Smooth, detailed, natural sounding, beefy drawer.

System remote is bulky and annoying, spray paint finish on metal surfaces is cheesy.

This player is by far the most natural sounding player I have ever had at home in my system. I found it to be more appealing than the 508.24 when used single ended. It is truly a bargain product and stands up to the $4K players easily. Ignore the British build quality and listen with your ears.

Similar Products Used:

Classe CDP.5, Krell KAV300cd, Marantz CD63SE, Rotel RCD990, Monarchy 22B DAC

Clarity, imaging, build quality

UK remote designed for complete Meridian set up. Its so big it would not be out of place on the flightdeck of a 747!!

After hours of demonstraing the above players at the dealers my choice came down to two. The Meridian and the Marantz. The Marantz was excellent and gave a controlled smooth sound and really got you into the music. The Meridian did all that and more too.The Marantz handled acoustic music well but with rock and classical it did not get me into the music. The Meridian on the other hand took me right to the front row of an MTV Unplugged concert, a concert by Metallica and to the Albert Hall for the last night of the proms. My musical taste sweeps a huge spectrum and my hi-fi system has got to be able to do the same. The Meridian does the job perfectly. Buy with confidence.

Similar Products Used:

Arcam Alpha9, Cyrus dad3q, Tag MclarenCD20R , Marantz CD17KIS.

Focused design, detailed sound, smooth.

Remote is OK

Compared the CAL15 and this Meridian and overall liked the Meridian a bit better. The design seems to be very focused, while the CAL15 has HDCD, RS232 ports, and digital inputs, the 506.20 is focused to provide the best audio output in that price range. Excellent DAC section proves the good design of the 506 series as a strong competitor. Since I had only 1 HDCD disc in my collection, I didn't think the filter in the CAL15 was justified and my non-HDCD discs sounded better on the Meridian. I got the demo unit from a shop and because it is upgradable, jumped at the deal. Since the unit is a demo, it has been broken in, including cables, I can say that this CD player will last me another 8 years, after replacing an old Denon transport used for the last 8 years.

the only downside is the lack of an "off" or "display" on the remote which is really nitpicking and happily nothing to do with how the unit sounds. It is also a bit pricey compared to others, but in my opinion, worth the cost, especially if you can get one used.

Jay

Similar Products Used:

CAL CL15, Classe CDP.3

Excellent detail and smooth midrange

is a CD player

Well, I needed a player that can perform close to analog when I'm listening to classical music. The Meridian does just that. Excellent transport (very quiet), and very good DACs. Not much digital harshness. The Rotel was close, but not as big of soundstage like Meridian can throw. If in the market for a good CDP, find an used 506-20 and enjoy it. Can't be beaten in that price range (below $1500). I look forward to upgrade to 24 bits.

Similar Products Used:

Parasound CDP1000, Rotel 971, CAL Icon II

Almost analogue reproduction, very natural sound

huge I/R transmitter, hard to program

Perfectly natural music reproduction, dry bass, very dynamic, the best Player I've ever listened to below $ 3000

Sound, track access speed, disc holding drawer & built like a tank

None except for price but High-end Gear cost bucks!

The Meridian 506.20 is probably the best CD player you can buy for it's price. It has simply the most dynamics for the bang I've ever heard.
It is and has been a favorite reference machine. The 506.24 did little to change my opinion of the 506.20. Mate this with the 518 processor & you can experiment & record excellent sounding cd-rs.
The drawer is unique to all Meridian products in that is a like a turntable with the center dowel fitting through the cd's hole. The build is first rate & deserves all the praise it gets.
The 508.24 has some sonic advantage over the 506 but not enough to cover it's additional cost. The new 588 will be out soon with it's DVD-Rom drive & time will tell if it exceeds the 506 & 508 for performance. The 800 series is just too costly to compare to the 506.20 though it has 24/88 upsampling. Overall an excellent cd player or transport. FRF DHVCD Studios 2001.

Similar Products Used:

NAD s500, Cal Labs CL-15 Sony SCD-777, Marantz DR-17, Elite DV-38A

Build Quality, styling, massive bass capacity, supreme with acoustic recordings. Tends to be on the warm side - but that's to it's credit when paired sympathetically.

None

When auditioning, the Meridian was head and shoulders above the opposition. The Linns were the best of the bunch but lacked the involvement and depth of the 506. The Quad again lacked some of the detailing and the Audiolab, paired with my Audiolab amplification was too sterile and harsh by far.
The 506 does sound best with well recorded acoustic music - try "The Hiring Fair" from Fairport Convention's "Old-New-borrowed-Blue" live album - I have never heard such beuatiful acoustic guitar on a recording - with the acoustic base guitar having a wonderful resonance. It's not only acoustic music that the 506 excels at - it can handle rock bass with superb speed and timing - listen to "Wake Up" by Mad Season - the start of the track has very deep bass and can sound flabby on lesser players but the 506 handles it with panache and overt musicality.
I's somewhat bemused by the earlier reviewers stating that the bass was poor! I can only assume that their other components are detrimental to the 506 performing at it's best. My Audiovectors purr with the 506, but they are very large and have amazing control and need to be driven quite hard.

In my opinion there are no better players up to £1500. If you can pick up one second-hand, audition it, it's a wonderful bargain.

Current kit:
Meridian 506.20 CD player
Audiolab 8000P Power amp
Audiolab 8000Q Pre-amp
Audiovector 5 Speakers
Chord co. interconnects

Similar Products Used:

Linn (x2 - cant remember models); Quad CD77; Audiolab 8000CD; Marantz CD17

Build Quality, styling, massive bass capacity, supreme with acoustic recordings. Tends to be on the warm side - but that's to it's credit when paired sympathetically.

None

When auditioning, the Meridian was head and shoulders above the opposition. The Linns were the best of the bunch but lacked the involvement and depth of the 506. The Quad again lacked some of the detailing and the Audiolab, paired with my Audiolab amplification was too sterile and harsh by far.
The 506 does sound best with well recorded acoustic music - try "The Hiring Fair" from Fairport Convention's "Old-New-borrowed-Blue" live album - I have never heard such beautiful acoustic guitar on a recording - with the acoustic base guitar having a wonderful resonance. It's not only acoustic music that the 506 excels at - it can handle rock bass with superb speed and timing - listen to "Wake Up" by Mad Season - the start of the track has very deep bass and can sound flabby on lesser players but the 506 handles it with panache and overt musicality.
I'm somewhat bemused by the earlier reviewers stating that the bass was poor! I can only assume that their other components are detrimental to the 506 performing at it's best. My Audiovectors purr with the 506, but they are very large and have amazing control and need to be driven quite hard.

In my opinion there are no better players up to £1500. If you can pick up one second-hand, audition it, it's a wonderful bargain.

Similar Products Used:

Linn (x2 - cant remember models); Quad CD77; Audiolab 8000CD; Marantz CD17

I was just in the hunt for a new CD player that would last me until the new batch of DVD audio / 96khz sampled sound quality became the norm. I wanted a CD player that was pretty much at the top of the "affordable" range ie avoiding the ridiculously expensive Krells and Wadias etc. My hifi dealer recommended the Meridian 506.20 as the "entry-level" audiophile CD player, and described it as a relative bargain. After listening to the player I absolutely agree - not only was it brilliantly controlled and enthusiastic with the music it played, the reproduction of low level resolution, the stuff that differentiates the feeling of "being there" from being a mere observer, was superb. It was a cut above the other CD players I auditioned, the increase in price easily justified by its superior performance. I would have bought the 506 if the dealer hadn't had the 508.20 in the same room, which after auditioning, made me realise that I couldn't be happy with the 506.20. So, for all those people out there in the same situation, control yourself, don't get sucked into auditioning the 508 if it is out of your budget - for its price the 506 is a brilliant player. (But if you can afford it, get the 508!)

I am in the market for a $1500 to $2000 CD player and I have know tried several in my system. The list includes the Classe .5, the Arcam 8SE, and the Meridian 506.20. Of these three units, I can tell you that the Meridian stands head and shoulders above the rest. It has a lot of pace and rhythm that gets you into the music - a very coherent, natural sound. It's not the last word in bass extension and dynamics, but it is built very well and kept me coming back for more. Although there are better units for a lot more money, I'd give it a five star rating for its price class.