Meridian 104 tuner..advice sought.
- Thread starter ron2
- Start date
From Shootout at the 'Tuner Information Center'
Shootout #44 (posted 07/14/03): Kenwood L-02T vs. Meridian Model 104
Winner: L-02T
I was quite excited when Jesse added this little jewel to his collection. And I do mean little as it is the smallest FM tuner on our Shootout list. It measures only 5-1/2 inches (14 cm) wide, 11-3/4 inches (30 cm) deep and with feet, just over 2 inches (5 cm) high. That's not counting the funky 1-1/4 (3 cm) switches on the front, MUTE, TUNE and STATION. STATION has seven selections from 0 to 6, and I assume 0 is mute. Positions 1 through 6 have corresponding tuning slugs that have to be adjusted with a very small jeweler's screwdriver. See, I told you it was a jewel. After adjusting a slug to the station of your choice, you flip the TUNE switch down to fine-tune that station. These adjustments are similar to those on the Magnum Dynalab FT-11. The Meridian is an "always-on" tuner.
Opening up this jewelry box shows a tight, no-nonsense space crowded with a toroidal transformer, an HA12411 (that plugs in) LPF filter, a bi-FET (LF353) buffer amp with four 10uf 16-volt caps around it, and one large supply cap an inch away. Unfortunately, it only has a positive supply for the audio stage, so we have to keep all the caps. There is a dust-sealed module that reads "Boothroyd/Stuart & Partners. Registered design 1979." One reason I was hungry to try this tuner is because of Boothroyd/Stuart's reputation for designing for sound quality. They were among the first, if not the first, to try to fix the sonic problems of the compact disc in its infancy. There is no fancy wide/narrow, muting, blend, or extraneous noise-reduction circuitry in the 104 tuner, AFAIK.
DX play was all but forgotten on this little guy and I just sat and listened. What I first noticed was it killed the L-02T! It was open, airy and lifelike while the L-02T was dark, closed-in and lifeless. Wait, this can't be right! What's going on? I checked both tuners. All switches on the L-02T were set correctly, auto, wide, etc. Oh, wait... I'm trying to listen to 107.5 but the antenna is pointing 160 degrees away from that station's transmitter. The L-02T had shut down to near mono while the gimmick-free Meridian was playing happily along. After adjusting the antenna correctly, I started listening again. Well, the Jewel of the Meridian turned out to be the high point of my day. While the bass was rich, warm and wonderful, it still couldn't quite match the L-02T for depth and dynamics. But that midrange! Here we have a real treat. From the lower midrange all the way to the top, these two tuners were very close sonic twins. The Meridian sounds much more like the L-02T than other tuners we've pitted against it. There is a hint more midrange openness to the Meridian and a little loss of perceived front-to-rear depth. This may come from the slight loss of bass and dynamics compared to the L-02T. When I get a tuner that sounds this nice, I usually turn the L-02T off and enjoy it. That is the plan for this jewel all weekend. It may be small but it sure does shine.
Shootout #44 (posted 07/14/03): Kenwood L-02T vs. Meridian Model 104
Winner: L-02T
I was quite excited when Jesse added this little jewel to his collection. And I do mean little as it is the smallest FM tuner on our Shootout list. It measures only 5-1/2 inches (14 cm) wide, 11-3/4 inches (30 cm) deep and with feet, just over 2 inches (5 cm) high. That's not counting the funky 1-1/4 (3 cm) switches on the front, MUTE, TUNE and STATION. STATION has seven selections from 0 to 6, and I assume 0 is mute. Positions 1 through 6 have corresponding tuning slugs that have to be adjusted with a very small jeweler's screwdriver. See, I told you it was a jewel. After adjusting a slug to the station of your choice, you flip the TUNE switch down to fine-tune that station. These adjustments are similar to those on the Magnum Dynalab FT-11. The Meridian is an "always-on" tuner.
Opening up this jewelry box shows a tight, no-nonsense space crowded with a toroidal transformer, an HA12411 (that plugs in) LPF filter, a bi-FET (LF353) buffer amp with four 10uf 16-volt caps around it, and one large supply cap an inch away. Unfortunately, it only has a positive supply for the audio stage, so we have to keep all the caps. There is a dust-sealed module that reads "Boothroyd/Stuart & Partners. Registered design 1979." One reason I was hungry to try this tuner is because of Boothroyd/Stuart's reputation for designing for sound quality. They were among the first, if not the first, to try to fix the sonic problems of the compact disc in its infancy. There is no fancy wide/narrow, muting, blend, or extraneous noise-reduction circuitry in the 104 tuner, AFAIK.
DX play was all but forgotten on this little guy and I just sat and listened. What I first noticed was it killed the L-02T! It was open, airy and lifelike while the L-02T was dark, closed-in and lifeless. Wait, this can't be right! What's going on? I checked both tuners. All switches on the L-02T were set correctly, auto, wide, etc. Oh, wait... I'm trying to listen to 107.5 but the antenna is pointing 160 degrees away from that station's transmitter. The L-02T had shut down to near mono while the gimmick-free Meridian was playing happily along. After adjusting the antenna correctly, I started listening again. Well, the Jewel of the Meridian turned out to be the high point of my day. While the bass was rich, warm and wonderful, it still couldn't quite match the L-02T for depth and dynamics. But that midrange! Here we have a real treat. From the lower midrange all the way to the top, these two tuners were very close sonic twins. The Meridian sounds much more like the L-02T than other tuners we've pitted against it. There is a hint more midrange openness to the Meridian and a little loss of perceived front-to-rear depth. This may come from the slight loss of bass and dynamics compared to the L-02T. When I get a tuner that sounds this nice, I usually turn the L-02T off and enjoy it. That is the plan for this jewel all weekend. It may be small but it sure does shine.
Yes Spica I did aquire the104 with the 101,s.I hope they work otherwise I will have to go to plan b whatever that is.I heard a 104 a good few years ago and I was very impressed with it,but I don,t know much about the tuner itself other what,s on the web.What I want really is a copy of the insruction manual with details of tuning.Any members with input into this wold be appreciated.
RobHolt
Moderator
- Joined
- Oct 23, 2004
- Messages
- 4,126
- Reaction score
- 12
Very nice tuner.
Do remember though that these tuners and amps are 30 years old and will therefore benefit from fresh PSU caps, decoupling and coupling caps.
Nothing fancy needed, just fresh modern caps that will cost you about £5 in the case of the 104.
Do remember though that these tuners and amps are 30 years old and will therefore benefit from fresh PSU caps, decoupling and coupling caps.
Nothing fancy needed, just fresh modern caps that will cost you about £5 in the case of the 104.
meridian 104 tuner..instruction manual.
davivlf I am in your debt.Great I was hoping someone would have a manual somewhere.My email address is; [email protected][/email]
I am very grateful.
davivlf I am in your debt.Great I was hoping someone would have a manual somewhere.My email address is; [email protected][/email]
I am very grateful.
From reading a copy of the 104 manual kindly received from davidlf can anyone give any information about the din signal connector cable from the tuner to the preamp.I have several 5pin din to din cables but whether these are the correct ones I am unsure.Any info.relating to this would be appreciated.
- Joined
- Nov 18, 2007
- Messages
- 1
- Reaction score
- 0
I'm a bit late t this - sorry I don't come here often, but I have all the circuit schematics for the 104 and the signal interconnect - email me at neiljadman (at) comcast (dot) net if you still need them.
