Review: Merlin Music Systems Merlin TSM-MMI Monitor


Category: Speakers

Summary:
Price Paid $0.00

Summary:
This is a review of the new TSM-MMI Merlin Speakers. I have previously auditioned a pair of Merlin TSM-SE speakers. I am biamping the speakers using a pair of Cary Rocket 88 power amps, a Rega P9 table, a Rega IOS phono section and a Cary preamp. I have about 100hrs playing time on the speakers. The speakers have been placed using Bobby's setup instructions. The TSM-MMI are much more transparent than the older model, although the older speaker is still a very transparent speaker. The amount of detail I am hearing is unbelievable. The bass that is reproduced is very tight and true sounding. I can not believe how low the bass can go for this size of a speaker. I have listened to a lot high end speakers and the new Merlins reproduce the music as accurate as the best of them. I can highly recommend the speakers to anyone who wants a pair of speakers that reproduce the music the way it should be reproduced.

Pros-Great company support, build quality, great musical presentation, at $3100 easily outperform speakers many times the price, making them a great value.

Cons-None at this time, wished I had bought them earlier
lbret
brf, they simply do the upgrades that can be done to their speakers, to make them as good as they can be. not everyone has to have the latest but if they must...
best, b
One of the greatest appeals of Merlin was their upgradability. It was only a matter of time until Merlin found a better cabinet material and internal construction design which would result in the end of the upgrade path for older versions. I guess you can’t get in way of progress, but at least Merlin had a good 10 year run with their 2nd generation cabinet construction.
IHO, previous upgrades have been baby steps, but this latest change along with the Master Bam and Network upgrade looks to be a giant step forward. I am very interested in hearing the new design.
brf, thank you.
the 3 combined are certainly significant in what they do.
next stop is denver and the rmaf. if you are there come by for a visit.
best,
b
Actually, Bobby's products have been upgradable, to his credit. There comes a time when that's no longer possible--that was inevitable. However, given the Merlin reputation, selling and buying the new version probably wouldn't cost that much more, I'm thinking. Either way, you know you'll be getting a dramatically better product.

Larry
I’m not much of a writer but I feel the need to try to put into words the listening experience that is Merlin. I’m in the process of breaking in my first pair of TSM MMi’ s and I’m finding it hard to turn them off and walk away. They have become extremely seductive.

I know it’s a cliché but I really am discovering my music collection all over again. I am hearing them with a richness and clarity that I have never known before. I’m hearing the vibrations of the guitar and bass strings, the nearly silent inhale of a singer in-between verses.

These are a very refined and “grown-up” pair of speakers. They present music as I believe it was intended to be heard. Some recordings sound as if the person is actually behind a mic in my living room. On more than one occasion they has fooled the sensitive ears of my cat, scanning the room as he tries to figure out where that voice is coming from. I know that sounds strange, but I’ve never had a pair of speakers do that before.

The really fun thing about these speakers is how they disappear and simply leave the music to hang in your room. Yes, they sound great in the “sweet spot”, but I have found that they sound equally great in just about any other spot in my room.

I have been through a number of loudspeakers in that past two decades, and this is what I have been looking for from day one. Bobby spent the better part of an hour explaining the concept and execution of his design, and it really was an education for me. I’m very proud to be a part of the Merlin family.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Bobby for his passion and dedication, and for giving me something I have been chasing for a such a long time, that I wasn’t sure if I would ever find it.

I have finally found “it”