They don't open up either. The latest audio fad, maybe but when I listen at my dealer, they've always sounded dry and hard at the top with no sense of warmth except in bloated midrange. Dealer had to change rooms cause other speakers were killing them. So he sent the big Khorus' to my house and had me audition for a week and listened with me. They sounded worse in my house than the dealership. I agree with poster about the Merlins, because there is no sense whatsoever of two drivers...never!! ALWAYS ONE SEAMLESS WHOLE SOUND. Maybe that's what comes after twenty or thirty years on the same model. Bass is fabulous thanks to the BAM...but beware, depending on your system the BAM may sound better AFTER the preamp, not after the CDP as recommended. They reward placement tweaks...can actually made to disappear like my Guarneris. Take out a test disc and realize how low the Merlins go...way low. None of my full range speakers, except my very expensive Genesis go so low. (and balanced....test tones volumes don't go up and down.) Best engineered speaker I ever heard. Period. I have a 47' by 30' (with ceilings over 20 feet in places) listening room (I know, too big) and thus bought the largest Genesis. But I am building another room specifically for theater and Merlins...in fact in the main room for audio, if I sat closer I would change the Genesis for the Merlins. BTW, for full disclosure, when I was young and had small home I had two sets of Merlins.
