What amp should be used with merlin vsm's?

If you talk to Bobby at Merlin, he himself will strongly encourage the use of the Belles 150a hotrod. Unless going with Tubes, I would audition the Belles, & enjoy the savings!

You will have tubes on the pre, with will give you the warmth you seek with the Belles. Upgrade later when you have more dispossible funds, as the Belles amps are always in demand.

You should give Bobby a call, he's one heck of a great down to earth guy who to talk to. He will not stir you wrong, in getting the best sonics out of his speaker well within your budget. Enjoy!

I agree w/Audiobugged. Bobby can give great advice.

Another avenue might be Atma-sphere amps, if your speakers have the tube harness. Often find the M60 or older (12 tube) MA1s on used market.

My Merlins sound fantastic with w/the 12-tube MA1s.

Strongly recommend the Berning ZH-270, if you can find one. OTL amps bring out the best of the Merlins

I don't have a clue on how many pairs of speakers they have in the market place;nor how many of those owners visit this site.(It would seem like all of them)
There was a 270 for sale last week it went in the NY minute.------Anybody using PP triode,such as my CJ8xs? --Or the Manley combos???---With these speakers??

The previous posts are very good advice.Anyway,if you have ELITE solid state driving some tubes in the pre or more importantly,the phono stage you should enjoy superb sound,run cooler,have better bass control and not have to deal with tube replacements.Not to say that you will not get fab. performance from a good tube amp,but the REALLY GOOD solid state amps are,as of now,shockingly good.Good luck,sounds like you are on your way to a wonderful set-up.