Review: Merlin Music Systems TSM-MXr Monitor

Category: Speakers

Is this whole Merlin speaker thing some sort of cult?
That's what some folks believe, in spite of many best-in-show awards and professional accolades it seems that Merlin's fans are nearly rabid about the qualities of these high end speaker systems. After hearing a pair of MMe's I decided to take the plunge and hear what all the fuss is really about!

NOTE: My most recent system was Magnepan 1.6 with Mye stands powered by Odyssey Stratos, Rogue Metis preamp and Jolida and Oppo CD players. An interesting side note: I usually preferred the far less expensive Oppo with the Maggies. These days expensive gear is not always superior, and synergy is everything.

When you're looking at speakers in the 2-3K range and up, you've already heard a group that's started with wonderful designs like the Revel M22 and Dynaudio 140 along with the added cost of good stands. You may have forgotten costs altogether and listened to some of the super-high end monitors from Focal and Revel. You've probably spent time with Dunlavy and Proac and explored the fine offerings from Totem & many others. This is true high end territory and a lot is expected.

Before I get to the nitty gritty details of my review of the Merlin TSM-XMr's, I'd like to start by cutting through the haze of a few misconceptions. I paired the Merlin monitors with a Emotiva XPA-3, Manley Stingray and even a Denon reciever. The sound was never anything less than fantastic. That's not to say that the pairing with the Denon was as good, but rather with the Stingray it became MORE fantastic. I say that because I want to forever end the idea that these speakers don't play well with others. I also started with some inexpensive Monster Cable and in no way did this cripple the speakers. I eventually added Cardas because part of this hobby is experimentation and tweaking!

Breaking them in....
Though I was told they put some hours on them at the factory, I let these play for a few days, racking up an additional 100 hours or so before I really sat down with them. They're still breaking in and improving.

With the Denon receiver...briefly.....
The Denon imparted a smooth midrange, but the speakers lacked weight and dimension. Overall the sound was somewhat cold, but again not in a way I didn't enjoy. Even with a mid fi receiver I was bathed in detail and a very realistic tonality. Perhaps the only serious limitation here was a much smaller soundstage. With the Denon I was most aware of the "box" effect and the Merlins couldn't quite disappear, an ability they're noted for. But at the same time, on many recordings they came CLOSE to that magic and I simply had a ball listening to music. I did not spend much time with this pairing, but I wanted to be clear; the Merlins will make music while you save for better power. .

Emotiva XPA....briefly...
The Emotiva XPA series is noted by many to be squarely and happily aimed at the home theater market. I generally agree, but I still heard very sweet music with the pairing. Again, soundstaging took the bigger hit against the Manley tubes. It was a far from subtle difference. To make things even less "audiophile" oriented, I also used the latest UMC-1 processor from Emotiva., which is hardly looking to beat down doors for 2 channel listening. The Merlins would not be denied in their transparency and ultimately musical nature. Listening to several tracks from the Mumford Brothers CD I marveled at the resolution and rhythm.; Much to my surprise the Emotiva gear did not sound overly bright. Again, this session was short. I was eager to return to the amp of choice, which had also been used for break-in...The Manley Stingray II.

With the Stingray II tube amp from Manley...
Now we're talking! While Bobby was building my Merlins I let the Stingray break in powering some SVS monitors I had lying around. They sounded pretty good! Of course the Merlins were a whole other world. This amp created the image magic and helped the Merlin's show their stuff by simply not being in the room. On the better recordings, with eyes closed, it was not possible to know where the speakers were! (Of course I KNEW where they were, but the effect was astounding). This was the synergistic excellence I had hoped for and the roughly 7K worth of amp and speakers was out-dancing many far more expensive systems I've heard over the years. This was being accomplished without any real tweaks, partial break-in times and mid-fi CD player and cables!

Getting low and fast...
Next up was my beautiful MJ Acoustics 150 MKII subwoofer. This small sub is at least as good as the REL models and perhaps a bit better. With it's well thought out and versatile controls along with a remote I was able to blend the smallish sub seamlessly. With the sub the Merlins now filled out at the low end and sounded unbelievable. Suddenly I felt like this was every bit as musical as the VSM's, but with a lovely bottom end that completed the picture. Of course adding the same sub to the VSMs.....ah, there's the rub!

Better Cables....
I started with a cheap set of Monster Cable speaker wires; the stuff they sell at Target for 30 bucks. Bobby said "have fun!" and not to worry about speaker cable for the moment. He was right. The cheap wire was just fine and really did not get in the way at all. Quite frankly I think many people would be fine with this stuff, but I warped to conventional wisdom and installed better speaker wire. Enter the Cardas SE9, which is hardly a super expensive speaker cable. A 4 meter pair will still cost around 1000 dollars, more than most people's whole system. Insanity is relative! I'd love to report that the Cardas cables were not up to snuff, but they were a wonderful addition to the system. Detailed and smooth, these cables are a terrific match. Things were still grainless at the higher registers, but the speakers now had better defined bass and I could easily hear greater space around the female vocals while listening to Long Black Veil (The Chieftans). I plan to also try a few others in the coming months. I will still need to compare the cables to others before drawing any strong conclusions, but I like what I hear thus far.

So what does this all add up to....
In short, these are the best monitors I've ever heard and they are among the best speakers period. I prefer them to my wonderful Magnepan 1.6 pair and they make music better than anything I've heard from Revel, Dynaudio, Snell, Focal, Totem, B&W and pretty much the who's who of the speaker world. But read that again! I said that they make MUSIC better. They MAY not out-resolve the top of the line B&Ws, nor do they offer the punch of the top drawer Revels or the womp of some super duper multi array monsters. Those are "speakers" and quite excellent indeed. The Merlin TSM-XMr is something else and much closer to being a musical instrument than any other speaker I've heard. They open an extreme window of clarity into a recording that is quite remarkable, allowing for a layered image where even complex passages still convey a very real sense of space around individual instruments and voices. For music lovers this is the greatest compliment I can give any speaker designer and builder. I felt much the same way about my Royd speakers many years ago, a true hero of small speaker design. And audiophiles take note, if you love to play with gear as much as listen to music, the Merlins will also oblige by being utterly transparent, allowing component characteristics to penetrate with ease. It's no shock that some Magnepan owners have upgraded to Merlin speakers. And with that many will say that the Merlins DO in fact resolve with the best when better gear is mated to them. But there are limits both to my sanity and funds to explore those grounds. A good friend said, after hearing my Merlins, "These would suit anyone because they are completely gear transparent."

What they did best....
Vocals were beyond critique, bordering on SPOOKY for being so lifelike. On better recordings the imaging and boxless sound impressed by simply removing the speakers from the room. The same went for small ensemble recordings where the human ear can focus on a single instrument with ease. The Merlins did not just reproduce the violin; they got out of the musical path almost entirely, or such was the effect. It sounded like it was "in the room", a rather tired expletive in the high end world, but very applicable here. This effect was something I often enjoyed with the Magnepans, but the Merlins do it even better and without the need for an exact sweet spot. Additionally, on vocals the Maggies often presented a singer as "larger than life" conveying a three dimensional image, but also one that was not scaled correctly. Perhaps, due to their size, the Merlins handle this issue with ease. On more complex classical passages the Merlins once again played the recording with a minimum of coloration. Incredible detail met resolution but not in a way that broke the music down into components. They stood out as both analytical and outstandingly musical. Coherence and continuity is at such a high level as to challenge monitors I heard costing 3 times the price. The overall continuous nature of drivers and cabinet remained intact to the point where I often felt I was listening to a single driver! I fought to hear the speaker, but usually the music carried me away. Treble was grainless, liquid and honest sounding. Midrange characteristics seemed completely controlled by the amp and associated electronics. With the Stingray the presentation was slightly forward, which is what I like as it tends to be more involving for me. Bass response was a true delight. While the TSM's don't plumb the depths, neither do they demand a sub. Against my stone fireplace wall, they generated a good amount of kick on Lyle Lovetts' Pontiac. In my theater room they were more bass challenged, the bass thinned out considerably, but sounded even more rhythmic and quick. Adding the MJ sub was a requirement for me in that setting.

Where they failed to excel....
To be honest, the only shortcoming of the Merlin TSM-MXr is that it's not a VSM; it's larger and costlier brother (I have only heard the older VSM). It has usable bass below 45hz and that's certainly impressive, but don't expect anything close to a visceral bass slam without a sub in the mix. I see no reason to play heavy metal or club music on these speakers. Those recordings are rarely well done and the Merlins will simply expose that. Large scale orchestral music will never be as impactful, even with a sub, as on a big speaker. That's not to say they don't do extremely well, but if listening to great organ recordings was my #1 hobby, I'd look for a different speaker and certainly not a monitor of this type. When listening to orchestral passages I could not generate the pressure levels of such an event, but I am certain that I heard more of the music than on larger systems. Again....These are windows into music. To reinforce my impressions I had a friend come by for a listen. His systems include speakers like Magnepan 3.6, Totem The One and his own pair of older TSM-MM's. He's part owner of a audio shop so he changes systems like the wind. Upon hearing a Verve recording of Billie Holiday on the new Merlins he said it was the best vocal presentation (of her) he'd ever heard. Next up was Norah Jones and the immediacy and realism was downright startling.

What about those other speakers.....
The minute someone tells you that their Flagasm 407's blow away the Nookem Super 9's, you know you've got an "audio racer" or just a flat out snob on your hands. I heard the Focal Utopia line and they are a great speaker. But I found them less musical and certainly quite colored Could it have been the associated gear and room? You bet. Speakers at this level are often so good that any tiny element can tip your ears to favor one or the other, but the Merlins are the least colored of ANY monitor I've heard to MY ears. Do I think the Merlins are better than the Utopia? Yes. Do I think that some will prefer the Utopia and be just as right as I am? Absolutely. I happen to like the Revel M20, which is a colored speaker that I enjoy. If you want everyone to agree that you bought the best speaker, car or cigar, life will be a tad frustrating!

Other Speakers I auditioned.....
Totem The One (Anniversary Edition), Revel M20 & M22, Dynaudio Contour s1.4, Revel Ultima Gem2, Focal Diablo Utopia, Focal Chorus 816 and quite a few others ranging from 2-15K, both full range and monitor, from Harbeth to B&W. My goal was to find a speaker as transparent as possible; a speaker that did not "sound like a speaker" if you will. I've found the Merlins opened a window of transparency with the least coloration. That does not automatically make them best for everyone.

Gripes....
I have a few, but they are thin. The Merlin TSM is a pretty plain-jane looking speaker unless you get the top-of-the-line MXr, though fit and finish are very good. The MXr version will get you a gorgeous finish and a somewhat different sounding speaker (I have yet to compare them though), but the wait for a pair is quite long, usually 10-12 weeks. Then again...if you want something this special it's not going to be sitting around "in stock." The time factor is going to effect a few buyers since there's a ton of high end speakers out there boxed and ready to ship. That simple reality comes against the joy of eventually owning and enjoying a uniquely refined and executed speaker design. It's your call. I don't like the binding post system, though it's very effective; it can be a bit awkward to work with due to a single clamping screw for two terminals. My wife doesn't like the grills because they are not mirror imaged. Looking at them, she said "It looks like we have two right or left speakers." The grills are usually off anyway and she loves the finish as much as the sound.

Finally....
Few people will be unhappy with a pair of Merlin TSM-MMi or MXr speakers. They will not play to ear splitting levels or slam you in the belly with bass. But they will provide a musical experience that few speakers at even triple the cost can replicate.
Bobby told me that that these speakers are his life's work. He has entered the ring with some very heavy contenders and has proven that you can still score a knock-out in a very crowded division of high end audio. Unwilling to rest on his past successes he continues to refine the product. This is a superior execution of speaker design that gives up no real ground to far pricier designs and it's ongoing evolution is part of that success.
Bobby is another reason to buy a set of Merlins. He's a very nice fellow who appears to love audio and will happily share his enthusiasm with you. He does this in a very down-to-Earth manner that makes the buyer feel at ease during the buying process. While I bugged Bobby for cable and amp ideas he was always willing to provide support well after the check was cashed. Following delivery we had a couple of talks regarding placement and break-in. He's not just selling speakers; he's trying to get the music right for his customers. The man and his speakers deserve a lot more attention.

My rating for the Merlin TSM-MXr Monitors:

Sound quality *****
Aesthetics ****
Build quality *****
Value *****

In other words....Go buy a pair!

Associated gear
Skylan 4 post stands, Manley Stingray II Tube Amp, MJ Acoustics 150 MKII sub, Cardas SE9 speaker wire

Similar products
Totem The One (Anniversary Edition), Revel M20 & M22, Dynaudio Contour s1.4, Revel Ultima Gem2, Focal Diablo Utopia, Focal Chorus 816 and quite a few others ranging from 2-15K, both full range and monitor, from Harbeth to B&W