Meridian 551 amplifier

Meridian 551 Integrated Amplifier

Features:

Dual-mono construction

Six adjustable-sensitivity audio inputs

Separate headphone amplifier allows you to enjoy music without disturbing others

High quality MM or MC phono stages available

Preamp audio output using low distortion volume control

RS232 for external control

 

The Meridian 551 Integrated Amplifier uses a dual-mono construction similar to the 556 and 557 Stereo Power Amplifiers but includes a high-quality preamplifier similar to the 501.

The preamplifier provides six audio inputs, each of which can be individually adjusted for sensitivity, and identified on the four-character alphanumeric display. A very high quality MC or MM phono stage is available as an option for the dedicated LP input.

The power amplifier uses a unique feedback topology and precision local error correction system. It is designed and constructed in dual mono format, including a massive twin wound toroidal transformer. A separate headphone amplifier and a speaker on/off facility allow you to enjoy music without disturbing others.

 

Specification

Total Harmonic Distortion :  less than 0.05%

Signal-to-Noise Ratio

High-Level Analogue Inputs :   less than –90 dB

Phono MM Input :  less than –70 dB

Phono MC Input :  less than –60 dB

MM Option :

Sensitivity :  adjustable 0.5 – 3 mV for 5 cm/s at 1 kHz.

Overload Point :  47 mV at 1 kHz.

Cartridge Load :  47 k Ω  ( 100 pF)

MC Option:

Sensitivity :   adjustable 38 – 210 μV for 5 cm/s at 1 kHz.

Cartridge Load :  220 Ω  (10 nF)

Inputs (5 phono inputs)

Sensitivity :  adjustable 27– 150 mV

Impedance :  20 k Ω 

Power Outputs (2 outputs)

55 W per channel into 8 Ω 

80 W per channel into 4 Ω   

Volume Control:  99 steps of 1 dB

Output Level:

Tape : 1,5 V

Headphone :  2 V maximum output.

Comms:  Two 5-pin 240° DIN sockets, RS232 interface.

Construction:  Black textured enamel and glass finish. Side heatsinks from black painted aluminium.

Dimensions (W x H x D) : 321 x 88 x 332 mm (12.64" x 3.46" x 13.07")

Weight:  10 kg (20 lbs)

Controls: Front-panel controls for Source, Copy, Spkrs, Mute, Display, Volume up/down, Off.

Front Display: 4-character dot matrix LED display.

Meridian 588 CD player

Meridian is the leader in high-end CD playback. 

Since we revolutionised the performance expectations of CD with the MCD-pro in 1984 we have steadily advanced the art of digital audio.Our reputation in the field is further confirmed by the choice of MLP (Meridian Lossless Packing) as the mandated standard for DVD-Audio.

The New Meridian 588, evolved from our famous 508 and award winning 800 CD machineuses a ROM drive for precise recovery of detail. As a result, error correction is ten times more effective. Triple buffer stages provide astonishingly low jitter. The 588 has the highest quality 2-channel output using 192kH224-bit DACs and full RS232 control and status with software upgradeability. The 588 will also play CD-R discs with MP3 data.

Meridian 588

588 uses a precision DVD-ROM drive to read information from the discs using a technology developed for the Meridian 800 Series. This drive’s precise pickup system is optimised for CD and CDR playback.

The data from the disc is checked, corrected and decoded using an extremely powerful digital processing system. Within the data path are three large memory buffers – each one in turn establishing smoother data flow so that the final audio has the lowest possible jitter.

These steps all ensure that you can enjoy the highest quality audio from your discs. Advanced digital and analogue design and construction techniques combine to provide the highest performance. 588 is built using 6-layer PCBs, 7 separate power supplies, the latest surface-mount technology and components which have been carefully selected to optimize und quality.

The 588 operating software has been developed by Meridian and benefits from our vast expertise on CD navigation, playability and sound quality. 

In addition to CD the 588 can replay MP3 discs giving the best access to playback longplaying audio collections on a main system. MP3 discs can include personal albums (MP3 files optionally grouped as albums by directory) on a Recordable CD (CD-R).

An RS232 port supports full control of the player and provides for future software updates.

Sound Quality

588 maximizes sound quality by reducing jitter to very low levels. Unlike other players that try to lower jitter by controlling drive vibration, the 588’s triple buffer memory architecture abolishes this problem forever. In 588 the audio is controlled using a precise master oscillator located within the final output section. The result of this sophisticated effort is a clear, open, authoritative sound. The digital output is precision re-clocked.

The stereo analogue output uses 192kHz 24-bit advanced DACs combined with a superb direct-coupled audiophile-standard output amplifier.

Specification
Formats:  CD Audio (CD-DA), CD-R, MP3.
Total Harmonic Distortion:  less than -93 dB
Noise:  less than -93 dB
Mechanism:  Dual-lens pickup with red laser
Processing:  DSP software provides error correction and on-board decoding for MPEG Audio
Conversion:  24-bit Delta Sigma
Audio Outputs:
1 x  Coax. Digital SPDIF/IEC1937.
1 x Optical Toslink to EIAJ IEC and data compatible
1 x pair balanced outputs XLR sockets
1 x Analogue stereo direct-coupled design featuring 192 kHz. 24-bit conversion.
All audio outputs use FIFO and relocking to give extremely low jitter
Superb direct-coupled analogue design featuring 192kHz 24-bit conversion.
All audio outputs have extremely low jitter due to innovative FIFO and re-clocking scheme.
Controls: 
Front-panel controls for Open/Close, Play, Stop, Pause, Previous, Next and Off.
Full RS232 control and status for custom integration or automation.
A Meridian System Remote is included.
Front Display: 12 character display. Indicators for CD, MP3 and Repeat.
Power Supply:  100 – 240 V, 50/60 Hz,
Power Consumption:  25 W.
Dimension (W x H x D):  321 x 88 x 332 mm (12.64" x 3.46" x 13.07")
Weight: 6,4 kg (14 lbs) 

Meridian MFM tuner

Meridian Modular Tuner the MFM is designed to receive transmission on the VHF-FM band only. The tuner has six pre-settable stations which are selected with a single control knob.

The tuner is designed as a free-standing unit.

Three connections must be made to the tuner, power supply, audio output  (5-pin DIN), and aerial antenna input (unblanced 75 Ω).

Maridian have released ( 1986) an FM tuner, the MFM, to match their Component Amplifier System. Simplicity of operation, neat appearance and excellent sound quality are its main claims to fame. A two-box unit, the tuner uses a sparate mains transformer so it can be used as a "stand alone" item in other systems as well as in situ with its companions in the meridian range. Six preset stations are provided, with tuning via screw-driver-adjusted presets on the RH module. The selected frequency is displayed on a digital readout. 

Price of the MFM is £359

Meridian 504 tuner

The Meridian 504 FM

Tuner is the latest in a long line of Meridian tuners with a reputation for stunning sound quality.

The Meridian 504 FM Stereo Tuner combines major advances in audio and user interface design. It features a dual-gate MOSFET input to pull in distant stations, while the matched ceramic filters ensure fine selectivity to cope with more-crowded locations. A Walsh-function stereo decoder gives remarkable clarity and freedom from interference. The 504 has full remote control, can store up to 30 stations in memory showing their names for your convenience.

The eight-character display can be  pro- grammed to show station names for ease of acces. The 504 FM Stereo Tuner is a  wonder- full way for pop enthusiasts to hear new music; jazz lovers to hear rare, archival material; and classical aficionados to hear well-made live broadcasts. We invite you to consider it seriously.

Specifications:

Frequency Range:   87.0 - 108 MHz

Sensitivity:

Mono :  1.5 μV

Stereo :  23 μV

Ult. :  100 μV

Distortion :

Mono ;  less than  0.2%

Stereo :  less than  0.4%

Noise:  -70 dB.

Inputs and outputs

Unbalanced Antenna Imput:  FM 75 Ω

Analogue Output :  2 V

Communications : Two 5 pin 240º DIN

Construction:

Black textured enamel and glass finish

Dimensions (W x H x D):  88 x 321 x 332 mm (3,46 x 12,64 x 13.07 inch )

Weight:  6.4 kg (14 lbs)

Meridian 207 Pro

 No ordinary Compact Disc Player

Meridian have earned their reputation as the leading designers of the world's finest sounding Campact Disc players. The 207-Pro is designed and made by these enthusiasts in England, and extensive research has been made in the evolution of this very advanced CD player. Every detail of the mechanical and electric engineering, from the floating cast subchassis to the electronic volume and comprehensive remote controls, is designed to make the 207-pro the finest Compact Dsic player. The Meridian 207-Pro est quality music playing system for your home - and it combines this formidable performance with effortless, yet comprehensive control of its functions. It has no equal.

A powerful feature of the Meridian 207-pro is the built-in preamplifier facilities. It can connect a tuner and tape directly to Meridian active loudspeakers, to give a simple system with the finest combination of performance and control available; or it may be used in a conventional music system.

This leaflet highlights some of the design features of the Meridian 207-pro, but only a visit to a Meridian dealer will convey a true impression of its distinctive quality.

 Meridian 207-Pro, why separate boxes?

It is no accident that the 207-Pro is arranged in two parts. One contains the precision-engineered motrised CD transport system and the system power supplies. The CD transport carries the single-beam laser pick-up assembly in a sprung die-cast subchassis, and runs on precision stainless steel guides. The assembly moves out at the touch of a switch on the front panel. This whole mechanism is housed in a heavy aluminium tube and when the plate-glass door slides shut against its soft surround, the spinning Compact Disc is acoustically and mechanically isolated. This aspect of the construction adds a lot to the sound quality of the player and yields the convenience of front-loading without the loss of quality that normally results. The digital signal is passed via a single cable to the electronics unit.

 The 207 provides a unique conbination of quality and facility. The very highest standards of audio performance are combined witha truly comprehensive control system, resulting in a product which has received worldwide acclaim. Meridian now provide a complementary range of products to the 207 including 201 Preamplifier,, 205 Power Amplifier, 204 Tuner Timer, 209 remote Control and a range of 3 Active Loudspeaker Systems.

The 207 has the following new features:

New Meridian designed servo circuits for improved playability.

2 box construction which provides acoustic and electronic isolation of circuits.

High mass 3 point sorbothane suspension system for better sound.

New Meridian designed microprocessor control functions for simpler operation.

Inputs for radio, tape and LP record deck with switchable cartridge level matching

High energy power supplies for better control of audio circuits resulting in improved sound.

Full function remote control system.

Specifications

Inputs Compact Disc:

Radio :  500 mV/10 k Ω

Tape:  500 mV/10 k Ω

Outputs

Fixed :  2V RMS / 12 Ω

Variable :  4 V RMS / 47 Ω

Tape :  500 mV / 47 k Ω

Distortion:  less than 0,004%

Noise:  better than -90 dB

Conversion:  4 x oversampling at 14 bits

Precision:  15,5 bits min

Displays:  Track/disc/total/remaining time/selecte track/track playing/error correction

Dimensions (W x H x D):  160 x 90 x 310 mm ( 6,3" x 3,6" x 12,2")

Weight:  8,5 kg

Finish:  Black textured enamel and glass

Meridian 500

 Meridian introduce the 500 Compact Disc Transport that combines major advances in digital audio and engineering design to provide clear, pure and natural sound

The 500 Compact Disc Transport incorporates a precision engineered CD turntable and drawer system, which provides all the advantages of drawer loading with the superior disc clamping normally associated with top loading players. It provides a precision digital output which is re-clocked and uses a very high power 75 ohms amplifier for superlow jitter. In order to improve the sound quality and disc playability Meridian has updated the design of the 500 to use a new three beam laser CD mechanism. This involves a new type of in-house software that, amongst its many features, adapts the player to the parameters of each CD.

 The software is combined with radical proprietary analogue processing system that “de jitters” the data coming from the disc before it is decoded. The 500 is our best transport, ideal for Meridian digital speakers or with the 565 Digital Surround Processor. Combined with our 566 DAC, it’s the finest CD playback system Meridian offers to get the sound of “being there”

 Meridian has eschewed the usual bought-in drive controller PCB in favour of its own circuitry.

Decoding of the signal lifted from CD is via Philips SAA7310, which handles error correction as well as demodulation and subcode processing, and optical control is provided by the TDA 8808/8909 servo electronics. From this a PCF2705 provides further digital processing from 12C to S/PDIF, before output to a high power 75 Ω amplifier feeding the co-axial output through a small toroidal transformer to improve the squareness of the signal into the interconnect.  A high speed optical EIAJ "Toslink" output is also provided.

Specifications

Clock accuracy:  ±20 ppm.

Display:  Eight character display for track, time, and index.

Outputs

Digital:  Co-axial, 500mV p-p.

Optical:  EIAJ.

AES/EBU:  XLR connector.

Communications:  Two 5 pin 240 DIN sockets

Consumption:  20 VA

Finish:  Black textured enamel and glass.

Dimensions (H x W x D):  88 x 321 x 332 mm (3.46" x 12.64" x 13.07").

Weight:  6.4 kg (14 lbs).

Meridian 563

 The Meridian 563 Digital to Analogue Converter provides three digital inputs and one optical input, and uses a high definition dual differential digital to analogue Delta Sigma converter to give up to 19 bit precision. Dual phase lock loops ansure low jitter, and balanced Class A output amplifiers give extremely low distprtion.

 The Crystal Delta Sigma 1-bit DAC is designed as a one chip solution for stereo decoding, including its own high performance digital filter, oversampling and noise shaping. By using a pair of decoders in differential mode for left and right channels, Meridian claims a unique implementation giving a precision up to 19-bit resolution. A front-panel switch toggles a software phase inversion at this stage if the user desires, with the handbook pointing out that 'in some circumstances this can give a noticeable improvement in realism'.

 NE5534 ICs, bandwidth-limited via a 38 kHz single pole filter, feed Class A discrete output stages which provide two balanced outputs via XLR connectors as well as the two standard phono outputs. Each output circuit utilises A06/A56 high current driver transistors, easily capable of driving long cables with a source impedence of 12 ohms.

Specifications

Conversion:  Dual differential Delta Sigma, 64 times oversampled at 2 bits per channel giving 19 bits resolution

Jitter:  less than 1 ps rms

Noise and Distortion:  less than -95 dB

Inputs:

D1 - D3 digital audio :  unbalanced phono SPDIF input at 75 Ω

AES/EBU connection via optional XLR connection on D1

Optical disgital audio high speed

TOSLINK input

Outputs

Unbalanced analogue output 2 V nominal

Balanced anlogue output on 2 x XLRs

Display: illuminated legends for EQ, Lock, 44,1 kHz, and Phase

Finish:  Black textured enamel and glass

Dimensions (H x W x D):  88 x 321 x 332 mm (3.46" x 12.64" x 13.07").

Weight:  6.4 kg (14 lbs).

Meridian 508 20-Bit

 The meridian 508 20-Bit CD Player is a unique component that combines major advances in digital audio and engineering design.

 

 The 508 20-Bit CD Player incorporates a three-beam laser CD mechanism, for superb sound quality and disc playability. The precision-engineered turntable combines the advantages of drawer loading with the superior disc clamping normally associated with top loading players. The digital signal is decoded using the latest 20-bit dual-differential Delta Sigma digital to analogue converter, combined with a discrete class A output for superlative audio performance.

Specifications

Mechanism:  Three-beam laser.

Conversion:  Dual differential 20-bit Delta Sigma.

Display:  Eight character dot-matrix display for track, time, and index.

THD:  Less than -93 dBFS.

Noise:  Less than -93 dBFS.

Audio output:  2V fixed, class A.

Balanced outputs:  XLR sockets, 1=ground, 2=positive phase output, 3=negative phase output.

Digital outputs:  Co-axial, optical.

Communications:  Two 5 pin 240° DIN sockets.

ConsumptionPower:  20VA.

Finish:  Black textured enamel and glass.

Dimensions:  88mm x 321mm x 332mm (3.46" x 12.64" x 13.07").

Weight:  6.4kg (14lbs).

Meridian 506 24-Bit CD Player

The 506 24-Bit CD Player incorporates a three-beam laser CD mechanism, for superb sound quality and disc playability. The precision-engineered turntable combines the advantages of drawer loading with the superior disk clamping normally associated with top loading players. The digital signal is decoded using the latest 24-bit dual-differential Delta Sigma digital to analogue converter, combined with a discrete class A output for superlative audio performance.This guide is designed to enable you to obtain the best possible results from the unit, whether your requirements are simply to play a disc or to programme a selection of music.If you have just purchased the 506 24-Bit CD Player, you should first turn to the section Setting up the CD player, page 15, which explains how tounpack and install the CD player correctly.

The Meridian 500 Series is a unique system of digital, analogue,and video components designed to meet the demand for  absolute quality, ease of use, and lasting value. The flexibility of the Meridian 500 Series is such that you can assemble a system as simple or as complex as you need, perfectly suited to your musical and environmental requirements, and with the ability to add to it or change it at a later date should your requirements change. The 500 Series is also compatible with the existing Meridian 200 Series and 600 Series components. Each Meridian 500 Series component is housed in a matching slim line case. Front panel controls provide access to the most important functions, and the full range of functions is available from the Meridian System Remote using a simple and intuitive contr ol interface.

500 Series communications The Meridian 500 Series includes a sophisticated communications link, to ensure that any configuration of units will work together as a fully integrated system. The 500 Series communications system allows you to control any combination of units using a single remote, and ensures that your commands from the remote are interpreted unambiguously. The communications system also allows you to extend your hi-fi system into two or three rooms, with the ability to control the sources in one room from the controller in another room.

Specification

THD: Less than -93dBFS.

Noise: Less than -93dBFS.

Mechanism: Three-beam laser.

Conversion: Dual differential 24-bit Delta Sigma.

Display: Eight character dot-matrix display for track, time, and index.

Finish: Black textured enamel and glass.

Dimensions: 88mm x 321mm x 332mm (3.46" x 12.64" x 13.07").

Weight: 6.4kg (14lbs).

Outputs Analogue: 2V fixed, class A.

Digital: co-axial, optical.

Communications: Two 5 pin 240° DIN sockets.

Consumption: 20VA.

Connecting the CD player
Back panel
The CD player provides three alternative signal outputs to allowyou to choose the highest-quality method of connection available on the system to which you are connecting. The 506 24-Bit CD Player produces an extremely low-noise low jitter electrical digital output, and this is the recommended method of connection to digital equipment. The following table lists the equipment which uses each of the three output types