Meridian 101B / 105 monoblocs

[Bushbaby]

Thanks Joe
I do get the impression (this is just me thoughts) that because the repair company concerned deals with "high end" audiophile equipment which probably means they can charge high costs to match. Because this is a reasonably old piece of equipment (late 70's) and its difficult to find suitable information (I cannot access Hifi Engine anymore which appears to be the only place that has the original Meridian 100 series guidance and users manuals etc) then I can see other repair companies not bothering to want to touch these now (I could be totally wrong here). However, this is now obviously with me that I will need to deal with this directly to avoid paying out over the odds.

Best Regards

Rob

[ppppenguin]

I have a friend in Enfield, north London who could easily fix these for you at a fair price. He is highly competent and works only by recommendation. You won't find him online. You would need to get the amps to him, ideally in person though they could be sent by a parcel service. Do you want me to put you in touch with him?

[Mark Hennessy]

However, this is now obviously with me that I will need to deal with this directly to avoid paying out over the odds.

But what if something goes wrong?

No disrespect intended, but you won't have anything like the experience, skills and knowledge that this engineer has. He will be able to sort any unexpected issues that crop up with no drama, and probably no extra expense (because he knows to expect problems with old equipment that doesn't like to be disturbed). You're not just paying for a few caps and a bit of labour - you're paying for a lifetime of learning and experience.

Yes, as I said earlier, there will be a "hi-fi premium" with this particular engineer. And why not - most hi-fi enthusiasts are extremely passionate and have deep pockets. And as you say, not many engineers want to get involved with these bits of kit. That's partly because of the possible problems that might occur, but it's also because they might not want to deal with hi-fi enthusiasts.

Either way, if you decide to attempt a repair yourself - not that we actually know if any such repair is needed yet - then you must be honest with yourself. This is a complicated bit of kit that was made a long time ago, and - worst case - you might wreck it. Yes, that's unlikely, but you must accept that it is a possibility before diving in. And remember, any engineer is going to charge a lot more to sort out someone else's mess, if they're willing to take it on at all. And you'd stand no chance of getting your near-£500 back.

In short, I'd keep looking for an engineer.

I don't quite follow the logic that the overhaul quote is unacceptable because it's more than the purchase price. Especially as you say that you got them for a "very good price". It's like wanting a classic car, finding one in unrestored condition and not being willing to restore it because the cost of restoration exceeds the purchase price. Of course, it could well be more than the car would be worth when finished, but that's not the point - you don't buy a classic car because of the financials, you buy it because you want to enjoy owning and using it. If you're lucky, it might appreciate during that time, and you could well end up making a bit overall when you sell it on, but that's not the reason to get into it.

I think the same logic has to apply to classic hi-fi. You didn't buy it to make money, you bought it because you wanted to listen to it. You got it at a good price, so you're already ahead. These things were around £500 when new, which is several thousand in today's money...

This advice is meant with the best of intentions. Hopefully Jeffrey's recommendation might lead somewhere.

[Murphyv310]

Hi Mark.
Wow that reply is so eloquently put. I totally agree and have to say the classic car reference is absolutely spot on.
In my own experience, it took years to learn my trade, five years day release, The Colour G&G additional course, C&G VCR course, then over 10 years in Audio, Hi-Fi, DAT, Minidisk with Sony culminating in the 1997 European Service Competition in Milan gaining a 4th overall in the Audio section and the UK first place. I often think we are severely under valued with all our skills.
Yes competent engineers charge but in honesty not excessive, think about what a plumbers rates are or even domestic engineers, plus all the expensive test equipment needed.
I'd personally say to Rob give them to the experts and get them serviced and any necessary components replaced, then you'll have peace of mind for many years.

[Bushbaby]

Many thanks for your comments which are very much appreciated. I have contact Jeffrey to move the evaluation / potential repair forward.

I completely agree with you all - this is not an item of hobby work that I would like to touch. As Mark has indicated, these are still valuable in 2023 and should remain as such. The only parts that i will have to deal with are the outer cases with scratches that need to be touched up. More important is the interior workings - outside of my capability.


Best Regards

Rob

(have a look at https://www.flickr.com/photos/89304811@N03/)

[Mark Hennessy]

Many thanks, Trevor - I think that's the first time I've been called "eloquent" :-)

I must admit that I worried about making that post. Indeed, I composed something very similar a few days ago but abandoned it. Naturally, I didn't want to offend Rob, but we needed to steer him towards a professional. These aren't the units to be learning on - a "disposable" car boot sale find would be a much better guinea pig!

We all have different journeys, and mine doesn't involve any formal fault-finding training. I just about got an electronics degree, but found it all rather academic and it didn't really further my progress. I'm mostly self-taught, as I'm not a very good pupil (ironic, given what I do for a living!). I learned to design electronics from text books and existing designs, and by building things. At first, proven designs, but as knowledge builds, increasingly my own designs. Lots and lots of mistakes were made along the way, but of course, debugging a design is where you learn the most - building a kit or a proven design only really gives you constructional experience, which is useful, but doesn't really help you to learn how to design.

Anyway, as a result, always I start by analysing the circuit. That's different to a lot of repair engineers that I've known over the years, who had amazing memories that meant they were very quick at sorting stock faults, but sometimes struggled with new faults. I lack that photographic memory so am slower than them with stock faults, but I'm usually able to fix the faults that stump them. I guess that made me less valuable as stock faults were much more common, but then, I do lots of different things - fault finding is only part of it.

But whatever our story, it's taken decades to get here. It is sometimes frustrating when people expect to get to our level without putting in the legwork, but patience is required on both sides.

The internet makes things easier today, with free access to amazing resources that go far beyond what my local and school libraries could offer back in the day. But there is a downside: many now expect instant, easy answers which require minimal thinking. And that's often what you can find. But subjects like electronics require much more work.

Anyway, rambling a bit now - just thinking out loud, and just for clarity, none of that is aimed at Rob or anyone else...

Rob, really good news that you're hopefully sorted now on the electronics side. The cosmetics are rather challenging. I'm not very good at that side of things, so am looking forward to seeing what you come with.

All the best,

Mark

[Bushbaby]

All,
I'm now following up with the engineer that Jeremy recommended to me (thank you very much Jeremy) to evaluate/repair as necessary. This is definitely beyond me to work on this so I'm happy for someone else to do this.

Best Regards

Rob

[Mike Watterson]

Even just parts, not even counting actual time, I've spend more than I paid for some things. It's a question of what's the alternative, not the original cost?

[ppppenguin]

Rob, I'm Jeffrey. Jeremy (Owen) is a good friend and member of this forum but he is not me.

[Bushbaby]

Oops, incredible apology Jeffrey....I am getting too old now.