Nickelbuck Posted April 11, 2024 Posted April 11, 2024 Hi folks, I've just ordered a pair of Meridian 205 monoblocks from overseas. I'm new to vintage HiFi and was hoping someone could advise me on how I would know if these need to be recapped, transistors replaced etc. Any recommendations for an approach? How much of a learning curve would be required to tackle this myself (I have zero experience)? Or can you recommend an experienced Melbourne-based technician who could look at them if need be? Cheers, Nick
mbz Posted April 11, 2024 Posted April 11, 2024 (edited) You may have picked a bad amp to "practice" on. Doubtful a service manual/schematic is freely available which makes things hard. I'd suggest getting a vintage NAD (3020 or...) and practice your soldering and rebuild skills on that. You will need to buy some tools, are you likely to reuse them on other "projects"? The alternative is to find a tech, saw a recent quote where the guy charged $150/hr. meridian 205 should be reasonably simple. When the unit arrives I'd suggest, - read the owners manual, available online - checking any voltage selector is correctly set - noting any sticker or whatever stating the operating voltage, don't power up unless 240V - first power up should be on a dim bulb tester, 60W bulb. It's a current limiting device, google plans. - if ok then power up without dbt and measure bias and dc offset - give it a listen especially the very highs and lows, if they are still tight then wait on the recap - check noise floor, some vintage transistors have a history of going noisy - google dry solder joints, somewhat common in vintage, don't know if meridian affected Where are you located Edited April 11, 2024 by mbz Location
Nickelbuck Posted April 11, 2024 Author Posted April 11, 2024 42 minutes ago, mbz said: You may have picked a bad amp to "practice" on. @mbz Definitely not out to "practice" on these bad boys haha. It would be more like an excruciatingly careful and fearful project for further down the line. I've read on other forums that Meridian are quite open to sending out schematics for these old amplifiers. But perhaps it's better to just pay a professional, it usually is. I'm just a generally curious person who likes learning new skills. Thanks for the checklist. It's very helpful. I'm based in Coburg, Melbourne.
georgehifi Posted June 21, 2024 Posted June 21, 2024 (edited) On 11/04/2024 at 11:30 AM, Nickelbuck said: How much of a learning curve would be required to tackle this myself (I have zero experience)? Massive: back then these are were not the most stable of solid state designs, and can go into oscillation very easily and take out numerous components, if something is wrong. Sorry but this question of your says to me for you to get a good repair tech to do it, because if they are working at present they almost certainly won't be if a "learning curve" is involved for you to do it yourself. Cheers George Edited June 21, 2024 by georgehifi
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