i get in at about 11 am daily. i do e-mail and work in my office at home in the morning.
generally i am at the plant until 6 pm est daily.
but if you call and i am out just leave your number and i'll call you.
regards,
b@m |
Baddabob, Bobby is a really generous and above all knowledgable guy. I know I called him with absolutely no intention of buying a new pair of merlins; I called just to be sure before when I was considering purchasing a used pair. Despite being told he had no chance of making ANY money off of me, he spent an hour on the phone with me explaining his design philosophy and answering many, many questions. Even if you never purchase a pair of merlin speakers, either new or used, his insight will serve to be extremely valuable for whatever direction you seem to go.
That being said, he will turn you on to many LOW cost amps (belles 150 hot rod ~700) that will do the merlins justice. I'd place a wager that your ultimate outcome will be similar to mine... I've never been happier with any purchase EVER.
Jason |
You're a generous guy Bobby, and I will take you up on that offer - hopefully some time this week. |
baddabob,
if you give me a call at my office i'll gladly take the time to do this topic justice.
there is no way that it can be done in this forum and with e-mail. it is a complicated issue but one that can be explained.
just remember, your amp is damped and so are my speakers. you want a lesser damped speaker to go with a more damped amp. and the opposite is true with my speaker.
there is a whole different side to audio that we are just scratching the surface of here. most of the great modern day products like kharma, avalon, verity, rockport, quad and soundlab share this character and all sound better with tubes.
if you care to call me at 585 367 2390.
b |
Spencer
Luckily, took me only 12 years...very pleased !!
Chris |
Baddabob,
We're not really persistent. We're just happy.
I know; you don't see that around here all that often, but with most Merlin owners it's true.
For me, buying Merlins was the smartest audio purchase I've made in my 20+ years of this hobby. Many friends have purchased Merlins since hearing mine. The best part is that now they buy me free drinks! Talk about the gift that keeps on giving...Cheers,
Spencer |
What a persistent bunch. I guess I'll have to keep it in mind. |
Baddabob,
I have had a pair of Merlin VSM-SE and VSM-M hooked up to a Bryston 4B-ST amp and, as Bobby said, it just was too damped in the bottem end. The Bryston worked wonderfully with previous speakers (Gershman Acoustics Avant Garde RX-20, Revel F-30, Paradigm Studio 60 v2) but just not with the Merlins. Sold the Bryston upon Bobby's and seemingly everyone else's recommendation and bought a used Belles 150A Hot Rod amp (~$700 US). Solid state, 125 WPC, MOSFET transistors.
Much better fit, and less money to boot!
From a fellow Canuck,
David |
Thanks for your comments, Bobby. You're a classy guy. How does damping factor work? I get this sense that tubes and class A's have sloppy signal degradation so a properly made speaker will sense the point at which they should stop responding and do so before the end slowly arrives. Perhaps by relying on the signal curve slope. A high damping factor SS amp cuts the signal precisely so the speaker, essentially a signal slave, stops responding. Is this your understanding? |
baddabob, sorry this is not working for you and i really hope that you find what you are looking for. it is all about the music after all.
and jb, you are a humorous man, glad you are part of the family.
:-P
B |
Way to go Bobby,
Keep recommending other vendors speakers to everyone. That should help my VSM-MX order move quickly up in the queue. ;-)
JB
|
Thanks for you rcomments, but I am going to have to sign off. My posts take hours to show up - it's just too difficult to discuss something in batch mode. |
Sorry Bobby but I think the best place to start is at the source. Bryston is well-known for neutrality, which is why I bought them. I do not want colouration. I want detail. |
baddabob,
with the dh labs and the bryston i would suggest looking elsewhere for speakers because the sound will be too damped in the bass for the neutral merlin. merlin speakers like to see ss with low damping factors like some of the mosfets and tubes.
i would try vandersteen or vr and your equipment will be right for the job and you will enjoy it.
i don't want you to get into something unless you understand how to procede.
usually one selects the speaker and purchases the amp and wires to suit.
howard, get some wizard mist and shine. you'll love the stuff and you won't get all those tiny scratches. it will get rid of finger prints, grease and remove static charge.
i use this on the speakers at the plant.
look up wizards.com.
use it on your car too. makes my 96 saab turbo look new!
B |
Baddabob
No,now going in the wrong direction.....I would rather search for amps that suit the Merlins,in the long term is going to cost you less,I promise...and you are going to be more pleased with your system...I can proove this,ask any of the above contributers on this thread.
I am biased on this one I am affraid ,but I know I am also right in this regards....
Chris |
I am using the Berning Siegfried with the VSM-MM. My system is a minimalist set up with Au24 speaker cable and a Sony SCD-777ES front-end.Somehow a pair of Taralab Master Gen 2 interconnect that goes from the digital front-end sounds a lot fuller that the Au24 interconnect. Just curios if anyone has any thought about the magic of the cable from the source to the BAM? |
I'm using DH Labs Theater Selects (rated at 25 pF per foot). I am trying to get the best sound I can afford, rather than spend, spend, spend chasing that last 0.1%, so these will have to be good enough. Not sure I would want to change my amp and pre-amp (also Bryston - BP25) to suit the speakers. Would be more inclined to look for speakers that suit the amp and pre. |
One good thing about the VSM-MM Sudio Black...very practical finish...not prone to showing fine scratches or finger marks(Kiddies in the house ! ) |
I went with PB (finally), but i'll drop dead if scratches appear. I'm wondering how much cleaner and how hard i should rub to minimize damage to the finish? |
Baddabob
You are on the right track....look up/search for my and others questions / answers /threads on this forum regarding Merlin speakers....
I use my Merlin VSM-MMs with a Pathos Logos amp and are extremely pleased with the result.A very strong recommendation for Merlin from an end user...!!
You may also consider a Hybrid amp....many good products to choose from....I personally like the Hybrid concept.
Chris
|
the speaker is critically damped to rid it of noise and distortion plus is extremely uniform. it is very neutral and likes to be used with ss that is less damped and tube designs.
this means your amp will be much better than older brystons but still wanting in the relaxed and emotionally inviting aspect of sound.
what cables are you using, this may help the combination?
you will be happier with the vsm mm because they are more forgiving but only to a slight degree.
b@m |
Apologies for changing the subject but this thread seems to have the attention of Merlin owners. I am interested in the MX. Has anybody tried them with a Bryston SST series amp? I have a 3BSST. |
"FERRARI RED", but I didn't have the balls to order them! Wife sez...So I went with the standard "Piano Black" However, in the final analysis it was the right choice. |
In the late 70's to early 80's, the Guitar community espoused the use of Brass for the nut, bridge and string ferrules(Think Fender Srtat)because it had a "Bell-like ring" tone. Later, bone was the material of choice. |
we've done this in the past and found that the chrome rods did not damp the cabinet as well as the brass thus emparting a slightly sibilant quality to the hf.
the best all round performer is the brass hands down.
b |
Bobby
How would chrome plated brassrods look and sound with the Piano Black/Ice Black Blue finishes? |
I wonder what Wavac 833's would sound like. |
The VZN is quick, detailed, extended, focused, dimensional with take your breath away clarity, transient speed. It has the most complete and organic harmonic envelope I've experienced in 35+ years of this hobby.
One listen with the Merlin's and you "get it" how Bobby built & fine tuned his speaker around this amp. This with VSM M not MX in my rig.
I really cannot imagine going anywhere else after experiencing this combo. |
I've lived with the Heavensgates (60W single ended tansformer coupled zero neg feedback monoblock amps) for about a year. If you like the fuller and somewhat softer SE sound, the Heavensgates would make you very happy. The VZN-100 OTLs (and this is a several year old pair which have seen some updates - .i.e. not current Joule state of the art) though have a sense of purity that the a transformer output amp can't match. The additional power is nice too as the sound with the VSM-MX's is so pure, clean and uncompressed, it nice to be able to play certain words at more concert hall like levels. |
the otl is the king imho.
me get pissed off?
;-P
b |
I thought that the HG's were better than the 100's. As for the T's, i don't want to have him P.O. and turn us into BOSE owner's. |
I happen to know of someone with used Joule amps for sale ;-) Not a set of OTLs, but I do have my set of demo Heavens Gates (bigger 60W brother of the Stargate) up for sale (now that finally have a set of VZN-100s in the listening room! :) ).
"It's time to put you on the spot. Why are'nt there any T-Shirts available for sale? "
Sounds like a good project for some Merlin owners to colaborate on, :-) |
ts are not of prime concern right now. getting the product out the door is.
someday, yes.
i don't even have one.
b |
It's time to put you on the spot. Why are'nt there any T-Shirts available for sale? The large Logo should be on the back and a small on the front on the left. Whaddya think?
P.S. Hanes Beefy Tees only! |
perhaps but keep looking and you'll find one of the jems.
b |
I already spend too much time on AA. |
just keep looking for a joule, berning, cat jl3 or ma1 atmas and you'll have all you need for any kind of music.
b |
Ya got that right! Besides, there are'nt any Joules to be found used. |
well of course it would but again just consider that some of these lower powered amps have limitations in bass definition and extension. and thet they will have problems playing large complex orchestration at higher volumes. if you are after a liquid nature though, you are looking in the right direction.
but i know you, you just have to be different, don't you?
;-)
b |
Would a 211 based amp work also? |
an 845 based amp will sound wonderful on the vsm mx. i would still rather have an otl as an absolute but heh, we are all different.
blue black chrome is too far out there for us to reasearch right now. one step at a time.
digital crossovers have many positive attributes and are incredibly precise. but the vsm has very tight amplitude and phase especially if it is listened/tested at the musical center and 10 degrees off axis as recommended. this type of measured response is as flat or flatter than any i have seen in stereophile. and when you take into consideration that the drivers work incredibly well as a pair and offer fabulous self damping characteristcs you can spend a lot more time developing the specific characteristcs of the components in the audible path. we have much better believability and musicallity on our side with passive devices. the choice of course is ultimately yours but i know what i would prefer hands down.
b |
I bet black chrome would be incredible... Not glossy yellow, mind you, but incredilbe nonetheless ;-)
Why not removing the analog crossovers and making the speakers digital to remove their inherent "problems" as well...j/k |
How would an 845 based amp sound with MX's on avaerage? |
How about a chrome Ice Black Blue? |
how about some diamond studs embeded in them????????
now thats bling bling.
(p.s. i knew i should of ordered the clear coat finish. i feel left out of this post) |
no idea yet. we are still researching it. |
That's what i meant. Would it be available this year? |
i don't quite get what you mean.
but if it pertains to black chrome being a premium finish it will be.
b |
Standard or Custom pricing? |
we are researching black chrome which would be killer.
b |
