Mike,
Sorry for the later reply. One reason I delayed replying is that I wanted to mull over what I wanted to say. I've owned the Forte's for over 20 years, they are original with no mods. I believe they are outstanding speakers and I doubt I'll ever sell them. I've moved them into the family room where the family enjoys them all day long nearly everyday. To me they have great detail and when placed properly in corners they have outstanding room filling bass and very good sound to them. Over the years I've had tube and ss on them. I do believe tubes sound best on them but when set up right they sound very good with ss also. I know I'm probably preaching to the choir a bit here but I wanted to post my thoughts.
The Merlin TSM is another speaker I feel I will have for a long time too. A comparison is hard because they are so much different to the Forte', but I'll try. The Merlin's have amazing detail and resolution. The mids are fuller and more fleshed out than the Forte's. They highs are some of the best I have ever heard. The Forte's will go deeper but the fuller mids and the pitch and articulation of the bass of the Merlins makes this a non issue. The Merlins completely disappear. I still haven't got over that. I just sit there and look at the speakers at times trying to localize the sound at the speakers and cannot. So soundstage and imaging are outstanding. I'm very surprised how well they do in my room, which is an acoustical mess and open at both ends. And the should not sound as good as they do with my modest equipment. The fit and finish of the Merlins is outstanding even in the matte black textured finish of my TSM-mmi's.
In short, I love them Merlins. I did extensive listening to many speakers and there is some great stuff out there. I listened at length to the Dynaudio C1 and Focal 1007BE. Two great speakers but I prefered the Merlins. The Focals were close and I could be very happy with them but for me and my tastes the Merlins were the best.
I hope this helps. Good listening and riding!
Cheers,
Scott
