The end of separates for me, Sugden A28B or Meridian 551?

[F575M]

Hello Chaps,

I no longer have the time to listen to music at leisure, my principal task now is to take care of my wife plus housework and errands.

So this is the end of separates for me, I just need a simple system to have it on all the time.

I'll keep a pair of Vienna Haydns, a bookshelf system with all its limitations, a Meridian 507CD player and my lovely 401 rebuilt by Ray Clark - Ortofon AS-212 rebuilt by my dear friend Angus [Phonomac].

I did an extensive search and the finalists are: a Sugden A28B and a Meridian 551. Both are in mint condition, the 551 is around £90 more expensive. Max budget is £700, for the amplifier.

I need some guidance please, I listen to classical music.

Cheers,

Horacio

[hifinutt]

i guess the meridian will be a good match aesthetically with CD and possibly sonically

[AJSki2fly]

I had a 557 which was great, been told that the 551 is very good as well.

[Mr.Ian]

I read that the early 501 was very flat and boring, that the 502 was much better, but later 501 were revamped to improve the sound. 551 uses the 501 front end. More research might be useful.

[walpurgis]

I like Meridian equipment, so the 551 would be my choice. The build and finish quality will be excellent and the 551 seems well liked by users. Just make sure it comes with the correct MSR remote control.

[F575M]

The only one I found that comes with an MC card is in mint condition but has no remote. I have the remote of my 507. What do you mean by the correct MSR, are they different? Meridian manual says that the 500 Series communications system allows you to control any combination of units using a single handset, and ensures that your commands from the handset are interpreted unambiguously.

[walpurgis]

The 507 remote is the correct MSR and suits the 551 too. Some owners without one use other types of unit I believe.

[Lawrence001]

Sorry to read about your wife but don't be so down about the system, it is still seperates you're talking about, and not bad ones at that esp the 401 and the Viennas are nice too.

[F575M]

Thanks mate. I really do not need a £4.5K [used price market] to listen to background music, just a click on the MSR remote and done with it.

I just purchased a 551 from a chap in Stirling, it is a 230/240V but I have the feeling that there is a 110V tap in the transformer if not, a simple 1000W step-down transformer will work fine.