Am I being stupid ?

Kit at the minute:-
Unison Research Unico Amp
Meridian 507 cdp
Kinmber speaker cable and IC
Now I'm only thinking at the moment (famous last words I know) of changing my cdp. . . .and its not because I am unhappy with the sound !
I just absolutely hate the delay with the Meridian Transport, I have had it 6 months now and just cannot get over the 10 second wait between tracks etc. This might be petty to some but sorry, just cant stand it any longer (honest, its driving me bloody mad).
Anybody any suggestions on something in a similiar price band (£800 - £1500) that gives at least as good performance musically (cos I do really enjoy the music) as well as mechanically.
The Unison Research cd seems an obvious start, and am quite keeen on following the valve process through as the Unico amp was a bit of a revelation to me, however, am also tinkering with the idea of an sacd player, for two channel stuff only though - But, am also tempted to get into Naim because PRaT really does sound my type of thing although I've never heard any naim.
any comments please

 

10 seconds? Is that the search time or is there a 10 second gap between consecutive tracks on a cd for instance?

Seems odd either way, I can imagine it would annoy me too if that is the case.

Cheers

 

I just know I would have to SLAP it......

Really....I have not noticed that much delay on any of the players that I have done...

Regards

 

I've heard of some transports/cdps taking around 10 seconds to get started, but not having a similar delay between all tracks. IIRC it's to do with a small buffer they use, sort of read ahead.

I'm sure that was only at the begining though. The reviewer even said that though it may not sound like much, it will get on your tits! I think I could live with it once at the start, but between every track? NoOoOoOoOoOooOoo!!!!

 

Id call meridian if I were you Ian. Doesnt sound right to me.

If it is right, maybe they have a software fix?

good luck with it

 

The 10 seconds is the time it takes for it to search for a track, sometimes though from pressing play you think it hasnt worked because nothing happends so you press it again and it goes to track 2 etc etc. If you leave the player running there is no delay between tracks, only when ff etc.
I noticed it mentioned in reviews but didnt really think of it as a problem, more as a quirk, however, its definately a problem now
I am presuming its not just mine, and its on all Meridians and I am just impatient
Other thean ringing Meridian, any suggestions on alternatives.

 

Hi Ian,

I'm not at all familiar with the model of Meridian you have, so cannot really offer any suggestions for suitable replacements. Perhaps another Meridian, as the ones I've played around one haven't been as slow as yours for track skip. Sounds like you need to contact Meridian to see what they say first. Was it bought brand new and has it been like that since purchase?

How old in terms of year of manufacture is the 507?

The majority of CD transports in the world are either based on mechanisms bought off the shelf from either Sony or Philips. Other suppliers of CD mechs include Pioneer (Stable Platter) and TEAC (VRDS). Of much smaller consequence are belt driven transports from CEC (which are also used in re-badged form by Burmester, IIRC). I think that just about covers them all, unless someone else can throw up any more unusual brands?

I know that Meridian always use Philips transports in their CD spinners. IME, older Philips transports tended to be very slow, at least in comparison to the likes of Sony who I'd say are always consistantly fast for TOC reading and random track skipping. Not all Philips mechs are slow though, the one in my old Marantz CD16 (CDM 12.4, IIRC) was certainly as quick as the one in the Sony ES CDP I was using before that. The Accuphase transport I'm using at the moment appears to be a very heavily customised Sony mech from what I can tell, it certainly operates :MILD: and sounds (in the mechanical sense) like one.

 

Cheers Henry. Cdp was bought brand new 6 months ago and has always been like this. I am going to give Meridian a ring tomorrow and see what they say - thanks for the responses.

Ian

 

I don't think calling Meridian will help you much further - I have the exact same CDP and it does the exact same thing... Although this typical Meridian trait doesn't really bother me (in fact I think it's better this way as it gives me the time to calmly walk back to my listening chair and prepare for the music to wash me over), it's an odd thing for such a high-brow digital technology company to produce players that take so looooooooong to load.

You could try the Primare D30.2, which I tried along with the Meridian before upgrading my CDP and liked a lot (even if I eventually preferred the realism of the Meridian). Make sure you arrange for a home demo, however - the Primare is a rather warm and thick sounding player, and that might be too much of a good thing if you plan to use it in tandem with the Unison.

Which Kimber cables are you using BTW? I am considering an upgrade to the 8VS in order to make the sound of my system just a tad richer and more palpable, as it has a tendency to sound somewhat dry at the moment.

 

Just been browsing Meridian's homepage for info on the 507 and came across this interesting little paragraph:

Also, had a quick sneak at the user manual and on the very first page in the introductory paragraph we get this:

So if my understanding is correct, the 507 appers to use a large memory buffer just like Chord's DAC64, which must be filled just prior to initial playback.

 

...................

told you so OK I said "small" buffer

No ones answered the actual question in the title of the thread yet though. Is he being stupid???

 

:kneel:

 

Putting these two piece of information together a second-hand Naim CDX would I am sure satisfy. For ~£1300 you should be able to get a 3-4 year old CDX.

 

MO said - "No ones answered the actual question in the title of the thread yet though. Is he being stupid???"

Its a good point MO- what are peoples tolerances when it comes to things like this?
Meridian just explained what Henry t (and my instruction manual) said - its with the buffer etc etc.
So basically I either put up with it, or the cc takes another bashing

 

Don't worry about the CD player Ian, give your money to KK to buy a midfielder or two with, I'm starting to panic now

I don't think it would bother me unless I used random play or the program feature a lot, then it really would get on my wick if every track had a 10 second break

 

Thats gonna sound a hell of a lot different to the meridian

Ian,

If you decide to follow this suggestion up, make sure you get to hear one before you buy!

Robbo

 

GOD DAMN IT!!! Gimme my credit! I said it first! :MILD:

I think I could live with it. I don't think i've ever used the random or program feature on mine. However, if skipping forward (sometimes there's a track you don't want to hear), that mauy be a little much.

 

Good common sense advice.

Just take your cheque book to the demo. You will know that that also is good advice when you hear the CDX.

Terry

 

Oh dear Ian ! What do you think you'll end up doing now then?

Shame that an operational quirk like this can spoil your enjoyment of a piece of kit you enjoy from a sonic perspective. Must admit, the buffer delay on the Chord DAC64 during track skip at Julian's bake off really drove me mad when I was trying to operate the CD transport - didn't help that the remote was a bit dodgy too causing me to get even more !

 

God - you lot obviously aren't vinyl users then - 10 seconds to skip tracks is nothing - NOTHING!!!

Having said that, even my (now dead) 1986 Marantz CD54 (which uses the ORIGINAL 1983 Philips swing arm mechanism) could skip from track 1 to track 22 on Woman2Woman 2 (an 80 minute CD) in under 10 seconds - buffer or no buffer, that would drive me round the twist having to wait that long if skipping tracks via remote...

Of course, as Michael says, the 10 second delay is perfect for getting back to your seat after walking over to change discs etc - I wish vinyl could do that