Merlin TSM comparisons

The Magico's I heard sounded very good but then again I would expect most any good speaker matched to the system I heard them on to sound very good also. The electronics and wires alone probably pushed or broker 6 figures. At those prices, there is room for preferences but not for poor performance the way I look at things.

I would not trade my OHMs for Magicos. I'd have to a/b compare on my system to know how my monitors compare. They both might at low volumes and the Dyns maybe at higher volumes. No way to know for sure without comparing on your own system.

Its also typcila that different speaker designs shine best with different electronics feeding them, so comparisons on a single system do not tell the whole story, no matter how good the system is.

I partly agree regarding associated gear. I have a pair of SVS speakers which cost about 100 bucks each. They sound fair at best. I connected them to the new Manley II amp and put them on the Skylan stands. Augmented by my MJ Acoustics sub they sounded far better than they had a right to!
But at the other end of the spectrum they sound thin and hooty when connected to a Denon receiver. As I've been impressed with the Merlins, I'm also thrilled with the Manley amp, which I should mention is the first tube amp I've owned. I previously stuck with SS and occasional tube preamps.
The Ohm speakers are a unique and fun design. I've thought of buying a small pair for our livingroom.

Rob

I used to own the Ohm Micro Talls and they are terrific little speakers with the added benefit of a very small footprint. That being said the Merlins are in another league in every area I can think of, but again I feel Ohm makes an excellent speaker and I don't want to knock this underrated company.

OHm and Merlin have a lot in common as companies I think, mainly a very dedicated and long standing customer base.

Customer service seems to be paramount to both which is a key ingredient.

The biggest difference I think is that Merlin has more appeal to teh audio high end community in general due to its focus on absolute quality and associated costs that go with that in some cases, yet still ranks pretty well in the high end big picture, when you consider companies like Magico, etc.

John Strohbeen, the guru behind OHM, is a unique breed, an MIT trained engineer with a seemingly more blue collar pedigree. Take a look at the OHM shop sometime. There are photos in one of the Six Moons reviews, I believe. VEry low overhead apparently otehr than residing in Brooklyn, NY. The OHm line has always focused on highest quality sound for the lowest prices for maximum appeal. That's the case with their older conventional bookshelve and floorstander designs as well as their more recent bread and butter Walsh designs.

Guppy,

The OHM 2000 ($2800) or OHM 3000 ($4000) is probably a fairer comparison to the entry level Merlins ($3080) based on list price than the entry level Micro Walsh Talls ($1400) as best I can tell.