Berning ZH230 amp

I have the ZH 230 and like it very much. I think it is an improvement over the ZH 270 (as you might expect from Mr. Berning)

I do not think you will have a problem running the Merlins as they present a fairly flat impedence....of course the size of your room and loudness at which you play music also matters.

Great amp!

Glide3, have you compared the ZH230 to the ZH270? What speakers are you using.
My room is 17' x 17' x 8' with a 9' open on the one side 12' deep. I don't listen all that loud.

Yes I have and both are terrific amps. I am using Tonian Classic 12.1s which are 97db and flat impedence but they do respond well to some drive. My room is 15x25x11.

The ZH230 has the ability to tailor the amp to the system/speaker with different tube combinations. I think it has a more refined sound than the 270

The ZH230 shares many of the same virtues of the ZH270 (for obvious reasons) but has improved over the latter having slightly less grain and more natural sounding, extended highs. The first attribute that really jumped out in terms of character difference was the top end, followed by improved refinement across the board. During listening that weekend, we were directly comparing the new ZH230 with a ZH270 modified with nearly all available upgrades. As great as the ZH270 was and still is, the ZH230 is clearly the more evolved design. You will not be disappointed with the ZH230.

very excited: Have a ZH230 in my system now warming up, together with my old Bow ZZ8 and a prototype of the new Berning preamp feeding Merlin VSM's; i'll report back, as soon as I actually can say something, as opposed to "sound very good" ;-)