Also consider that the Totem's you're considering actually require tubes moreso than the Merlins - the Totem aluminum tweeter is going to sound smoother and less fatiguing if tube amplification is used, whereas the Merlin soft dome tweeter sounds fine with good SS. In the past I had great results with the Magnum Dynalab receiver with the TSMs, and the other Simaudio amps (SimAudio co-designed the original amp secton for Magnum Dynalab's receiver) would work well also (for example I owned the I-5 integrated from SimAudio and it sounded great with the TSMs). You will not be disappointed by the TSMs - I also bought them before hearing them, and the result was that I was simply amazed at how great they sounded, and this was 10 years ago. I now own the VSM-MXe with the new Master BAM and RCs, but I could definitely "get by" with the latest TSMs - both Merlins are fabulous music makers and the closest thing to musical truth I've ever heard.
solid state amp for merlin tsm's ?
I am thinking of ordering a pair of merlin tsm's, they will be used in a seperate 2 channel setup for music , I would like to use a solid state amp with them and am looking for sugestions, also, I could integrate my subs with them and am looking for advice on this also, thanks