Meridian 557 Power Amp

falconcry72
falconcry72 Posts: 3,580
edited February 2012 in 2 Channel Audio
Any thoughts? I've got a line on one for a good price, but it has some light fuzz on one of the channels. I'm thinking it's a cheap fix, but I don't know for sure...

How does the Meridian sound compare to the Krell KAV-250a or Parasound HCA-2200II?


Thanks, dudes.:smile:
2-Channel: PC > Schiit Eitr > Audio Research DAC-8 > Audio Research LS-26 > Pass Labs X-250.5 > Magnepan 3.7's

Living Room: PC > Marantz AV-7703 > Emotiva XPA-5 > Sonus Faber Liuto Towers, Sonus Faber Liuto Center, Sonus Faber Liuto Bookshelves > Dual SVS PC12-Pluses

Office: Phone/Tablet > AudioEngine B1 > McIntosh D100 > Bryston 4B-ST > Polk Audio LSiM-703's
Post edited by falconcry72 on
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  • falconcry72
    falconcry72 Posts: 3,580
    edited February 2012
    Bump. Anybody have experience with any Meridian amps at all???
    2-Channel: PC > Schiit Eitr > Audio Research DAC-8 > Audio Research LS-26 > Pass Labs X-250.5 > Magnepan 3.7's

    Living Room: PC > Marantz AV-7703 > Emotiva XPA-5 > Sonus Faber Liuto Towers, Sonus Faber Liuto Center, Sonus Faber Liuto Bookshelves > Dual SVS PC12-Pluses

    Office: Phone/Tablet > AudioEngine B1 > McIntosh D100 > Bryston 4B-ST > Polk Audio LSiM-703's
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  • falconcry72
    falconcry72 Posts: 3,580
    edited February 2012
    Man, I thought you guys knew your ish... guess I was wrong...:rolleyes::biggrin:
    2-Channel: PC > Schiit Eitr > Audio Research DAC-8 > Audio Research LS-26 > Pass Labs X-250.5 > Magnepan 3.7's

    Living Room: PC > Marantz AV-7703 > Emotiva XPA-5 > Sonus Faber Liuto Towers, Sonus Faber Liuto Center, Sonus Faber Liuto Bookshelves > Dual SVS PC12-Pluses

    Office: Phone/Tablet > AudioEngine B1 > McIntosh D100 > Bryston 4B-ST > Polk Audio LSiM-703's
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  • pearsall001
    pearsall001 Posts: 5,068
    edited February 2012
    falconcry72 wrote: »
    Man, I thought you guys knew your ish... guess I was wrong...:rolleyes::biggrin:

    Man I wish I could help you on this one but I have no info on that puppy. Maybe if you thru the Emotiva name in there you'd have a whole lot of responses though... LOL. Amazing a name like Meridian gets no responses but say Emo & these guys are all over it, go figure.
    "2 Channel & 11.2 HT "Two Channel:Magnepan LRSSchiit Audio Freya S - SS preConsonance Ref 50 - Tube preParasound HALO A21+ 2 channel ampBluesound NODE 2i streameriFi NEO iDSD DAC Oppo BDP-93KEF KC62 sub Home Theater:Full blown 11.2 set up.
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  • FTGV
    FTGV Posts: 3,649
    edited February 2012
    Did someone say EMO?:evil:


    Meridian are known more for their high level digtal products and active speakers but that 557 looks like a very capable amplifier.
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  • tonyb
    tonyb Posts: 32,966
    edited February 2012
    It's been along time since Meridian's name has been brought up. They are known for lots of things,but amps aren't one of them. Can't say if that amp is decent or not, but never heard anyone lay claim to a Meridian amp being special in any way. My memory may be shot, but I seem to recall someone else building their amps for them. Maybe Levinson, I dunno, been awhile since I looked at them.
    HT SYSTEM-
    Sony 850c 4k
    Pioneer elite vhx 21
    Sony 4k BRP
    SVS SB-2000
    Polk Sig. 20's
    Polk FX500 surrounds

    Cables-
    Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
    Acoustic zen Matrix 2 IC's
    Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
    Audio metallurgy ga-o digital cable

    Kitchen

    Sonos zp90
    Grant Fidelity tube dac
    B&k 1420
    lsi 9's
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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,165
    edited February 2012
    I have heard Meridians digital gear and a pre-amp before. Sounded really good through a pair of Levinson mono's and Revel Ultima's. Not sure about their amps.

    H9
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
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  • nwohlford
    nwohlford Posts: 700
    edited February 2012
    I have seen that ad on Craigslist. It seems like a very nice amp. It may be a cold solder joint like he says (seems reasonable given his description of the issue), but I would take a look at the internals of the amp before I assumed it was an easy fix (http://www.meridian-audio.info/viewphoto.php?compid=143&photoid=3530). Unless there is an obvious place for a cold solder joint hunting one down in there seems a little overwhelming. Given the rareness of Meridian amps, it is probably hard to find somebody with experience with them.
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  • unc2701
    unc2701 Posts: 3,587
    edited February 2012
    I've used some of their digital products (pre's, bit converter, etc), but never amps. They're pretty rare since meridian's speakers are active- I think that they currently don't even make separate amps & I believe that they've gone IcePower on the active speakers.

    Anyhow, Meridian is top of the line gear, but sometimes top of the line isn't the best. When it comes to non-digital amplifiers, it's always good to see a high weight for a given power output (more heatsinks, better engineering), and the 557 at 60 pounds for 200 watts is certainly respectable and would suggest that they put the same attention into their amps as their other gear.

    Hope that helps.
    Gallo Ref 3.1 : Bryston 4b SST : Musical fidelity CD Pre : VPI HW-19
    Gallo Ref AV, Frankengallo Ref 3, LC60i : Bryston 9b SST : Meridian 565
    Jordan JX92s : MF X-T100 : Xray v8
    Backburner:Krell KAV-300i
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  • tonyb
    tonyb Posts: 32,966
    edited February 2012
    I dunno, Mark Levinson was suppose to have had top of the line stuff too but never cared for there amps myself. Back in the day, not too long ago really, it was a battle between Levinson and Proceed gear. Proceed for me anyway, kicked the snot out of Levison but thats just my opinion. Some want that HI-FI branded name regardless how it sounds. While meridian did a good job on their pre's, speakers, I wouldn't just blanketly assume their amps are of the highest stature.
    HT SYSTEM-
    Sony 850c 4k
    Pioneer elite vhx 21
    Sony 4k BRP
    SVS SB-2000
    Polk Sig. 20's
    Polk FX500 surrounds

    Cables-
    Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
    Acoustic zen Matrix 2 IC's
    Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
    Audio metallurgy ga-o digital cable

    Kitchen

    Sonos zp90
    Grant Fidelity tube dac
    B&k 1420
    lsi 9's
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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,165
    edited February 2012
    IMO, Levinson has really gone down hill in the past 6-8 years. Used to be a premiere piece of gear. I think the bean counters and his less involvement caused the brand to fall off a lot bit. Once you are gobbled up by a big conglomerate, it's usually onto medicority (relatively speaking).
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
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