Tenor Hybrid v. VTL MB-450 Sig.

And by the way Rhyno, the dynamic compression and loud level playback issues have been fully dealt with. A few months before the review in Stereophile, we made a flying production change to the VSM M and extended the front double baffle down the entire enclosure. This greatly reduced an energy storage issue which John Atkinson picked up on in his tests. The unfortunate thing is that the speakers tested by Stereophile predated the change because we needed to provide the speakers in a timely manner and to make a new pair would have delayed things another 8 to 10 weeks. Then about 15 months ago we offered up the 6th toe mod which places 2 cones on the front and one on the back. The additional support for the firing plane and superior dynamic coupling greatly enhanced the tonality (which Tubegroover and others can comment on) and the addition of the tuning weight and ERS for the BAM and digital sources enabled the speakers to sound much more robust and dimensional. These changes were clearly picked up on by the press comments of last years CES. That is also why many that read Robert's and your comments can't agree with you. Your product predated theirs and did not have the enhanced performance. The last and most critical aspect of the on going research was completed with the MX version. I would say that dynamic compression is now incredibly low and that you can now play these speakers louder than stink. Why else do you think I showed with Ken Stevens of CAT, the dynamics and volume King of high end audio. There was little doubt that the system in AP1652 was capable of some really extraordinary output and dynamic potential.
Anyhow, good to see you are still around and have fun with your SLs.
Regards,
Bobby@merlin

P.S. - I want to make it clear that I do not intend to argue against honest disagreement with my above post. Anybody who's read me from time to time on this forum will know that's somewhat of a specialty of mine. It's scolding and muzzling I object to. And lest I be accused of the same thing 'fore long here, this is my exit cue from this thread. Carry on...

Yo Bob, how's Fritz doing these days?

Hello guys. This thread has certainly taken some unexpected turns. Jim, thanks for trying to keep the focus of the thread on amplifier ideas. Bob, thank you for injecting a possibility that I had not considered.

It has never occurred to me that the size of my room could be an issue. However, just in case it could be a problem - my room is a basement shaped like a "U." The left side is the listening area which is 18x26x7. The empty area in the center of the "U" is the staircase (it is walled off toward the listening area). The speakers are at the top left of the letter firing toward the bottom. There are French doors w/glass panes at the top left of the letter and there are no other doors or partitions.

One of the other reasons that I am considering replacing the VTLs is that I cannot turn my preamp up past 9:00 (in triode) without it becoming too loud. That is three or four, 2 decibel clicks on my volume control. I would like the ability to fine tune the volume better. This would automatically make one consider a different preamp. However, after hearing many other preamps, I really like my First Sound. Even the Placette RVC with its 98 steps, was not better in this respect because it ramps up quickly.

Have any of you had your Merlins updated to the MX version? Is that even a possibility?

Zaikesman, no need to qualify your comments. I've got thick skin. We're just batting it around a little. Crump is a good guy and I understand his point, and I'm sure he understands mine. Ooops, looky there, it's Beer:30 Time to go....