Tenor Hybrid v. VTL MB-450 Sig.

Bye the way Kevin, did you ever do the sixth toe mod to your speakers? This will make a really big difference for you and actually further reduce energy build up in the VSM while providing more stable footing. The additional bass extension and fullness makes a really big difference to the ambient energy and size of the presentation. The ERS and tuning puck makes the sound more uniform so you can really hear into the music core to a greater degree. Additive noise in the way of RFI and EMI can add a false fizzle to the sound and once this is removed, the resolution, smoothness and purity are enhanced.
Regards,
Bobby@merlin

Kevin, it's interesting you mention that about the Sound Labs. I came across a local guy that has a pair of Sound Lab M1 speakers and he was nice enough to invite me over this weekend. One question he asked me on the phone was "Do you listen loud?" I have never heard the Sound Labs but have always heard nice things about them. It'll be an interesting comparison.

Hi Bobby. I'm not a Merlin owner. I'm merely a Merlin admirer. I'm always amazed when I hear good things about speakers that cost far more, Rockports being a good example, but that don't have nearly the capability. The Rockports I've heard (Hyperion, Antares), for example, swallow dynamic nuance and suppress the dynamic and leading edge excitement inherent in live music. Merlin gets these aspects of reproduced music right.

Hi Kevin,
Sorry, I thought you were an engineer friend that owned the speakers in CA. Many thanks for your kind thoughts and feel free to contact me at any time if there is something that I can do for you. We would be pleased to have you in our Merlin family.
Regards,
Bobby

Hey guys, was just reading 6moons.com CES show report and from what I read in thier comments about the Merlin/CAT suite, apparently Merlin has any macro dynamic issues licked! :-) No complaints about dynamic compression or the ability to not play loudly... apparently it was a wee bit too loud when 6moons staff members visited! D'oh! :-0 Of course it doesn't hurt when you got 400lbs of 150W CAT JL3 triode monoblocks muscle to help deliver those clean, clear, and robust SPLs. :-) ;-)

You can see what they have to say at this link:
http://www.6moons.com/industryfeatures/ces04/ces04_7.html

On a more serious note, I'm sorry if we made things difficult for any neighbors (there were no complaints though from them during the show).... at one point during the show, I recall Bobby playing the Tony Degradi Trio CD (which has some amazing dynamics) at some rather "robust" SPLs and I was getting ragged on by Bobby, Kenny, and Lee becuase I was snoozing in the nice big comfy chair in one corner of the room while this was going on. Thing is, if the sound in the room was not as clean, clear, natural, and uncompressed as it was, I would have not been 'power napping' in the corner chair, but would have been heading over to the preamp to turn it down or walking out of the room.

Rich Brkich
Owner, Signature Sound