How much power for Merlin VSM speakers?

how many sources howard?
b

how about letting us in on the size of the room, music taste and listening volume. the more complex the material the more power you will need. 75 watts will play complex music at any level but i also have 4 quad IIs at 12 watts each on them at home (in a vertical bi-amp). the speakers have a flat and moderately high impedance which is great for tube amps. they do not go below 6.5 ohms so they are really easy on delicate tube designs too.
b

i would be most interested myself.
but use the bam.
okay?
b

abrahavt,
a 5 db energy boost at 35 hz can bother all low power sets but i think this is more an issue of pilot error than a problem with the bam. generally out of band energy (below the fs of the woofer, 28 hz) is as big a power drain as the boost at 35. therefore i have found that it is a wash and the only time it becomes an issue is when an individual tries to get more out of the amp than its wattage would suggest and when the bottom end of a particular recording is over produced.
you don't buy low powered sets to blast large scale orchestral pieces, you buy them for their liquid finessed sound. i use a 12 watt amp at home with the bam and the sound is much much better with the bam in the system than without it. never forget that the bam is also a dual out of band filter and in most cases not having the filter will affect the sound in a more adverse manner than the boost used incorrectly.
and howard, use the bam between your cd and the pre, not between the pre and power amp. use the line output stage of you pre to buffer the output of the bam.
b

good post!
the finesse of a low powered set can be breathtaking and berning amps are remarkable designs.
the uniformity of the vsm mm and the q circuit in the hf network make this low level resolution very audible.
the sparation of mass voices and tiny ambient cues are my favorite things to listen for. i love coral music and it is in fact, my favorite.
b

e, the vsm is impedance corrected and does not dip below 6.5 ohms. it is for the most part an 8 to 9 ohm load.
you will be able to generate a little over 103 db sound pressure. they are not the most efficient of speakers but the impedance correction makes them an easy load to drive. i know of a few people using them with 8 to 12 watts per, myself included. this combination is not for everyone but it is possible depending on how demanding you are. you never mentioned your thoughts in that regard. depending on the version of the vsm, you will notice a little more efficiency and room filling nature.
best regards,
bobby at merlin