SS amp for Merlin VSMs?

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i found SOLID STATE audiolab 8000 pre / power ..better than ARS sonum fila se

If you're still interested in trying out a great amp on the Merlins, try a Luxman L-505u. Outstanding.

Interesting you should mention the L-505u, on my shortlist for an SS integrated, do you also have experience with the Mac integrated, 6300 or 6600?

IME, the Luxman Class A/B amps are a lot more linear than the Class A amps, which tend to be rather smooth, which is exactly NOT the thing to do to a Merlin and adding Cardas cables into that mix is a hot mess.

I like the Mac integrateds quite a bit. Well, I'm totally fascinated by the chunky dials/buttons and the big blue meters, which I just love, but then, the Luxman has them too, so there you go. Totally my opinion here, of course, but I think that the Luxman has a much higher build quality and wrt the sound, I think Lux has a (significantly) more extended and linear presentation, both in bass and in the treble. Both Mac and Lux have a very fine mid range presentation, however.

s, i think hot mess is a poor choice of words.
i think you want to indicate a specific character don't you?
and again this whole thing is relative to the size of the room and its boundary reinforcement modes as to which one you will prefer. wider bandwidth will tend to relax the mids by comparison which is good for larger rooms. a more chunky sound will be more present which will tend to sound more right in smaller rooms with more boundary reinforcement modes.
jmtc.
bobby p