Replace my Berning ZH-270?


Hi,

I have a Joule LA150 MkII preamp and a Dave Berning ZH-270 running into a pair of Merlin VSM Mx speakers.

Could I poll some views on a theoretical question: if I were to keep my preamp, what power amps do you think I should consider to pair with my LA150? Or are there any members here who have done this move and if so what amps did you buy and why??

All the best,

MontyW
montywoo

Showing 3 responses by pubul57

Music Reference RM9 works well (I have the at setup with your speakers)
The Pass XA30.5 worked very, very well for SS.
CAT JL2 (which I also own) is about as good as it gets wiht the Merlins and just about anything else.
I think you would also do well with an Amp from VAC or Manley.
And of course a Joule ot Atmasphere OTL.
There is a thread somewhere by SBank who made the move from Berning to Atmasphere. I think that thread pretty well covers the pluses and minuses of the Berning versus some of the obvious candidates (CAT, Joule, and Atmasphere)for working well with the Merlins. On ergonomics alone (not meant in any way to diminish its sonic achievements) the Berning is the easiest way to own a tube amp with minimal fuss and bother. I do think that you will find a move to one of the three amps mentioned and sonic step forward. Of course I know nothing of the new mega-buck Berning, that too may be a consideration.
Not suprised there is no answer from Blackwillard. The Merlins were great 15 years ago and have only gotten better - don't know how to weigh the "marginally" comment, other than to say each generation has been an improvement and the VSM is one of the most "sorted out" speakers out there. The improvement may be marginal in some sense, the VSMs were always good and never a piece of %#$*& that one could improve by leaps and bounds. As to the amp issue, I did own the CAT JL2 which is a great amp that can perfom great with a very wide range of speakers, and did perform very well with the Merlins. However, after trying a lot of other amps, I ended with the Atma-sphere M-60 which are easily the best performers I have had with the VSMs - hard to think you'll ever hear them bettered, though the Joule VZNs I expect would be formidable and to some ears may be preferable, especially if you already the very excellent Joule LA150 MKII preamp. I'm sold on the magic of OTLs; with the right speaker - the Merlin is. The Music Reference RM9 is also superb amplifier for a Class A/B, push-pull, tranformer based amplifier - both with EL34 or KT88s; I slightly prefer the KT88s in the RM9 with the Merlins