themselves host an 'historical section' with a lot of useful info, https://www.meridian-audio.com/en/product-support/earlier-products/historical/ . Though Meridian no longer have spares available enough were sold to make acquiring them not too dificult, indeed, if you get more speakers than you need it might pay to keep enough parts for your future needs and sell on the rest, either as complete units or as parts.
I honestly don't anticipate needing to upgrade these speakers unless I inherit a lot of money, or win the lottery
 
I think ?? I'm beginning to figure this out : D5K speakers are DSP5000 ----yes or ----no ? These only have digital inputs ---- yes -----no ? The processor/controller is missing for this setup - I think that this means that my interest in it is probably over -since I mainly get my music off of LP's. And I may still go out and look at them tomorrow.Hmmm? My Benchmark DAC3 HGC has a digital output I've never used or paid any attention to -guess it's time to read the manual ?
 
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