The Meridian 506/24 CD player hi-fi+ review

You can probably guess what's coming next... To me, CD technology in its infancy certainly did not live up to its promise of pure, perfect sound forever.

Quite the opposite in fact. As far as I was concerned the sooner it died, the better. Things have greatly improved, but as a bystander (or more accurately someone who was unwilling to part with loads of cash for technology that didn't stand still for a minute) it was interesting to observe the changes that were occurring, and those innovators responsible for them. One such individual is Bob Stuart who is half of the Boothroyd Stuart team at the core of Meridian, a company which has never been far from the cutting edge. Boothroyd and Stuart were responsible for some ground breaking amplifier designs, in the form of the original Cambridge P40 and the Lecson range, before coming up with the Meridian 100 series components over twenty years ago. All of these products had one thing in common; their innovative electronic design by Bob Stuart coupled with distinctive good looks courtesy of Allen Boothroyd. Lecson amplification may not have been to everyone's taste, but in my opinion it has yet to be equaled in terms of functional elegance, although all Meridian equipment has an impressive sense of style. In a world full of bland and some-times ugly hi-fi equipment, it feels like a breath of fresh air.

To many people this was the first machine to give an indication that this digital technology could really achieve true musicality Needless to say a lot of these players were sold. The availability of an 'audiophile' CD player opened the floodgates. Overnight, analogue gurus became digital experts expounding dubious theories as to why compact disc didn't fully deliver in terms of musical satisfaction and how this could best be redressed. Suddenly we were surrounded by tweaked CD players, and even companies that had so far condemned digital audio outright, began to bend to commercial pressure and clamber reluctantly onto the bandwagon.

But Boothroyd Stuart led the way They used their belief in, and accumulated knowledge of, the digital process to produce not only a stream of successful CD players but also complete digital systems. If that's not nailing your colours to the mast I don't know what is. Something of an injustice in my view then, that their systems approach has been seen by some die-hard audiophiles to veer away from the specialist market.

In other countries Meridian have a reputation akin to that of B&O. Well so what? Just because their hi-fi is good looking and they believe in the complete system approach doesn't mean that they are incapable of producing some seriously good stand-alone items, their 506 and 508 CD players being a good case in point.

For those of you unfamiliar with Meridian CD players, the 506 is a beautifully constructed compact box continuing the Boothroyd / Stuart tradition of elegant visual design. All the main function switches, with the exception of mains power, are on the right of the front panel. Basic operations provided are play pause, stop, track selection, display and standby The display switch offers the usual timing modes plus a defeat function for the real purist. To the left of the main controls and the display above them, is the CD drawer which differs from that on most other front loading machines because the whole transport mechanism slides in and out. Meridian claim that this offers superior stability and along with a proprietary clamping arrangement it ensures greater mechanical integrity In practice this leads to lower jitter and thus the error correction systems are engaged less frequently than normal, promising a more accurate data stream.

Tucked away to the rear of the unit is the mains on/off switch, its relative inaccessibility reflecting the fact that the machine is intended to be powered up at all times. Standby mode maintains power to essential circuitry when the player is not in use. A digital output is fitted alongside the analogue outputs, which are unbalanced, and there is a DIN socket for the commun-ication buss which allows the 506 to command or be commanded when used in conjunction with other Meridian components.

The transport and laser mechanism are still of Philips origin, incorporating the latest three beam laser Signal decoding is carried out by a 24 bit dual differential delta sigma digital to analogue converter. This feeds the output stage comprised of discrete components in a class A configuration, as opposed to the more common op-amps.

Originally supplied with a very basic remote control, the 506 now comes with the table top MSR remote. This provides additional functions such as phase inversion, direct numerical track access and track search. As a full Meridian AV system can be controlled by this unit, only a few of the buttons are applicable to the CD player.

Two minor quirks of operation. Unusually the 506 does not read the disc when it is loaded but leaves this until you press play This has the sometimes irritating side effect that it takes longer than normal for a disc to start. Something I find more annoying is that fast forwarding or reversing through a track mutes the output, so you only have the display to indicate where you are on the CD. This is a real pain with a 74 minute disc with just two tracks; finding a particular passage of music can be a tedious process. This trait is not peculiar to this model, as all Meridian CD players behave like this.

The brand new review sample was allowed to run in over a few days. As I have been using a 508.24 in my main listening system for some considerable time, substituting the 506 presented no cultural or technical problems. For the next two weeks it was used as my main source for CD and I avoided making comparisons with other machines during this period. However family resemblance is strong. The Meridian CD players have always exhibited a very friendly and welcoming sound. Listener fatigue does not really seem to occur which is a real attribute where CD reproduction is concerned.

During the time I spent with this machine I listened to many contrasting types of music. The Meridian certainly made all of them enjoyable, but the way in which it conveys music leads to a distinct preference in material. To characterise this, the 506 has a rather laid back approach to its musical delivery It is notable for a very smooth top end which seems to tail off with no hint of glassiness or sibilance, and creates air around individual instruments and voices. Percussion, strings and, particularly female voices, benefit from this quality The midrange has a similar character which helps with placement of instruments in the orchestra; there is wonderful depth and even a hint of acoustic boundaries that many CD players seem to miss. It is at the bottom end of the frequency spectrum that this character is not quite so attractive. With orchestral music it is still used to good effect, and drama and tension in performances such as Martinu's Piano Concerto No.2 is conveyed well. The darkness at the beginning of the third movement is chilling. Listening to the Bartok Violin Sonatas is wonderful on a machine like the 506. There are a lot of CD players where the sound can become strident and irritating as they focus too closely on the solo violin and give very little clue to the surrounding space.

Where the 506 falls down is in reproducing more rhythmic music. Drums and percussion can sometime lack bite and impact, and it is here that the laid back temperament can seem to lack energy robbing some music of excitement. A good example of this is the Moloko album I am not a doctor which is almost entirely drum and bass - without the dynamic impetus it becomes almost meaningless.

At a similar price level we have the Naim CD3.5 and the Helios 1, both thoroughly competent players but with a totally different character to the 506. Playing Moloko on the Helios 1, the impact is frightening. It hits you straight between the eyes which might not always be comfortable but conveys far more of the soul of the music. Likewise the CD3.5 has the sort of fundamental rhythmic capabilities that can carry this sort of music. Returning to orchestral music, both these machines got all the fundamentals right, and again the musical timing could be superior to the 506, but I feel that the performance is too 'in your face'. I find it difficult to listen to an orchestra which seems to he sitting on top of me.

Overall I feel this presents something of a dilemma. On the one hand the 506.24 excels at portraying more gentle music in a fashion that is both relaxing and rewarding, and I found listening to orchestral music a wholly seductive experience. On the other hand, when it came to playing music with a harder edge I missed the excite-ment of a player such as the Naim.

One thing that I have learnt whilst listening to many different machines is that quite often the advertised technical advantages, such as extra bits, do not necessarily improve the performance. Change it; yes; but not always for the better. My recollections of the older 506 are of a competent all round performer. The machine didn't draw attention to itself and, while it was not devastating in any particular area, just got on with the job of making music enjoyable. In doing this it proved superior to many of its competitors. Now that the 24 bit 506 is available it provides an interesting comparison. Yes it is better in some areas, and in terms of resolution and depth of image leaves the earlier 506 way behind. Yet I do feel that this refinement is at the expense of some of the rhythmic and dynamic qualities that seemed to give the original 506 more 'bounce'.

In conclusion I don't necessarily think that the 506.24 is a better machine than its predecessor. The balance of qualities that made the 506/20 so successful has been shifted. The 24 bit machine is capable of a euphoric performance, and being musically very satisfying, providing your musical taste is laid hack. I expect a good, well balanced system to show little or no preference for musical material. In other words I want the maximum enjoyment from whatever I choose to play Unfortunately I found the Meridian was leading me to tailor my choices to suit its delivery The 506/24 is fine machine, but it is not impartial. This is something any prospective purchaser will need to bear in mind.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Mechanism : Three-beam laser
Conversion: Dual differential, 24 bit delta sigma
Outputs Analogue: 2V fixed, class A; Digital: co-axial, optical
Dimensions: 88 x 321 x 332mm
Weight: 6.4kg
Price: £1195-00

Manufacturer:
Meridian Audio Ltd
Stonehill
Huntingdon
Cambridgeshire
PE18 6ED

Tel. 0044(0)-1480-434334
Fax. 0044(0)-1480-432948

Net. www.meridian-audio.com

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