Merlin TSM comparisons

I'm going to clarify why I sold my LSA1 Statements -- if only because people making equipment choices use these threads to help figure things out, and I don't want them to draw the false conclusion that I was unhappy with the Statements.

I really do love the LSA1 Statements, and continue to think that they're wonderful (for all the reasons I've already posted) and really quite a steal at the current street price. They sounded better at 50 hours than they had out of the box and no doubt would have sounded even better at 200 hours, as LSA suggests. I got a lot of pleasure from them -- to my ears, they're the best sounding speakers, for my tastes and listening room, that I've ever owned. And I'd have kept them long term, all things being equal. The experience also convinced me that my heart and brain prefer the "conventional" imaging and presentation of a forward firing speaker to the pseudo-omni presentation of speakers like my old Ohms, as striking as it can be.

Anyway,I'd read a lot about the Merlin TSM's as I was considering what monitor to buy, and was quite interested in them, but at their list price, they were out of my league. However, I lucked into a great deal on a pair, and decided to take a gamble on them. Will I like them more than the LSA's? Dunno! I may be looking back here for a used pair of LSA's in 6 months if it doesn't work out. ;-)

But I'm determined to give the Merlins all the time they need to break in, and if they're as stellar as the pro and amateur reviews suggest, I'm in for a treat.

By the way, it occurs to me that there's somewhat of a similarity between Merlin and Ohm. Both are made in the USA by small companies, and both reflect the vision of a single designer, refined repeatedly over an extended period of time.

In any case, my hope is to be done with the speaker merry-go-round for quite a while. It's making me crazy, and I'm embarrassed to be on a first name basis with the guys at the UPS store. ;-)

Peace...

I have Dynaudio Contour 1.3 mkiis.

I'd be curious if anybody has compared these Merlin monitors to those?

Also I see these have used Morel drivers. I have a pair of OHM L bookshelf speakers that I have custom modded myself using some high quality 8" Morel woofers. That has worked out extremely well!

All the newer OHMs (inclusing my custom Ls) also use an internal bass equalization circuit called the "sub bass activator" which as I recall is somewhat similar in concept to Merlin's BAM.

What happened to the LSA1 Statement love affair?
Tvad (Threads | Answers)

It's called Speed Dating, Tvad.

Just kidding with you, Rebbi. Maybe you should ask Tvad how many speakers he has owned and also auditioned but not kept....

Tvad,

I might be willing to wager Rebbi finds his true loves in less than 7 years, though I don't think that timeframe is uncommon!

For me my path was essentially OHM, Magnepan, B&W, Triangle, Dynaudio and back to OHM 30 years later.

My original OHM Ls and Walsh 2s stuck around for comparison the whole time while the others came and went. Well, the Dyns and Triangles have stayed as well mainly because I have room and use for them and each is quite nice.

When I upgraded my OHM Ls myself, I almost decided to punt on updated Walshes, but I decided to go for broke.

I've never missed the B&Ws. I would consider giving the Maggies another run with newer models if I needed new speakers again and I were able to set them up correctly just to hear what the rest of my upgrades since could do. But practically, the Maggies just are not a good fit in any of my listening rooms in my current home.

I would have liked to have heard your impressions of your OHMs when you had them if they would have worked out somehow.