Build quality, design

Not sure

I need to state up front that I do not own this player. I have auditioned it at home. Also, unrelated, I find that it is interesting that this is the first post in the last year for the product...
I own the 506.20. For those that don't know, the Company had been bringing out new CD players somewhat regularly with "better" advancements, from the one I own, to the 506.24, to the 508.24 (and I think there may have been a 508.20, but not sure). But I simply want to share a point I feel valid to the potential buyer;
I went to audition this player when it came out (at the time I was living in San Diego, which is where Stereo Design is located - - very good, helpful and customer oriented dealer, I dealt with Dave). By this time I had auditioned the other players I mentioned above. I found them all wanting in sound quality in one way or another. But when I read about the new 508.24, I wanted to hear it since the reviewers couldn't seem to say enough about it. I ended up taking it home along with the 506.20, at that time a somewhat dated model but still selling. This brings me to my main point.
What kind of system do you have?? I had a B&W, Audio Research, Transparent Cable system which I liked a lot. THE POINT: I could not hear a difference between the two players...really. So I would think that the following advice is good advice:
If you have a really, really good system, audition the best CD player like this one supposedly is (and others) against lesser models. If ou can hear a difference then go for it. But if you own a system that is relatively "mid-fi", then make sure you can tell the difference between the most expensive models and otherwise good models before you spend lots of money simply because "it's the best!" I think that maybe the really good systems would benefit from the best CD player, but I have not heard them for any length of time, so I can't say. But take note of the price difference between the different models!
As for Meridian in general, If you want a well built product, this (Meridian) is it. Mine sounds great, and as I said earlier, I listened to many others, and there is a difference...

Similar Products Used:

Meridian 506.20, Rotel, Adcom, Acurus

I owned a 508.20 for about a year and found it to be a wonderful and musically engaging player. Very detailed and smooth. I began to have trouble with the transport mechanism so my dealer sent it back to Meridian. When it was returned Meridian apparently had upgraded my unit to the 508.24 which now uses a new, more reliable, transport mechanism. Of course they upgraded the DACs as well. The difference between the 508.20 and 508.24 is stunning. Detail, pace, naturalness ..., I could go on. It made me realize that the original 508.20 was slightly rich and sluggish in the bass, and not as present or detailed in the midrange and highs. If you are in the market for a high end single box player you need to audition the 508.24. Highy recommended.

All i can say is if you're considering spending anywhere from $3000.00 on up for a digital front-end, then you should include this wonderful player on your short list of must auditions. At $3495.00 it aint cheap, and has stiff competition from ARC CD2, Sonic Frontiers SFCD and the like, but if you'd like to hear everything on silver disc that is possible to hear,in the latest software format that is, without shearing your ears off in the process, then head for your nearest Meridian dealer. You'll be very glad you did!

I have owned the Meridian 508.24 for about 8 months. I have been waiting to review it until I had my Quad electrostatics refurbished and up and running. The Quads have a transparency and midrange purity that quickly reveal the flaws in ancillary equipment in the audio chain. Suffice it to say that the Meridian sounds phenomenal with the Quads.
Previously, I used the Meridian with the Totem Model 1s and I was not as impressed with the sound. I think I was hearing more of the speaker's colorations. The Totem 1 is a nice speaker, but with my electronics it sounds a little hard on top. This was quite evident on CD with the Meridian, less so on analog.

Now with the Quads, the Meridian (digital) and Linn (analog) sound more similar and the Meridian does not exhibit any hardness of the sound, but provides exquisite detail and coherence. The Quads are one of the most phase-coherent speakers available, so this says a lot, as stated before, they reveal lots of flaws in the source material.

In fairness to the Totems, I should say that I was using a Quad 306 amp to drive them. This is definitely NOT the best amp for them, but since it is a Quad product, it works wonders on the Quad speakers.

Anyway, since this was meant to be a Meridian review, so just let me describe the sound. It is smooth but still very detailed, with a top to bottom coherence. The image presentation is wide and instruments are well-focused. Timing and pace are also excellent. One of the Quads strengths is presentation of low-level detail. Listening to the Meridian through them shows that the 508.24 gets the last bit (bytes?) of information available on the recording. Listen to Gorecki's 3rd Symphony (Nonesuch/Zinman/Upshaw) produced by Tony Faulkner. The sound fades but does not die until the instruments stop. (BTW, this CD offers fantastic sound - very natural.)

The bottom line for me as an analog lover is this. The Meridian presents CDs with a similar level of detail and musicality that I get from my LP-12/Ittok/Benz analog rig. This is high praise indeed for the Meridian. I can now enjoy both formats equally, without suffering listener fatigue or lack of involvement, which was my previous experience when listening to the CD format. I don't care if either my analog or digital sources are the "best in the world", but I think they are both on the short list.

I highly recommend the 508.24. The better your ancillary equipment, the more you will like it.

I'm very impressed with my Meridian 508.24. I had a chance to buy a 508.20upgraded to the 24 bit dac, but didn't think it had the detail or bass of
the 508.24. I'm running it with the Classe CAP-100 integrated amp and Thiel CS 1.5 speakers. I smile alot now-a-days.

Relaxed, transparent, detailed, airy, natural, smooth, PURE and CLEAN...the best CD player that I´ve heard...believe me, almost better than vinyl..

Excellent product, smooth, detailed, airy. Solid build quality. Absolutely zero play in the tray. Meridian is truly the leader in digital reproduction and the 508.24 is an example of why. Stereophile Class A rated and justly so, it's one of the best at any price, period.

My first CD player was a $450 Denon changer. Next came an Daniels Audio Zero One. After reading a lot of stuff on CD players I settled on the Merdian. When I finally got the '24' at a screaming deal I was expecting heaven and ecstasy. Initially I was a little disappointed, the sound from the Meridian seemed only a little better than the Daniels Audio. After a while though, I realized that the sound I was hearing from the Meridian was not only more detailed with more impact and bass(I know, these are hideously over-used words) but the sound was incredibly natural. Those last descriptive words are also very over-used but I can think of no other words to best describe the "sound" of the Meridian. Esentially all the problems that were bugging me with my other two CD players were eliminated! I can't say enough about the Meridian, it's detailed, natural and completely non-fatiging. Trust me, get it, listen to it, enjoy it!

Hello my fellow audiophiles! After a long year and hundreds of dollars, I have finally found a player I can live with. Even though I have lost a lot of money, I'm gald that I was able to give some of you good deals on the players I have sold. Before I tell you what player I like, let me tell you what equipment I have. I use a Krell 300i to drive the mids and highs on my NHT 3.3's and two NHT SW3 mono blocks on the woofers. For cables I use a combination of Tara Labs Master Gen 2, AudioQuest Midnights, and DH Lab(whatever). Below is a list of players I have tried and what I paid.
Krell 300CD (Bought from a good rich friend of mine for $2100) Sold on the Net
Theta Miles Balanced (bought out of Audio Mart for $1300)
Audio Note CD 2 (bought from a dealer for $1400)
Camelot Morganna (Dealer loan)
Micromega stage 2 (bought from dealer used for $600
Micromega Stage 6 (Brought from net for $900)
Sony XA7ES (Bought local for $1500)
Sony XA7ES (Bought from net dealer for $1600)
Roskan (Dealer Loan)
Cal CL-10(Dealer Loan)
Primare 30.2 (bought from dealer in Canada for $1900)
Naim CD3 (Dealer Loan)
Sonic Frontiers SLCD (Out of state Dealer for $2000)
Sonic Frontiers Anthem( Dealer Loan)
Resolution CD50 (Bought from out of state dealer for $1900)
AA DDSPro, Pro32 and whatever the call their top line dac( Bought off net for$1800.
Sony XA50ES (Bought from importer for $1100)

Player I have listen to, but not in my system.

Wadia 860
Arcam 9
Arcam 8 SE
Conrad Johnson something
Rotel 971?
Marnatz 67SE
Proceed?
Adcom (Whatever there latest is)
AR CD-2

Player I have never heard that could be as good or better than any player I have tried.

ML 39
BAT
Naim 3.5, CDX

While none of these players I have tried are bad and some could be better, I have not found a player to sound better then the Meridian 508.24. That's right this is the player I will keep for awhile. Some of the player listed can do some things better than the Meridian, but in my system, none could do everthing the Meridian can. It's not too forward, its not to bright, not too laid back. It is never etched, never too in your face. It just players what is on the disk. Is it perfect? I don't know. For what I paid for it, it is close if not there. I bought this player Brand new from the net for $2300. So far I cannot find anything to complain about and that is rare for me. Runner up was the Mighty RESOLUTION CD 50. In the right system, this is a fabulous player. It Plays HDCD better then any player I have ever heard. It can sound thin and is a touch too laid back for me, but I could have lived with it, because this player flat out sings! While the 508.24 might not be the best for you and your system, its a good starting point if you can afford it. Of all the player I have tried in my system only one was down right terrible, but I am under oath not to tell publicy. I liked every player better then it. You can email me if you would like to know or see if you can guess. Anyway, if anybody has any questions or need advise on a CD player please feel free to email me. Thanks for listening..

P.S.
I hope no one gets mad if you paid a little more for a player I sold. You still got a good deal and most times I took a lose.

This is the sweetest sounding CD player out there. Once you listen, and give a few weeks for break-in, you will be forced to put away forever your overly analytical ears. You will find yourself tapping your toes with vigor and just plain old enjoying the music, period!lISTENED TO CAL CL15, CJ DB2V, AR CD2, Krell CD300, McIntosh 7010 (2nd choice).
Thanks to the guys at Pro Home Audio in Oakland for a great deal on an excellent machine.
Ancillary equip. Mcintosh 6850 150 wpc integrated amp. Monitor audio speakers.
There are some players that do some things better, but none that do it all as well as the 508.24. Buy this while you can!