Merlin 1B

I had a pair of the Merlin 1b that I bought in 1986. These speakers where absolutely wonderful to listen to. Being a classical musician I expect my sound to in speakers to make instruments sound like they should sound and the concert Halls to also be properly represented. At the time I bought the speakers in 1986 I could not find a speaker under 2500 thaqt even was in the same league. Of course my new TSM's are far better but still the old 1B's where always a fine speaker. I met Bobby when he was at Paul Heath ( not sure of spelling) Audio in rochester when I was studying at the Eastman school of music and Bobby has always been a pleaser to talk to. The only issue if you are thinking bying some used 1B's is the wrap around the speakers may be dried out but I think you may still be able to get some cloth from MERLIN

Steve

www.haefnermusic.com

I had 4b+'s driven by McCormack dna-1 monoblocks and then VTL 225 monoblocks and the sound was fantastic;
There was imaging,focus, and proper timbre (especially on strings).
This was my first pair of high end speakers and they were great; I think the 1b's are just smaller than the 4b+'s with not as many drivers.
The only negative I can think of was the black foam that wrapped the speaker made it a little harder to perform repair as I did have a driver smoke and had to replace it; service advice and the replacement from merlin was excellant.

They sounded increadible I had a pair and loved them. Yes 2 way 6.5 woofer and tweeter in top with the wire grille. I had met Bobby when he started at Paul Heath Audio in Rochester NY.