Hi there, I'm in Los Angeles and would love a local sale of this rare Meridian stack. $1700 OBO. I have a bunch of pictures that I can't seem to post here…
Here are the details...
I am the original owner of this rare Meridian stack, which I purchased from David at Stereo Design in San Diego in the mid-ninties! Wow! I would like to sell these as a set, as I’ve been told that even Meridian does not have a set of these. I had them cleaned and tested by David Weinhart about 3 years ago.
The 605 mono blocks are rated 150 WPC and work and sound great! Amazing amps, first class.
The 602 is a transport, world-class and works wonderfully.
The 603 Control Unit is a preamp with 4 digital (DAC) inputs, 1 phono input, two line inputs, 1 tape in / tape out, variable out (balanced) and fixed out. This unit has the following issues: the display is half-shot (comes in and out, not readable), and the DAC section is not working nor is the phono stage. I’m convinced that a good tech could fix these, as they are AMAZING. It took me a long long time to find another DAC that I liked better than this BitStream DAC form the 1990s. Go figure.
NO REMOTE, I lost it years ago!
These are not pristine, there are some scuffs and scratches. Don’t expect mint here. I’ve used them as my main system for 15 years. They sound wonderful, and deserve a nice home with someone who will appreciate their rare beauty.
I would rather not ship these, but I will. Please enquire. You are welcome to come take a look if you are in LA.
Some research to consider:
about the 605s…
http://www.meridian-audio.info/show.php?compid=125about the 602…
http://www.meridian-audio.info/show.php?compid=122about the 603…
http://www.meridian-audio.info/show.php?compid=123I quote:
Designed as part of Meridian’s excellent flagship 600 series, the 605s naturally share the same attractive brushed aluminum twin-box housing, but also makes good use of space by showing off the deeply-finned heatsinks as their facia. A Mosfet output design, 6 in all per channel, the 605s claim 150W per channel, and are able to supply 250W continuous into 4 ohms, sustaining peak currents of over 12 amperes. Although not the most powerful power amplifiers around, they are definitely tolerant of difficult loads - my Dynaudio Craffts, whose impedence dips to 3.3 ohms, were driven cleanly even at high SPLs.
Designed by Bob Stuart, the internal topology of the 605s was considered an experimental departure for Meridian, returning to the kind of circuit he designed for Lecson. The standing current is in the region of 200 mA, meaning at lower listening levels that predominate musical performances, the 605s operate substantially into Class A. Feedback levels are also much lower than usual.
The 605s design also subscribed to the ’fast recovery’ school of thought for the power supply, using well oversized 400 VA torroidal transformers for each channel to feed the relatively small 4700 microFarad high current selected Elna Cerafine reservoir capacitors, via a low impedence bridge. This design enables the supply to recover more quickly to stable conditions after musical transients.
The mechanical layout takes advantage of the twin-box construction per unit, with the left box housing the electronics and the right the transformer and capacitors. This layout confers some degree and electrical and mechanical isolation to the electronics.
The 605s reproduce soundstages generously with realistically-sized images - a first sign of good sufficient power output of amplifiers towing the Craffts. High SPLs can be achieved with no signs of compression. The sound on the whole is clean and detailed, but somehow not coming across as overtly forward. Treble is well-extended, but bass sounds a little lean, though the latter is only noticeable in the company of power amplifiers like the Michell Alectos. The 605s also have excellent timing, reminding one of the rhythmic qualities of Naim amplifiers, while also sounding fast, fresh and and very vivid.
On the back panel there are balanced and unbalanced analogue inputs. Balanced interconnection is recommended by the manufacturer for a clearer sound.
All sales final, you take these as-is. The amps work great, the Transport great, the control unit needs a bit of love… priced accordingly.
