GMA Callisto VS. Merlin TSM

minbean,
thank you for the new information. if you had watched me closely for many years i have had the preference for amplifiers that are less damped/lower feedback and actually run my joule vzn 100s with the feedback off or the berning in the lowest feedback setting. when you have a speaker like the merlin that is so uniform from top to bottom a damped amp/wire or source will choke the tone to a degree. if a speaker has the bbc style dip, the mid depression relative to the bass being up by comparison calls for a damped amp for control. even changing the wire to a more finely stranded copper cable will sound like you have extended the bandwidth extremities because you have relaxed the mid band.
keep me posted and enjoy!
thanks,
bobby at merlin

hi songwriter,
you and i are actually much closer together than you might think. i am very sure that the gmas were a complete revelation to what you had before and i am glad that you have found them. you obviously enjoy them tremendously and be sure, that they are a great product.
as a designer, i must look at all relative issues and not fixate on one over another. you might be really shocked to know exactly what my feelings are on phase and time alignment. i can tell you i share much of your belief but i will not go into that here. i just think there are more important issues that need to be dealt with if the phase and time issues are dealt with in a comprehensive manner. that is why, when ever i did a seminar i asked those attending what their personal preferences in reproduced sound were. i found it was a mixed bag that was constantly changing.
for that reason, i feel strongly that until you hear my speakers playing music the way they were designed to be used or see them tested, you are relating assumption based on preconception.
it may be true that you still won't enjoy them as much as your gmas but you know what? i'll bet you like them more than you thought you would. they have other stregnths to consider.
in the past you have gone after a number of my customers and upset them with aggressive comments/behavior. volker in va on audio asylum was another occurance like this one. here the professor said he likes the explicit nature of the vsm and you took it to mean that the speaker was flawed. you cared not that he was listening too much in the near field and used silver wire on them. again the comment of using the headphones as a comparison tool. i specifically recommend not to do these things but guess what, he likes/prefers it that way. it was and is, his taste.
the same went on here with minsoo. does not matter how he has them set up or what he is using on them...it is the speaker that is wrong.
i hope this that this can finally be put to rest songwriter. it is good to feel so strongly about a thing, but not to be a pest.
these speakers are used by many as a reference tool for many things and it is not because they are flawed. they are very continuous and show great contrast without being bright (if set up as i suggest). they have a very wide bandwidth and sound like music.
again, i think you would like them.
regards,
bobby

Wasn't the criteria of this thread was ONLY if you have heard both speakers?

I have only heard the Merlin TSM's and I must say, they will probably be my next pair of speakers..

Chris

My previous post disappeared from this thread. My guess is that when I mentioned marketing technics, someone was offended. The true audio enthusiast will seek out the best speakers they can afford, whether it takes travel to find them, if you want the best, you will go. I did this in October, 2004 and heard many very good speakers, including the Merlins, but when I heard the GMA Callisto, I knew they were special and purchased a pair. They are still special. The Merlin's may be special to you. The point is to go LISTEN. I was sure when I started my search, I would come home with one of the big name brands. Listen for yourself and your search may be over.

hi elsneb,
i saw your post and replied to it. my guess is that the moderator removed them both because he/she felt we were going off topic.
when someone says negative things about a product that they have never heard and i stick up for the customer and the product, that is not marketing. it is my right to defend the wrong.
never forget that minsoo said he likes the tsm and that he was offended by this.
now, who was doing the marketing?
as i have said hundreds of times before, my speakers aren't for everyone.
and by all means, enjoy your gmas, elsneb.
regards,
bobby at merlin