Any experience... Merlin+Wadia+Rowland

First of all...every audio product has some characteristic of it's own. Some closer to neutral than others, but all change the sound in some way...it's physically impossible for them not to. I don't think many people would find completely neutral products too appealing. The Merlins have they're own characteristics...some will like them and some will not. That doesn't change the fact that they're excellent speakers, and I recommend auditioning them if they're in your price range. As far as the $8000 price listed above...I'm not sure if that's correct, but it might be if it icludes a BAMM unit and a premium finish (which is $1000 extra, I think...). I assume Merlin...like every other audio manufacturer...increased their price as demand increased. I've noticed many retail prices increase substantially as the positive reviews, and sales, pour in. Some components have even doubled over the last few years. All you can really do is listen to as many options as you possibly can (in, and under your price range...you may be pleasantly surprised)...you'll eventually find something you love.

As an owner of three generations of Merlin VSM (Gen 3, SE, and now Millennium), let me throw my 2 cents in. The Merlin VSM is very revealing, so it could sound too bright with lesser electronics. As with anything revealing, like Jennifer Lopez's famous dress, it shows off perfection, or lack thereof. But with the right gear, it sounds real and musical at the same time. I prefer driving it with tubes (Transcendent Sound OTL) but with the SS harness for the Millennium model, it sounds great according to Bobby, and I believe him, as the straight-talking man knows what he is talking about. As for the $8K price, it is for the premium finish and battery BAM. I think in order to maintain the high quality, Merlin chose to keep their operations small rather than mass producing their speakers. As such, they only make about 200-300 pairs a year. I know Bobby and Bill have their hands on every pair they make, so you pay for that level of craftmanship rather than minimum-wage worker soldering your crossover. I belong to the NJ Audio Society and get to audition many speakers every month at our meetings, and I would put my Merlin up against many speakers costing much more.

In 1994, when we introduced the VSM Gen I, a preliminary 50 pairs were constructed and sold at $3500. We made no profit on these early sales because it was an offering (and everyone knew that) to see what the public and industry thought of our work. These early pairs did not include the Hovland inductors, RC filters, proprietary feet, wires, Caddock resistors, terminals, circuit damping, proprietary woofers, superior and more costly cabinets, seven years of development and probably 100 cost increases. Yes, it is now 2001 and the price of the most similar speaker, the VSM Basic is $4950 not $8150. The VSM M and Battery Bam sell for $7050 and the same system with the Premium finish is $8150. I think it is remarkable that after all the years of effort and production time that this product is only $1450 more. It's an absolte steal, consider the Proac 2.5 sells for the same price and that just my tweeters cost as much as their 4 drivers and all of their crossover parts combined. It is a product that we mark up only 3.6 times to retail. Industry standard is closer to 5 times. Yeh, we're really socking it to our customers. Consider, that if some of the highly regarded companies manufactured it, the cost would increase by thousands of $.
Bobby@merlin
PS I am a fan of Proac products, I feel that their 2.5 is great value. That is why I used it as an example.
PPS It takes many years to design and manufacture world class products. Just because the box size stayed the same and there were many refinements over the years does not make this product undesirable, to most, the exact opposite is true.

Hi Guys!

I'm a bit biased, I have a set of VSM's that go back to the first that Bobby built and they kicked ass! No, they were not an easy speaker to come to terms with in the beginning. Perhaps they told the truth too well! It took much system tuning to get them to really sing. Well many upgrades later, that original sey of VSM's has made it as far as Gen 3 RC and became steadily more forgiving of both the gear and program material put into it whithout losing one smidgeon of the resolution and truthfullness I originally fell for. Well the Gen 3 RC's are suiting in the hallway outside the listening room supplanted by the only replacement possible, VSM Milleniums. I don't know just what did it, but that same little cabinet and drivers has improved in a manner I could not have imagined. A bigger better, cleaner, quieter, louder, even closer to the real thing kinda sound. Bobby P, you kick ass. I had to hear it in my own place to believe it, and when I heard it, I had to have it. The Milleniums rock! If you want to know how real it can sound, find a dealer and get with the program boys n' girls! FYI the system is: EAD Univ Disc Transport, Sonic Frontiers SFD 2 series 3 (very worthwhile upgrade), Oracle Delphi 5/SME/Benz Ref, ARC PH3, ARC LS2B, ARC Classic 150s, Foundation Research cords/conditioners, and XLO Signature wire everywhere. Enjoy the music! -Vince