Merlin VSM-mm's a good value at $3000 used?


Hi,

Quick question. I am looking to spend about 3K used, and several people seem to be very happy with the Merlin floorstanding monitor VSM-mm. These are going used for about $3000. Would you say this is a good value at the used price? Preferred music is jazz, classical, and some modern, electronic jazz mixes (I love THE NECKS, for example). Room is about 11x18x10 (with some spillover into a larger room at the end). I would also have the option of a 14x24 room. Electronics TBD-whatever works best, as I have no issues swapping out my current gear with something more suited to the task. I guess the only thing that I am worried about is the lack of low-end: I would like to get a true full-range sound (although I don't listen to organ music, but would hate to partially lose the bass lines so prominent in jazz, which has happened with past monitors I have owned). Most of the speakers in this price range are 3 to 5 ways, so it seems hard to believe that a simple 2-way can reproduce the full-range of the larger speakers. Darn, I wish I had an audition, but there is nobody within a few hours of me here! Obviously there are lots of options for $3K used (Legacy Focus, Tyler Sig System, Audio Physic Virgo III) but it seems difficult to find a bad word about the Merlin's, with several people going through mulitple upgrades over time, as new models come out. Thanks for your help!
dawgcatching
Ditto the Right Honorable Dgarritson above. Fair value at $3K, especially if BAM included. You likely could resell them for the same amount if not satisfied with the bass. I added subs to mine in the same size room as yours, but it's all subjective. Quality product and superior manufactuer support. My 60 W tube mono's really mate well and get them singing! I have no desire to upgrade from these speakers.
Those Merlins are superb speakers and I believe the answer to your question is "yes."

---Dave
tvad,
the vsm has been manufactured for 12 years and we have thousands of pairs of vsms in the field. very few ever go up for resale in comparison to how many there are out there and a few negative comments do not reflect the total picture. even fewer have had first hand experience like yourself to understand the system's merits so a great many assumptions have been made over the years about its performance potential. small woofer small bass, right? how about comparing it to any other system of its size and you may see merits of its design. there are now some pairs listed on this site because the economy is flat. some pairs were purchased by those that did not understand what they bought. they set them up incorrectly, used the wrong gauge wires on the tweeters/jumpers destroying the tonal balance, listened to them nearfield, used damped amps, had reflective rooms, didn't use the alignment tool etc., etc., etc. you make it sound like some like them and some do not because of the bass and it is a 50/50 thing. the truth is that very few do not like them relative to the amount of product in the field.
no one product can make everyone happy. but this speaker is very uniform and because of that needs special care. if the speaker is used the way it was designed to be used, in a room volume that it was designed to be used in, with gear that is designed for this type speaker's needs, there are not many speakers that can produce as total a sound package in their volume filling class, imho. there is much more to music than bass extension and bass quantity and one really needs to think about his environment because some bigger more bombastic designs may be just as wrong for a small room as the vsm would be for filling grand central station. so to just talk about the bass on the vsm pays no head to how special the total package is.
it is too bad that you heard the speakers years ago with the gear you heard them with because it makes them sound a lean even to my ear. mms, mxs, the superbam and the new lead free mmes and mxes sound much fuller and room filling again. even in this mans 24 foot long room he can only propagate 50hz before the wave bends to conform to the room or goes through the walls into another room. and in the 18 foot room he would be all set. i like bass to but not at the expense of other parts of the music and many will agree. for most normal listening environments the vsm is a solid design. it goes down lower than most rooms can handle and with the right set up and gear on them they can sound very full indeed.
like my shop teacher once said "use the right tool for the right job and you will never get hurt". taste has less to do with this than the laws of physics. the vsm was not designed to do what bigger speakers can do in/for bigger rooms the but vsm will out do the bigger speaker in a wrong room.
regards,
bobby
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