:DFirstly, thanks to all of you who answered my (oft stupid) questions about Naim kit. Just to keep you up to date...

When I sat down and did the sums however, even going for a NAC72 / NAP140 set-up, once I'd bought cables and NACA to work with it, my budget was going to have to be stretched to about £900 so I was going to save up.

Until, however, I took a punt on a Meridian 557 which I've got for £600...................Which will be arriving on Wednesday.

Now that leaves me with a problem. I can use my 8000a temporarily as a pre but that won't be an ideal permanent solution.

A 501 / 502 is my best bet but, if there are any Meridian experts on here, would a 201 be a good pre to use?

Also, what sort of interconnect between pre / power for <£75 would you recommend?

Thanks again

Nice amp, nice price.

Re your incon, when you get your (presumably Meridian) pre sorted I would speak to Meridian re what they have designed their amps to cope with in terms of measurables then choose one that fits those criteria. It's a bit boring and scientific but it has to be better than mix-n-matching till you happen to get one that works. Oh, and where possible I'd use a short one.

Oh, and where possible I'd use a short one.

Could I stack the pre on top of the 557?

I would think so, the 557 has such massive heatsinks I can't see it getting hot. Better if you can avoid it, it will reduce electrical noise pickup but it's unlikely to be a show stopper if you can't.

Would a 201 be any good?

Seeker

Firstly congratulations, I'll be amazed if you will be disappointed!

I've had (and still got several sheds) of Meridian kit! Firstly the 557 is a great amp, very neutral and very effortless. It runs slightly warm, but certainly not hot to touch. It can accept balanced or single ended inputs.

Regarding a pre-amp, a 502 is going to cost you ££££, not often for sale second-hand. A 501 would be a good match, but don't discount the 541, this is an old style surround sound processor, only Dolby ProLogic (4.0), but is in effect a surround sound module added to a 501. The 541 is often available cheaper than a 501 (expect to pay £125-£150 for a 541, but a 501 will cost £200-£250)

The 201 is a good pre-amp, visually a bit dated, but will work fine with a 557, though my preference would be to go for a 541/501

I ran one of my 557's balanced (using Van Damme Studio Cables < £40) and the other unblanced, just used some old Chord Cobra2 I had lying about. I actually prefer some of the cheaper QED cables and you wouldn't go far wrong using something tike Qunex 2, this should set you back £20-£30. Incidently Meridian often use VdH cabling inside their components.

541 here http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Meridian-541-Surround-Controller-mint-condition_W0QQitemZ270377607338QQcmdZViewItemQQptZ UK_AudioTVElectronics_HomeAudioHiFi_Amplifiers?has h=item270377607338&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2%7C65%3A10%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318

Hope That helps

Regarding a pre-amp, a 502 is going to cost you ££££, not often for sale second-hand. A 501 would be a good match, but don't discount the 541, this is an old style surround sound processor, only Dolby ProLogic (4.0), but is in effect a surround sound module added to a 501. The 541 is often available cheaper than a 501 (expect to pay £125-£150 for a 541, but a 501 will cost £200-£250)

The 201 is a good pre-amp, visually a bit dated, but will work fine with a 557, though my preference would be to go for a 541/501

I ran one of my 557's balanced (using Van Damme Studio Cables < £40) and the other unblanced, just used some old Chord Cobra2 I had lying about. I actually prefer some of the cheaper QED cables and you wouldn't go far wrong using something tike Qunex 2, this should set you back £20-£30. Incidently Meridian often use VdH cabling inside their components.

541 here http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Meridian-541-Surround-Controller-mint-condition_W0QQitemZ270377607338QQcmdZViewItemQQptZ UK_AudioTVElectronics_HomeAudioHiFi_Amplifiers?has h=item270377607338&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2%7C65%3A10%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318

Hope That helps

Yup, got my eye on that 541 - I reckon I should be able to nail that.

However, I have found a 502 for sale for about the same price as I paid for the 557. In your opinion, is it really worth the premium over a 541 / 501?

Cheers

You got a good deal on the 557, but a 502 is not worth £600, more like £450. If you whole system is balanced ie you CD player has balanced outputs, etc, then a 502 would be worth the extra premium over the 501/541, but if not I personally would go for a 541/501

I have run a 541/557 system for a short time, and it was a great sounding combination.

You will need a MSR remote (£35) or MSR+ (£60) to use the pre-amp remotely. The MSR++ is programmable so your other devices can be programmed in as well, giving you a single remote.

You got a good deal on the 557, but a 502 is not worth £600, more like £450. If you whole system is balanced ie you CD player has balanced outputs, etc, then a 502 would be worth the extra premium over the 501/541, but if not I personally would go for a 541/501

I have run a 541/557 system for a short time, and it was a great sounding combination.

You will need a MSR remote (£35) or MSR+ (£60) to use the pre-amp remotely. The MSR++ is programmable so your other devices can be programmed in as well, giving you a single remote.

I've got an MSR (with the 506.24) so no problems there.

The 506 isn't balanced so I'll be happy to go down the unbalanced route. :)

Just found a local dealer with a 562 for sale - this seems like a 501 with a DAC in it? Any good and what's a good price for one of these?

Thanks again

No No No No!! Not all 562 have DACs in them, and you can't control the volume with all variants of the 562. You would be much better with a 541/501, be patient!!!

A 562 is basically an input expander for the 565/568 surround sound processors to give more digital/analogue inputs. You don't need one in your system, so don't buy it!

If you want to go for a different solution then consider a 568 or 568.2. These are full blown surround sound processor but do 2 channel very well, multiple digital inputs so can be used as a DAC and a couple of analogue inputs. The analogue inputs are digitised though (24/96). There also have balanced outputs (LCR) and unblanced outputs (all channels). One of these acting as a DAC/Pre-amp would be a very good solution. I have one at the heart of my system being fed by 2 channel and multichannel sources.

There is one for sale in the Meridian (Hitchhikers) forum (568.1 - regular 568) from slasor999, who is an excellent person to deal with as I have bought from him previously. Its at a bargain price of £400 (new RRP was nearly £4K!!!)

No No No No!! Not all 562 have DACs in them, and you can't control the volume with all variants of the 562. You would be much better with a 541/501, be patient!!!

A 562 is basically an input expander for the 565/568 surround sound processors to give more digital/analogue inputs. You don't need one in your system, so don't buy it!

Woooah! Just goes to show how much I can misinterpret the user manual. Thanks for saving me some unneccessary expense :o

There is one for sale in the Meridian (Hitchhikers) forum (568.1 - regular 568) from slasor999, who is an excellent person to deal with as I have bought from him previously. Its at a bargain price of £400 (new RRP was nearly £4K!!!)

I'll check it out. See if he still has it.

...going for a NAC72 / NAP140 set-up, once I'd bought cables and NACA to work with it, my budget was going to have to be stretched to about £900 so I was going to save up.


Here on pfm, a 72 would have set you back around £250 and an olive 140 around £300 and say £50 for some Naim NAC A5. If needed, a decent phono to din cable can be had for £25 or less. That works out at £625 all in and then you had the furture upgrade options - NJ/Avondale boards, hi/teddycap etc.

Anyhow, I'm sure the Meridian will be a good buy.

Stuart

The 201 and its remote are aesthetically stunningbut do not cut the mustard sonically ( not even a bit) The 502 is better but still not really great. I would go for used krell pre like the ksl or ksp 7b- both s/s for under £600 and either will blow both Meridian pre's out of the water.