SS amp for Merlin VSMs?


Is there anyone who has found an SS amp that they prefer to tube amps with their Merlins? I have most recently owned CAT JL2, Atma-spehre M-60, Music Reference RM9 Special Edition and RM10MKII, Quicksilver V4s, and the Ars Sonum integrated (In each and everyone sound terrific with the Merlins). For SS, I did try Pass XA30.5 and First Watt Aleph J, but did not prefer them to my tube amps (I now use Music Reference RM10s - summer; and the Atma-spehere M60s the rest of the year).

So, any great SS sucess stories with the Merlins up against the kind of tube gear I have owned? Or is that just a elusive chase?
pubul57

Showing 16 responses by bobbyapalkovic

imho, the room/treatments, the speakers, the cables and connections, sources, line level and amplification with good clean ac is my order of preference/importance. they are placed in the order of the biggest possible change in sound for the least amount of money spent.
food for thought.
best, bobby at merlin
rleff, smooth spacious and perhaps not as robust sounding as the mc but very good.
best, b
s, i think hot mess is a poor choice of words.
i think you want to indicate a specific character don't you?
and again this whole thing is relative to the size of the room and its boundary reinforcement modes as to which one you will prefer. wider bandwidth will tend to relax the mids by comparison which is good for larger rooms. a more chunky sound will be more present which will tend to sound more right in smaller rooms with more boundary reinforcement modes.
jmtc.
bobby p
paul, we have a number of people using the sugden with different versions of the tsm.
they all speak very highly of it.
b
paul, i would agree and would love to hear what you think of the ss amps with autoformers. mc that is.
i liked them.
b
agreed paul, the room is most important especially to get it tuned to the way your speaker radiates energy. you must get it to the point where there is minimal reflected energy at the seating position, at least for my products. at shows you have seen drapes used to great advantage behind the speakers, room tunes for the early/primary reflection points and their corner tunes for damping mirrors and corners where the walls meet the ceiling.
it is like a traveling treatment show. i have used these for 15 years at all the shows hence, the usual look to my rooms. same goes for the work room at home.

best, b
p, we try to take the effects of the room out of play to make the product refinements more easily understood.
it also makes for a great basis of judgement from year to year.
best, b
s, until you hear the cardas clear you haven't heard anything. the golden ref is very good but much more ordinary imho.

and i think the woofer is actually a 7 incher and that may help you understand why it can do what it can do. :-)
the plinius is going to have very wide bandwidth and you obviously like that. tubes by comparison won't have it but they may sound fuller in the mid bass.

have fun.
best, b
masilu, the highs in the mme are transparent to what precedes them. the highs in this version have a very slight roll of so it is not the speaker. the recordings vary a lot, the silver wire you use or the room/set up may be causing this to happen.
if you want to discuss it, call me at 585 367 2390 and i will be glad to help you. i am sure we can get the sound to where you would be happy.
regards, b
s, i will say that personal tastes are a big factor in all of this. when you say the mids are warm describe this please? embodied, forward as opposed to drawn back and leaner?
this is going to be music dependant. what is your preference?
btw, i do not voice any of my speakers. i make them as linear and resolved as i can.
it sounds to me that you like a slightly reticent mid band that will be lightened up to a degree?
bobby p
tab, the master bam with the new power supply and reduced feedback still sounds better on battery but the difference is closer than ever before. many more use it on ac full time.
pub, yes u can but why would u? the battery opps still sounds best on critical listening. except maybe in a bigger room or to a few here. ac opps sounds slightly reticent in the mids, fuller in the central bass and brighter. bettery opps sound more continuous and focused with more expanse. coherence and truth verses for well executed smaller rooms vs fuller tone and more defintion perhaps for a bigger room.
bobby p
hi gentlemen,
the vsm is slightly rolled in the hf so it will not stick out there. they also sound more continuous from top to bottom than what you have presently. focal's bbc style response (mid range dip) can make the bass sound lumpy and the hf sound thin or pushed. jmtc.
use a good copper speaker wire and a single run with merlin jumpers for the best sound and to balance the hf and lf.
bobby and thanks to us and larry