How much power for Merlin VSM speakers?

abrahavt,
a 5 db energy boost at 35 hz can bother all low power sets but i think this is more an issue of pilot error than a problem with the bam. generally out of band energy (below the fs of the woofer, 28 hz) is as big a power drain as the boost at 35. therefore i have found that it is a wash and the only time it becomes an issue is when an individual tries to get more out of the amp than its wattage would suggest and when the bottom end of a particular recording is over produced.
you don't buy low powered sets to blast large scale orchestral pieces, you buy them for their liquid finessed sound. i use a 12 watt amp at home with the bam and the sound is much much better with the bam in the system than without it. never forget that the bam is also a dual out of band filter and in most cases not having the filter will affect the sound in a more adverse manner than the boost used incorrectly.
and howard, use the bam between your cd and the pre, not between the pre and power amp. use the line output stage of you pre to buffer the output of the bam.
b

Thanx brudda!

I use a 10 Watt SET Berning Sigfried to drive the VSM-MM in a 13x18x9 living room. My friend is using a 70 Watt push-pull to drive the VSM. With the very quiet background of the Berning, I like the microdynamic and inner details that I can elicit from the low-powered SET, delicate indeed, especially for vocal music. I just love to wait for the beginning of the next music selection when the background is so quiet and then music begins.

good post!
the finesse of a low powered set can be breathtaking and berning amps are remarkable designs.
the uniformity of the vsm mm and the q circuit in the hf network make this low level resolution very audible.
the sparation of mass voices and tiny ambient cues are my favorite things to listen for. i love coral music and it is in fact, my favorite.
b

I know this is an old thread, but has anyone tried a First Watt J2 with the VSM's? I am having a hard time find the right speaker for this amp. Part of the difficulty lies in the fact that it goes down to 13 watts at 4 ohms.