Merlin vsm with BAM between pre and power

m, the mme is fantastic with ss and even better sounding with good tube gear.
a preamp will make the use of the sbam and its sound even better.
all combinations will offer great sound with some being better in certain ways.
the mme is a very versatile design that sounds good with both. do you know of the master bam and master rc's?
best, bobby

Oakleys, I have used many tube amps (CAT JL2,QSV4, Music Reference RM9SE and 10s and Ars Sonum, etc) and several First Watt and Pass XA.5 SS amps with the Merlins, I too have found no better amp than the Atma-sphere M60s, I suppose the Joules would be right up there too with a bit of a different flavor. All personal preference, but OTLs and Merlins are about as good as it gets, but as Bobby says, and I'm sure you know, the Merlins are great speakers with any high quality amp.

m, with no pre?
b

More on the Master BAM. Maybe I have 20 hours on it. Don't know if it is getting better, proabably is, but truth is I was looking for it to do that - was great "out of the box". Today, 3-4 Lucinda Williams albums. Not sure how the Master BAM does it, but all the signal is going through it from the source (EMM Labs)and the best way I can describe it, and when you hear it you knwo what I am talking about, is that it simply seems like there is less between the recording and what I am hearing. Less noise, less compression, less coloration, less flattening out of dynamics, in a word, less of the obvious sonic signature of electronics (a sure case of less is more), why I say the upgrade is every bit as noticeable as an upgrade to a preamp or amp. Does this make the Super BAM obsolete? Heck no; it was and is still part of a great sounding Merlin-based system. Yet, if you were heare the SuperBAM and then the MasterBAM and asked which you wanted to keep, I think your choice would be easy. Now the fact that the Deuland upgrade is not cheap, might cause you pause, it is alot of money, but, if you have it, and want more from your Merlins, it is well worth the money IMHO.