How good/reliable are Meridian 5 series preamps?

[hal55]

I've owned two Meridian items previously, a 203 DAC and 556 amp. Both were very nice units, I liked them a lot. The Dac was eventually sold while the 556 blew an output board and was uneconomic to repair. Over a $1000 JUST for a new board and I sold it off as a scrap or repair job.
My current preamp doesn't have remote control and only one input. Now that I'm getting back into vinyl I need more inputs (maybe something like a Beresford switching unit, which I believe are excellent, but something with remote control so that I can mute output easily while changing LPs would be useful. Meridian 5 series pres seem to come up at good prices and, despite being AV oriented, I'm sure they would handle 2 channel equally well. I was a bit surprised though to see a HiFi World review recently where they said that over the last decade Meridian had lost it's way a bit and their products had become a bit grey sounding. Not what I'm after!
There are a few items recently on Ebay that seem typical of what can be bought for good prices, ie

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/200807458677?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/200768916977?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/300775674641?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

Prices are low and I can recoup the outlay just by selling off the two pres I already have. Both are good, but not perfect, and have the Chinese curse of "insane gain" where attenuators are a must.
Are the 5 series pres the answer to my needs for a remote controlled, musical, airy and open pre that is reliable and, if it breaks down, economical to repair?

Thanks in advance, all advice most appreciated.

Hal55

[DSJR]

I only know a few 500 bits when new and can reasonably say that the early 501 pre was flat and rather dead sounding. The balanced/single ended 502 was lovely and thelater 501's had a re-think to sort them out too.....


.....And that's the main problem with most Meridian sources and other bits. The temptation to revise and tweak them was just too much for the manufacturer IMO. I have my ears as witness to the sound of two 506 CD players six months apart sounding tonally opposite to each other, one soft and ploddy and the other lean and almost harsh, and i also call hifi dave who also has some tales to tell about having to regularly change his demo stock back then in an effort to keep up...


Meridian isn't the company it once was and it's rumoured the factory is a shadow of its former self. They used to be able to fully update anything returned to them for service, but it's many years since I last dealt with them so cannot say if this is continuing.

[hal55]

Been reading up on the 502 and it seems really good. The ability to tailor gain to individual inputs is a feature I'd love while balanced XLR outputs would mate beutifully with the XLR only inputs on my Jungson 99C. I'm using some cheap ebay RCA to XLR adapters at the moment that I'd love to throw away.
Anyone heard the plug in MM or MC modules? My elderly phonostage is a respectable design that the designer descibed as "will give any entry level phono stage a run for i's money - better than NAD" but cheerfully admitted it wasn't top notch and that he had subsequently built better.
What I like is that just about everyone says it is crystal clear with fabulous handling of microdynamics but no one has said it is sterile, which would be a total deal breaker for me.
What other Meridian preamps are in this same vein? The variety of Meridian models is almost bewildering, even within the 5 series, and even within the same model. Lots of comments I've found agree that they were almost a continuos work in progress. The 501 apparently got a lot better later on after being cold and grey at launch but how on earth would you know you were getting a good one?

Hal55

[Spectral Morn]

look for a Meridian G02 pre-amplifier - lovely bit of kit and any sins re sound quality are those of omission rather than commission. I own one and while its not used regularly that and its matching G56 power-amplifier won't be sold any time soon.

Not heard of any issues surrounding the G series components Meridians last analogue designs

The Meridian Forum is a good place to join and discuss all this and anything Boothroyd Stuart.

http://www.meridianunplugged.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php

[hal55]

Thanks for the link, I'll post some queries there about the pres listed plus the 541, which may or may not be the same as a 501 or 502 but with some (now obsolete) home threatre addons. Unfortunately I expect very few of them had the MM boards installed and I want to get an idea just how good they were as well in case one urns up.

Hal55

[killie99]

The 541 isn't in the same league as a 502, I've owned both. Expext to pay around £450 for a 502 in good condition. If they come with a remote or the mm/mc stages then exoect to pay a bit more. The came as standard with no MM or MC card fitted and these cards are difficult to find now and seldom seen on sale.