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Merlin speakers a new start for me

hi folks.... Long time audiogoner and have not used the form a great deal. I am in mid change over from a home Theater setup to a two channel system. The basic problem is space. Running two systems did not work so I combined what I had and have been running 2 channel.

At the moment I am sort of between systems but what is left includes.

Preamp Classe 5L
Amps Pair Threshold T-200's (Both have been updated by Jon S)
CD is the Dennon 2900
TT is a project
Speakers at the moment are a pair of Revel M-20's
Revel B15
I have a S-30 and a pair of older Paradigm ADP surrounds that are not in use
I also have an older Sherbourn 5/1500 left over from the HT.

My thought at the moment is to keep most of what I have and simply add a hi end pair of monitors, or speakers somewhere between 2-5k. I have been bouncing around between

Merlin VMS M or SE
Merlin TSM
Revel Gems
Thiel 3.6 the 2.4 or even the 6
ATC 20's or 50's

I have been a long term fan of Celestions and had either a pair of the SL-600's or the 700SE's for the past 15 years. So I am both a big fan of a clean image and or a very very good sound stage both of which I got from the Clestions. At this point, I simply feel the Celestions are too old to be reliable.... and I would like something new. The room I am in is moderate in size and has a very very bad suck out around 50hrz so the speakers will likely be used with the Revel handling everything from say 60-80hrz down.

Thought I would ask the form espcially those that know and have heard the merlins. My plan at this point is to keep the Classe/Threholds and the Revel B15. I am not really attached to any of it at the moment as I am not getting all that I think the system can offer.... so any suggestions welcome.

Thanks
atkatana

Showing 7 responses by bobbyapalkovic

bobbyapalkovic
729 posts
 
go to the dealer and listen for yourself and let that be the decision maker. then, if you want to, give me a call and i can make recommendations. the vsm mm is the one you want, the m is not as relaxed and the se is a 10 year old speaker that has been refined on many different levels.
good luck!
bobby at merlin
bobbyapalkovic
729 posts
 
as i said earlier, the ses are a 10 year old design and have been improved on in many ways. used with the correct tube gear, wires and source equipment they can still provide some superb sound, that is for sure.
but the m and especially the mm and mx all sound fuller and more relaxed, more even and less bright too.
the biggest issue in the se is the mdf cabinet and the port tuning which were both revised in the millennium.
glad you are still enjoying them and the carys should be s superb match.
bobby at merlin
bobbyapalkovic
729 posts
 
the perceived quantity of bass and extension has to do with the tonal balance of your gear, your wires and positioning of the vsm speakers relative to you seating position. if i was at your home and had a chance to work with the speakers and you, perhaps i could have made the problem go away or decrease it enough for you to be happy.
there is no doubt that the montana has more midbass bloom and so does your Wilsons. but that does not make the vsm wrong. the vsm is a totally different design that you must listen to at the right distance, with the correct toe angle so that the tonal blance is right. i design my products with the power response of the speaker and not nearfield testing. i have little or no control over what people use with the speaker or how they set it up.
sorry you didn't like yours george.
too bad i didn't live closer to you because i certainly would have come over and tried to help you.
b
bobbyapalkovic
729 posts
 
trelja's point is well taken. the spectral balance/tonal balance is a function of the equipment, set up and room.
the vsm has been manufactured since 1994 and there are many versions. to date, there are thousands of pairs of these out in the field and as i said before, i have little or no control over how people use them or set them up. this speaker is a completely different design than most things on the market and because of that, their set up should not follow a preconceived path but the suggested one. it would also be wise to call me at the plant if you are having an issue to discuss the set up. if we give the speaker a chance to show what it can do, the problems may go away. this is simply not done by many people. i go through this every day.
b
bobbyapalkovic
729 posts
 
woopadeedoo,
any late pair of ses that are made with the pan fiber enclosure also have the new port alignment in them. your pair could be upgraded to the mm easily. call the factory for the free sixth toe mod kit so that you can use the speakers with 2 toes on the front and one in the rear. this will be more stable for you and sound a lot better too.
what i meant about them being easy to place is that they are very uniform on and off axis so they present no complications in set up. and when something shows this amount of change with a slight change of position, it is very easy to know whether you are more correct or not.
happy holidays,
bobby
bobbyapalkovic
729 posts
 
whoopadeedoo,
ok you already have the sixth toe mod.
cryoed rcs and z feet. use two feet on the front and one on the center rear if you haven't done so already.
but there is more to do to upgrade them to mms than just the wiring harnessES. plus there are bam super mods too.
give me a call when you have a chance.
happy holidays!
B
bobbyapalkovic
729 posts
 
woopadeedoo,
need to change wiring to be a millennium. wiring, cryo crossover parts, change values in q circuit and change torque settings to be an mm. the super bam mod is also very big in what it offers. you get a new external supply (power light, iec power cord), a new internal supply (new capacitors and voltage regulators) and a new battery pack. imho, a 40 to 50% difference in sound for the better.
bobby
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