Merlin TSM comparisons

"it is an hf filter at 1.6 mghz for filtering rfi and emi. imo a must in a city environment"

Bobby, I have heard differences in sound resulting from shielding low level signals like that in an MC phono stage from EMI produced by nearby amps, transformers, etc.

Can you explain why this is a relevant feature for a speaker? How intense must these fields be to have an audible effect on teh speaker circuitry?

Also, why is this filtering bundled into the same add on circuitry as the circuitry in the option for better performance with some amps? These would seem to be two different problems that might not always occur together.

Just because many people appreciate an excellent product that gives them pleasure and they share their feelings doesn't mean it is a cult. A cult insinuates to me an excessive admiration. The admiration of Merlin speakers by its owners is justified because they are great speakers and have developed over time a large following because of so many satisfied customers.

The interesting thing is that I came from a set of Magenpan 1.6, fed by a Odyssey/Rogue combo. The Maggies were a lot of fun, but the size was an issue. A friend suggested that I "upgrade" to the little Merlins. "UPGRADE?!" I said, "Are you kidding? The Magnepans are not about to be bested by some small monitor, even if it is highly regarded. But he had a set of Totem The One which had been demoted in favor of TSM-MMe and he felt the Merlins were a top design. I still doubted that they would be better than my Maggies.
Boy, was I wrong!
A side note: like most high end speakers, you need a good amount of time with the Merlins to really appreciate what they do so well. It doesn't hurt that they are beautiful to look at if you pop for the special finish.

Rob

I used the term "cult" in good humor regarding the Merlins!
The reputation for Merlin is among the highest I've ever witnessed in high end audio.

Rob

I guess if you read all of the positive comments by owners of Merlins without having heard them, you could feel it is sort of like a cult because many owners are very passionate about their speakers, but because the speakers are so good once you spend some time with them you realize it is not a cult, but a valid appreciation of an outstanding product. Before I owned my TSM's I had only heard Merlins at a few Stereophile shows and I never got a real good listen because the room was always so crowded and even with a very bad listening spot they still sounded very nice, but until I owned them I didn't fully appreciate how good they are and understood the passion people had for them.