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Opinion of Meridian 557 Amp

Hi, has anyone heard the Meridian 557 Amp. I heard these 2 of these Amps bridged, on the Sonus Faber Extremas. This system with Meridian 557 Amps bridged, sounded so sweet and smooth and articulate. Now i'm not sure, if that was due to the Sonus Faber Extremas, or the Amps. The Amps bridged were 1000 watts. The Preamp being used was the Meridian 502. The Digital system was the Meridian 566 Dac, 518 Jitter reducer and the Meridian 500 Transport. But i must tell you, this system sounded unbelievable. I never heard anything this good. Alot of people know Meridian threw there digital equipment, Dacs, CD Players, Processors. But the 557 Amps and 502 Preamp in this system sounded amazing.
twilo
redkiwi
1,092 posts
 
I have not heard the actual combination you refer to but have heard the individual components. In my opinion the 566 DAC and the 502 preamp are not nearly as good as the rest of the Meridian gear concerned. But the 557 bridged works very well with Thiels and the Extremas. In some systems the 557 can be a little too "yin" and veiled, but with an exuberantly transparent speaker that also wants some "welly", then in that case I have heard the 557s sound very right indeed. Also very good with Shahinian speakers by the way.
faberryman
20 posts
 
Redkiwi, what is "welly"?
7671
163 posts
 
I have a 557,502, and a 508.24. My speakers are Martin-Logan SL3's. Have not been disappointed!!!!
redkiwi
1,092 posts
 
Oops. "Welly" is an English colloquialism that I forgot to screen out. I think it originates with Wellington boots - ie. large rubber mid-calf boots that farmers wear - we call them gumboots in NZ (and often use the same word to describe those that wear them) - I didn't mean that! Being kicked by a Wellington boot is something you feel rather profoundly and so "welly" is often used by us Antipodean audiophiles (all 6 of us) as a synonym for "grunt" or "power" or "punch".
perfectimage
406 posts
 
I have a pair of Extremas. Its the best sounding, smoothest speaker I have ever heard. They work well with lower wattage but love the power. I have worked my way up to dual Classe Ca 400's that I run bridged (roughly 1200 watts per channel). If I remember correctly its something to do with the crossover that makes them power hungry but Im not sure.
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