Meridian 206 problem diagnosis help

[SouthaK]

Ladies & Gents -

I have an old Meridian 206 CD player that I love to bits, but recently it has developed a fault...it's started to sound like a mis-tuned radio i.e. I can hear the music playing distantly in the background but there is loads of noise (crackling).

It's not the amp as I use it for other sources and tested the player using other inputs.

So I have a few questions:

How can I test to see if it is the DAC or the transport at fault without taking it to a dealer and being charged a testing/diagnostic fee?

What modern CD players are comparable to this old gem? What sort of price level would get me comparable sound quality?

If it's the DAC at fault, would I be better buying a new DAC, or simply replacing the whole player with something more modern, and benefit from 15 years or so of technical advances?

Thanks!

 

[Thaiman]

I am not sure what went wrong there. The most simple way is just take the 206 down your local HiFi shop and ask them if you can demo a DAC using Meridian as a transport, a good dealer shouldn't have any issue with that.

 

[the record spot]

Slap on a DPA "Little Bit" (I think it's called) - that'll do it justice and you can find them easily enough used. On top of that, there's any from Behringer, Apogee or M-Audio (all professional/studio DACs and some which to A-D as well as D-A conversion if that appeals).