solid state amp for merlin tsm's ?

Thanks to both of you for your thoughts. Martykl, do you use the Merlin's supplied RC network with your VSMs? I installed it per the speakers' instructions and the speakers sound quite good to me, but apparently the Ref500m uses a Zobel network (they confirmed that for me today), so I'm going to go home tonight and remove the RC from the speakers and see what difference that makes. If they sound even better than they do now, I can't imagine how happy I'll be.

I'm curious if you (or others) use the RC network on the Merlin speakers when driving them with Bel Cantos.

It's been several years, and I honestly can't recall whether I had the Merlin RC on board when I had the VSMs hooked up to the Bel Canto. It's always case by case with the RC and, as mentioned, I've literally used more than a dozen amps with my VSMs over the years. I guess that keeping the exact set-up straight is beyond my modest capabilities.

Sorry.

My understanding is that RC network adds impedance to make speakers an easier load to drive.

My guess is that typically it adds more in the case where a tube amp is used. Tube amps tend to not like lower impedances especially in the lower octaves where commonly found with many modern smaller speakers that also have good bass extension, like Merlin and many others. High power higher current SS amps, like BC Class D or many others, will be less challenged, so I would expect less benefit with those, but I suppose its always best to compare with and without when possible and be the judge.

I had a friend over last night and we did an a/b comparison of the Merlins with and without the RC network. We started with it on, and they sounded great, and we were both fully prepared for there to be little or no noticeable difference when we took them off, but we were both struck hard by the difference. Without the RC network, vocals had a little more air, there was more separation of sounds and instruments, particularly in complex passages with a lot going on, but the biggest difference was a significant increase in the bass.

I would highly recommend that all Merlin owners try their speakers with and without the RC network, but particularly those who have amps that terminate with a Zobel network. The difference was far more than I expected, and the speakers now sound even more amazing than they did before!

Dazz,

Your findings do not surprise me. I would expect the BC amps to have no problem handling the natural impedance curve of the Merlins. No additional tweaking of the impedance matching between amp and speakers should be needed.

Your findings correlate to what I have found using BC ref1000m amps with various speakers of similar design. The BCs lean towards the leaner side of things when presented a fairly benign impedance curve but bring out the best in speakers that are more of a challenge by design, which is the case with many popular smaller designs that also have good low end extension capabilities these days, like Merlin. You just have to throw the kitchen sink at them power and current-wise to enable them to do their thing to the max.

The efficiency of Class D in general allows that to happen these days in a much more compact and hopefully affordable package than is possible otherwise.