Meridian America C51 User Manual

www.meridian-audio.com

PRELIMINARYMERIDIAN C SERIES

C51 Active Speaker Power Unit

5 channel pairs of amplification with modular line-level crossovers for Meridian installation speakers

Meridian’s C Series offers a range of robust, precision-made audio/video components
designed with the custom installation market in mind, extending Meridian’s strong
reputation for the highest possible audio and video quality into new areas.

The line includes power amplifiers, surround processors and all the building-blocks of a
powerful system for custom installation applications. All are fitted with rack-mounting
ears and are equipped with remote control capability where appropriate.

The elegant matte-black rack-mount enclosures include a removable, transparent front
panel inset which can be removed for access.

The C51 powers 200 and 300 Series
Remote Active installation loudspeakers.

It features active line-level crossovers,
switched balanced and unbalanced inputs,
and employs a powerful new amplifier
design which enables multiple channels of
high-level amplification to be combined in
a compact unit without excessive heat.

Ten channels of approximately100W into
8Ω (160W into 4Ω) RMS amplification are
provided, grouped into five pairs, each
providing bass and tweeter outputs from
a full-range input.

The crossovers take the form of plug-in
modules which can be inserted at the time
of installation to configure the unit for
the speakers in use. An appropriate card is
supplied with each loudspeaker. Modules
are currently available for the A320, A330
and A350, and each module includes a
pair of LEDs that confirm the positive and
negative power-rails are operative and
identifies the crossover installed by means
of the colour combination.

Thermal, short-circuit and DC fault protec­tion circuitry is included. The C51 has soft
start, fan output and trigger input.

The front panel includes five sockets for
installation of the crossover cards, which
can be accessed by unscrewing the trans­parent smoked access cover.

Front-panel indicators take the form of
blue LEDs for main power and for each
channel, arranged in high/low pairs so
that the status can be instantly assessed.

The rear panel is divided into five chan­nel pairs identified as HF (tweeter) and LF
(bass). A single full-range input per chan­nel pair may be switch-selected between
unbalanced (gold-plated phono connec­tor) and balanced (XLR3F).

In addition to the power input socket and
power switch, the rear panel also offers
a 3.5mm jack socket for connection of an
industry standard trigger input (5–30V, AC
or DC) for remote operation, and a 3.5mm
jack socket for the connection of a 12V DC
fan system. This output is controlled auto­matically according to temperature.

10-channel Active Speaker
Power Unit for installation
applications

10 x 100W/8Ω (160W/4Ω)
power amps arranged in
5 HF/LF channel pairs

Line-level active crossover
modules supplied with
Meridian Active Installation
loudspeakers

Attractively-finished
2U rack-mount form-factor

Meridian Audio Limited

Latham Road
Huntingdon
Cambridgeshire PE29 6YE
England

T [phone]
F [phone]

Meridian America Inc

8055 Troon Circle, Suite C
Austell, GA 30168-7849

T [phone]
F [phone]

www.meridian-audio.com

PRELIMINARY MERIDIAN C SERIES

C51 Active Speaker Power Unit

C51 front and rear panels

Outline Specifications

C51 Powered Crossover/Amplifier

Output power 10 channels of 100W into 8Ω / 160W into 4Ω, arranged in

5 x HF/LF pairs sourced from full-range input via crossover
module

Frequency response +0/–3dB, 10Hz–50 kHz (modified by crossover characteris-

tics)

Output impedance 20–150mΩ, 1–20kHz

THD+Noise Typical: 0.1% @ 60W output, 0.008% @ 1W

Full-range Inputs 5 x Mono unbalanced (phono) impedance 10 kΩ
5 x Mono balanced (XLR3F) impedance 20 kΩ/leg
Switch-selected between balanced and unbalanced

Outputs LF and HF pairs of gold-plated binding posts per channel

pair

Other connections 12vdc, 5W Temperature controlled fan output (3.5mm

jack)

5–30V ac/dc trigger input (3.5mm jack)

Controls Rear-panel balanced/unbalanced input switch per input.
Rear panel main power switch.
Indicators Blue LED power indicator
Per-channel blue LED operation indicator

Power 100–240Vac, 30–1200VA

Dimensions
Main enclosure 435 x 82 x 250 mm (17.25 x 3.25 x 9.75 in) W x H x D
Front panel 485 x 87.5 x 12 mm (19 x 3.45 x 0.5 in) W x H x D

Weight TBC kg (xx lb)

Crossover cards

Cards are supplied with each active installation loudspeaker system. These feature
premium quality Burr-Brown operational amplifiers and four-layer printed circuit
boards. LEDs indicate presence of rail voltages while the colour combinations con­firm the type of crossover in place. Cards plug into sockets on the front panel of the
C51.

Meridian Audio reserves the right to amend product specifications at any time.

This is a preliminary document and is subject to
significant change without notice.

Meridian retains the right to improve or modify product
specifications and design at any time. E&OE.

C51 v0.92ß Pxxxxx 20071119 • REƒ