Merlin TSM with Manley Mahi-Mahi?

I have been breaking in the latest version of the Manley Stingray II with a new pair of Merlin TSM-MXr speakers. The sound continues to amaze me and everyone who swings by for a listen. I also tried a few SS amps which also worked very well, but it's the Stingray that performs best. For me the biggest advantage has been in soundstage depth with the tubes. It really makes the speakers vanish.

Before the Merlins came I tried running a pair of Def Tech 7004 towers with the Stingray. Since they each have a powered sub, I guessed that they were an easy load. The Stingray did it's magic with those Best Buy speakers! My friends and I joked that it made them sound like Snells.

Rob

How do you like sound of the Merlin's with the d class amps;I would like to hear after you install the manley's.
I think the tubes are going to put you into audio nirvana.
What cables are you using from the amps to the speakers?
Since you like classic rock I'd like to hear what you think after Pink Floyd visits;enjoy!!!

Rleff,

I don't really have anything to compare the Bel Canto S300 to, at least not with the Merlin's. I've owned a few amps over the years. I used to have a Unison Unico hybrid, with a tube pre section and SS power section; 80 watts/channel. Sweet amp, but the Ohm Walsh 100's I had at the time needed more power to sing, or at least benefitted from it. That's why I sold the Unico. I got a great deal on the S300 here on Audiogon, and paired it with a Manley Shrimp preamp. The reason I made that choice was that the S300 has a very low input impedance, and the Shrimp was the only tube preamp I could find that would drive the S300.

Speaking of Floyd, I listened to Dark Side Of The Moon on vinyl on the Merlins with the S300 and the Shrimp a while ago. It was FRIGHTENING; the "phasey" parts were all over the room; beyond the walls, behind my head... man!

Reb,

I think you are approaching the end of your journey at this point and are not far from your audio nirvana.

If you are not there after this amp change, the next thing I would suggest is considering adding a powered sub, if needed.

That should pretty much cover all the possible bases I will wager.

I would "upgrade" to the VSMs before I would ever add a sub to the TSMs unless it was purely dictated by finances and or aesthetics - from a sound perspective there would be no comparison to the coherence of the VSM versus TSM/Sub. Now maybe, but only maybe, if Bobby designs a sub specifically to for the TSM, but I would not hold my breath for that to happen any time soon (I'm also not at all sure that would be better than to just move up to the VSMs anyway). I also think the Shrimp/Mahi-Mahi combo would be very well suited for the VSMs if you choose to go that way down the road, perhaps even more so as they are a bit more sensitive (I think).