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Merlin speakers a new start for me

hi folks.... Long time audiogoner and have not used the form a great deal. I am in mid change over from a home Theater setup to a two channel system. The basic problem is space. Running two systems did not work so I combined what I had and have been running 2 channel.

At the moment I am sort of between systems but what is left includes.

Preamp Classe 5L
Amps Pair Threshold T-200's (Both have been updated by Jon S)
CD is the Dennon 2900
TT is a project
Speakers at the moment are a pair of Revel M-20's
Revel B15
I have a S-30 and a pair of older Paradigm ADP surrounds that are not in use
I also have an older Sherbourn 5/1500 left over from the HT.

My thought at the moment is to keep most of what I have and simply add a hi end pair of monitors, or speakers somewhere between 2-5k. I have been bouncing around between

Merlin VMS M or SE
Merlin TSM
Revel Gems
Thiel 3.6 the 2.4 or even the 6
ATC 20's or 50's

I have been a long term fan of Celestions and had either a pair of the SL-600's or the 700SE's for the past 15 years. So I am both a big fan of a clean image and or a very very good sound stage both of which I got from the Clestions. At this point, I simply feel the Celestions are too old to be reliable.... and I would like something new. The room I am in is moderate in size and has a very very bad suck out around 50hrz so the speakers will likely be used with the Revel handling everything from say 60-80hrz down.

Thought I would ask the form espcially those that know and have heard the merlins. My plan at this point is to keep the Classe/Threholds and the Revel B15. I am not really attached to any of it at the moment as I am not getting all that I think the system can offer.... so any suggestions welcome.

Thanks
atkatana
trelja
3,226 posts
 
Personally, I think mid/upper bass response can be tailored greatly by both the gear, room, and the treatments therein.

For example, simply substituting JPS Superconductor (interconnect and/or speaker cable) will produce that kind of bloom and richness, and take the edge off the sound, if it's required. Not only with the Merlins, but with most loudspeaker products.

I've heard Merlins in various instances, and in all cases, I was most impressed. In my opinion, the effectiveness of the design, and skill of implementation of it by the folks at Merlin have been proven by its disparate owners. I've heard a fair share of criticism of the speaker, but it can also be viewed as a testament to the success in dispersing the product. At this point, the owness falls on the individual to mate the speaker with the appropriate gear and site the speaker correctly - in an appropriate room. Is it a PERFECT speaker? No, of course not. Such a beast does not exist, and there never was, and never may be. But, the Merlins sure are as satisfying a loudspeaker as any produced. I can see no reason why a pair of Merlins would not constitute a lifetime purchase, and that's a truely rare thing in high end audio these days.
usblues
1,217 posts
 
Good post Trelja,that pretty much sums it up,their going to be the last speaker alot of people will own,Bob
david_berry
211 posts
 
Hi George!

Isn’t this a great hobby? During the time that I have owned the Merlin VSM’s, I have also owned a pair of Revel F30’s, a pair of Gershman Avant Garde RX-20’s and Paradigm Studio 60 v2 (also took out on loan Dynaudio Contour 3.0). All of them (except the Dynaudio’s) showed the mid-bass hump via my RS digital dB meter. For me, they definitely sounded “heavier” then the Merlin but untrue, and after a short period of time, annoying. The Merlins (I have the VSM-MX) measure, from 200 Hz down via the Stereophile Test CD #3, relatively flat (+/- 2 dB) except for a 5 dB suckout at the 63 Hz signal, right down to the 31.5 Hz signal. That suckout is a room problem.
Additionally, in my experience, equipment matching IS important here. I had initially used a Sonic Frontier Line 2 SE (a very well reviewed tube-based preamp) with my old VSM-M. It sounded lean to the point where I bought a REL Storm III subwoofer. After finally going with the numerous suggestions of the Joule LA 100 MK III preamp, I sold the subwoofer as the speakers sounded much more fleshed out. It really was not a bass issue.
For a good discussion on this, have a look at an old thread of mine about Merlin's and bass.

David
bobbyapalkovic
729 posts
 
trelja's point is well taken. the spectral balance/tonal balance is a function of the equipment, set up and room.
the vsm has been manufactured since 1994 and there are many versions. to date, there are thousands of pairs of these out in the field and as i said before, i have little or no control over how people use them or set them up. this speaker is a completely different design than most things on the market and because of that, their set up should not follow a preconceived path but the suggested one. it would also be wise to call me at the plant if you are having an issue to discuss the set up. if we give the speaker a chance to show what it can do, the problems may go away. this is simply not done by many people. i go through this every day.
b
martykl
3,578 posts
 
Just want to clarify my earlier comments re : VSM SE

First, I really, really like the SE - I've used it for almost six years.

Second, the tonal balance/bass character which I characterized as "lean but highly damped" strikes me as a reasonable trade (though I understand that some listeners would disagree if they prioritize a warmer balance). By way of comparison, I 've also used Verity Parsifal Encores over roughly the same time period in a second home. The Verity's provide greater bass extension and mid-bass warmth, but offer less pitch definition through the lower octaves. Both are wonderful speakers which combine overall high quality performance with well integrated (though differently balanced) bass response. I 'm sure many people (like me) could happily live with either trade-off.

N.B. - The Verity's were roughly twice the cost of the Merlins.

Third, I've never heard the more recent Merlin designs in my system. My comments apply ONLY to the older VSM SE.

Good luck with the hunt!
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