Merlin TSM with Manley Mahi-Mahi?

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).

Adding a sub is a natural and cost effective step for most monitor owners that want to go to a more full range sound.

I know that there are some that are anti sub as well.

And there are those that do not care about the lowest octaves of sound as well.

Different strokes.

I've gone all three ways at various times and have found each to have its distinct advantages with little downside if done well.

I'm not anti-sub, used Vandersteen with 3A Sigs and (2) 2wq subs for many years (that worked very well indeed), but what the Merlin does exceptionally well is resolution and coherence, if that is what you value, I would take the VSM route over the sub-route, unless (perhaps) I was interested in the deepest-bass electronic music or HT rolling thunder. Given the need for a very high quality sub to blend with the exceptional TSMs, I would also think it would make more financial sense to sell the TSMs and trade up to a pair of VSMs - but, enjoying the Mahi-Mahis for a while comes before that for at least a while:) To my ears the VSMs (now with the Master BAM) has wonderful bass quality and depth, that provide coherence not possible with more drivers and disparate cabinets -IMHO I think the Merlin design philosophy is about nimble, articulate bass the blends perfectly with the midrange and highs - a challenge for most [any?] subwoofer[s] with this speaker. It is that very magical coherence that explains Merlin's decision to use two-drivers with a BAM for bass augementation, rather than a 3rd (or 4th)- large driver to provide dynamic bass into the low 30s with the VSMs, along with point source imaging, and electrostatic coherence - that is not going to happen with Subwoofers and the TSMs.

But anyway, this is about the Mahi-Mahi, and in my view a solid yes with the TSMs, and VSMs as well.