Pubul57... My 94db Tannoys almost do everything on my list. But, I'm thinking about selling them and trying to get a little closer to nirvana. And, like your Merlins, they are on a short list of reasonably priced speakers (say less than $10k) that get allot right.
You solve the efficiency problem with OTL's. For my tastes, they just don't have enough what I call "weight of tone". Other people may call it "color," which is cool... I'm not offended. It's what I like and what sounds more live to me. Anyway, to get what I'm looking for, I need to go higher efficiency to play nice with my PP 45/2a3 amps.
Yes, I realize that I'm never going to get a Wilson Max like bass slam with low watt amps whereas you probably can with OTLs. But, my priority is that I HAVE to get the tone right and then I go from there.
So, I know I can get 3 out 4 absolutely right on my list but the trade off is that I am never going to have giant bass slam. Which sucks because live music is all about big dynamic bass. But thats the way it goes and life isnt always fair. Ive always been a little bit jealous of OTL lovers because you get to have it all.
So, if I can get good mid bass (which the Tannoys have in spades- btw) and tinker around with some powered subs, I think I can get pretty happy.
Now, if I was a big orchestra fan, my priorities would be completely different and I imagine big Solid State amps and corresponding speakers would be great.
As you may devise, I don't believe in THE absolute sound just MY absolute sound.
