Amp recommendations for Merlin VSM / TSM


I welcome all Merlin owner's feedback on the amps used with their VSM/TSM's. Do you prefer RCA or balanced, tube or solid state. Thanks for any thoughts.
yag17

Showing 1 response by mshan

I believe Audio Analogue is the company that makes the "Puccini" integrated amplifier. I seem to recall others stating the the Pathos Twin Towers integrated tube amplifier also works very well with these speakers.

I use a Joule-Electra LA-100 mk. 3 preamplifier and Joule-Electra Stargate monoblocks with my Merlin VSM-SE bBAM speakers. When I spoke with Marianne Barber about the Stargates, she said that the sound of the Stargates were very close (actually, too close, in her opinion) to that of their much more expensive OTL designs, lacking primarily as much high frequency air as the OTLs. These amps are "only" 30 wpc SET, but sound very powerful (my prior amp was an Audio Research VT-100 mk. 2, which could player louder than the Stargates, but which didn't sound as controlled and powerful as the Stargates at reasonable listening levels).

When combined with a Meridian 508.24 CD player, I feel this is truly a music lover's system at a moderate price (especially used).

Merlin seems to match their VSM-M ("S" harness) with Sim Audio solid state electronics at shows. I would talk directly with Bobby at Merlin; he obviously knows his speakers very well.