Merlin vsm mme owners, Cardas cabling Question.

For the record, I had all Cardas cables (Golden Cross and Neutral Reference) -- this was mandated at the time by Bobby and my dealer. The associated equipment consisted of a Levinson 37 transport, Levinson 360S processor, Audio Research LS25 and ARC VT100 (original and MKII versions) -- hardly mid-fi.

Bobby said the amp and preamp were the reasons my VSM SEs sounded mediocre and incoherent. He said they were definitely not the preamp and amp he would recommend for his speakers. That's kind of funny seeing that those particular ARC products have always been fairly highly regarded in the Audiogon community and beyond and are both pretty neutral.

So all I'm really pointing out is that if you decide to go with Merlin you launch yourself on a path that can easily result in replacing everything. If that's what makes you happy, by all means do it. But you might want to do yourself a favor and listen to a pair of, say, Totems -- at a fraction of the price. Or, better yet, find a pair of Dunlavy SC-II's and something like a REL Stadium III.

In the end, though, a lot of people have to spend a lot of money before they can accept that they didn't really have to spend all that much to get great sound.

Meanwhile, I, too, would like to hear what else Bobby recommends -- and how many times he recommends those choices vs. Joule and Cardas.

marty, i agree with all you have said, there is no problem between us.
what i find equally as foolish is when someone hears cardas on merlin speakers, does not like the sound for one reason or another and says "that is bobby's fav and i do not like the sound so both the speaker and wire are not to my liking." then they do not give either a chance with other gear, how foolish is that? that is the other side of the coin and happens often.
once again, nothing suits everyone's needs/preferences and we should be big enough to understand this. owning audio gear is not a contact sport and what we own is not the best because we own it.
best, b

9rw, you are again talking about products that were made 12 to 13 years ago, are out of production and have no bearing on what we are talking about. juancgenao asked about vsm mmes which you have never even heard and your se's sounded nothing like. since you have nothing relevant to add because your comments are based on dated assumption, why even get involved or do you just want to disrupt.
i think we should all just ignore you from this day forward.
best, b

9rw, you sound like someone with an axe to grind. You owned Merlin speakers a LONG time ago it seems and the product has been reviewed quite recently with strong observations that the evolution has been more than subtle.
Bobby and others have reported that they like certain associated gear, but I have spoken to quite a few owners of Merlin speakers and learned that they are enjoyed when mated to a wide variety of gear. You speak of a "path" that you suggest is more problematic than it's worth. Clearly a HUGE amount of owners and reviewers don't agree.
Interesting that you mention the Totem, a lovely speaker that is quite colored compared to the Merlins.

Rob

Robbob: No ax to grind at all. In fact, I've repeatedly praised Bobby for his passion and commitment to customers. Also, I really wanted to like my Merlins. His enthusiasm is contagious and he uses top-notch components.

Unfortunately, he made his best speakers in the early 1990s. The Merlin VSM represents a poor value. Also, note that Bobby failed to answer my question about Joule and Cardas. There's something inherently wrong with a speaker that requires tuning to compensate for spectral balance deficiencies. And of course he thinks people should ignore my posts. If I were him I would want that, too.

As for the alleged night-and-day sonic differences he's achieved by taking the lead out and through other tweaks, please provide me with even one example of another speaker that uses the same drivers, cabinet and crossover design yet sounds nothing like its predecessor. Perhaps, though, he's doing all of this with that equalizer. It is possible, I suppose.