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Have you heard the latest Merlin VSM-MXe speakers?

Have you heard the latest Merlin VSM-MXe Speakers? — "Wow!!!" That's what I said after setting up these wonderful and beautiful speakers and listening for about one minute to a very familiar CD. I mean straight out of the box with only about 8 hours of playing time at the factory they simply overwhelmed me! Where have they been all my audiophile life? Why did I not find Bobby Palkovic's masterpiece before now?

How could he make this kind of music with two drivers in not so big, but absolutely drop-dead gorgeous piano black lacquered, cabinets, and an electronic box called a 'Super BAM'? I don't know! Wow!!! In my 50 years of putting systems together... including such speakers as double KLH-9 and Martin-Logan electrostatics... Fulton Premiers... the biggest of the Magneplaner speakers with the four bass panels... Wilson Watt Puppies with the Whow... and, on and on. Merlin VSM-MXe's are the BEST!

I've had them breaking in for 10 days now, and they have compelled me to listen to one favorite CD after another into the wee hours of the night. They are so musical! They have just the right texture... female vocals have that "slobber" factor... strings twang with all the nuances. They are coherent and transparent... and, oh so dynamic! The soundstage is deep and wide with the right height. And, when you close your eyes they simply disappear, leaving you with the people and the instruments performing right there in your living room. They make music!

Folks, don't ever listen to these speakers if you can't buy them... you will be sick until you can. Bobby, you did it!

I first purchased the Merlin TSM-MMe Monitors about one year ago after a respected dealer told me I should try them. I was totally satisfied with the sound, even though I was missing a little on the bottom end. They are the best monitor speakers I've ever had. But, I kept thinking, "If the TSM's are this good, how could the VSM's be so much better?" So, I just had to see... you know... the audiophile thing.

If you have never had Merlin speakers, the TSM's are a good place to start, and they will wet your appetite. But, just know that one day, as I was compelled to do, you will have to step up and get the big ones. They are complete! You will instantly hear what you have been missing in other speaker systems.

Now, I can sit back, relax, and enjoy the music. It's all there!
Skooks
skooks
martykl
3,578 posts
 
Tabl10s,

Reviews probably aren't my thing, because I tend to qualify my opinions to the point where I'm not sure they're really useful for evaluation purposes. I will offer descriptive accounts though, and to that end I compared the Merlins with the Verity a bit on a thread called "My Merlin upgrade experience". To recap and expand a bit on those comments:

IMHO The VSMs and P/Es are 2 wonderful speaker systems, each among the best performers I've ever heard - again, qualified by my preferences. (I'd call my Cremonas very, very good speakers). The Merlins are more revealing - for better and worse - of what's infront of them. Better, because that's the point of the game (at least in one respect). Worse, because so much of the stuff in front of them is revealed to be lacking-particularly recordings, and more paricularly rock recordings.

The P/Es are wonderful, musical, and pretty revealing in their own right, just not to the same degree as the VSM. The Cremonas are the least transparent, most forgiving of the three. They are both warm and alive with a bit of a bump in the presence range to offfset the bump in the upper bass. Even mediocre records tend to sound decent on the Cremona, and for this reason they are probably a very good choice for many people.

The Verity walks the middle ground - just a smidge warm of neutral. The VSMs have evolved from slightly lean (SE) to damn near dead neutral (MX) IMHO. To my ear, the MX with the current BAM, sounds an awful lot like old Quads seamlessly mated to a very good subwoofer with extention to +/- 30 hz.

Since I had the Merlins upgraded, they have pretty much replaced the P/Es in my main system. When I do switch over to the Verity, I enjoy what I hear. The sound is different and may show a new "take" on a recording that is surprising and pleasing. But the truth is, thus far, I usually flip back to the VSMs pretty quickly. I could certainly live happily with either, but I live more happily with both.

Marty

PS - Bobby, at some point I'll rationalize all my stuff (i.e shed some gear) and then figure out the best mate for my VSMs. I'll be sure to check out BEL.
dgarretson
2,594 posts
 
Pubul57,

I tried my modded BBAM in the tape loop of my previous preamp (BAT VK5i) and noted little difference as compared to BBAM placed between tube pre and tube amp. My system is balanced end-to-end, but as my current tube pre (Atma-Sphere MP-1) offers only RCA on the tape loop, I can't really use the BBAM there. But more simply I'm saying that the BBAM sounds damned fine between tube pre and tube amp. Bobby of course is a perfectionist. He is the culprit who called attention to issues that led me down the mad trail of modifying my BAT VK75SE until it perfectly complemented the VSMs.
mariasplunge
174 posts
 
Thanks for the encouragement both from Dgarreston and Bobby. I know I have to do what I have to do but man when I bought these things I was assured that the pre amp connection would be fine. Now folks are saying other things. I really don't want a dual op BAM, to many cables and I worry about the integrity of a phono cable connection through the BAM. I only have a cdp and a TT.
That said, I;ll try the BAM with the pre amp connection keeping the longest cable from BAM to pre. We'll see but I'll tell ya flat out I'm not impressed by the possibility of owning such great speakers and not getting the most out of them.
My pre is a full function Doshi. He told me today he could put an external loop on the back of the pre for me. We'll see, it will mean I'll have a jumper there if other speakers ever fom into the picture.
bobbyapalkovic
729 posts
 
as i said m, try the bam between the cdp and the pre and then in between the pre and power to compare the buffered and unbuffered sound. this will give you the idea immediately. i know what i prefer but that does not mean you will. if you prefer it buffered then have your pre modified with a processing loop.
the benefits of a bam type filter proprietery to any speaker would almost be as obvious as it is to the vsm. it is much more than just an equalizer and phase correction device. the amount of im distortion and 2nd and 3rd order harmonic distortion removed makes it a must.
secondly, you really have to judge if the speakers are providing you with what you want in sound. if they are conveying what you need then you will get the pre modified to get the most out of them. they may also convey more than you expected with the bam between the pre and power.
you have to be the judge.
but, if the speakers are used the way they were designed to be used you will get more out of them. this i know for sure.
one of the most famous reviewers in europe is using a dual input bam for cds and phono with great results.
the benefits of the bam far outweigh any potential negative aspect.
good luck,
b
swampwalker's avatar
swampwalker
5,138 posts
 
You have got a fantastic pre-amp (I've heard DougDeacon's) and from what I understand, Nick is very customer oriented. I'm sure he could hook you up with a loop that would work very well, but first I would try listening to it with the BAM btwn amp and pre. It might surprise you.
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