Merlin TSM comparisons

Very thoughtful and enlightening review!!!

Also I am interested specifically in opinions regarding which TSM configurations might offer improvement over the monitors in my system in that the cost of TSMs appear to fall nicely between the cost of what I own and the cost of one of there reference monitors I have heard, the Magico Mini.

The monitors in my system currently are Triangle Titus XS that retailed for $500 new when I bought them in the mid 90's and the Dynaudio Contour 1.3mkii's that retailed for about $2500 I believe about ten years ago.

Mapman, two of the speakers I considered early on were the Revel M22 (I had previously enjoyed the M20) and the Dynaudio Contour s1.4.

I generally don't like racing speakers and all three were heard in different rooms with different gear. My preference, by a large margin obviously went to the Merlins. They achieve a boxless quality that remains unmatched in my experience. I haven't heard Triangle Titus, so I can't comment on those.

Rob

Robbob,

I find the Triangle Titus to achieve a "boxless quality" more readily than the Dyn Contour 1.3mkiis, however I have found that both can achieve similar levels in this regard with proper setup and suitable amplification. The Triangles exceeded my prior Maggies in this regard off of decent but less than high end perhaps Carver gear. The Dynaudios required different and more costly amplification to achieve similar results.

The Triangles are perhaps one of the most clear and resolving speakers I have heard at low to moderate volume, competitive even with Magico in this regard.

At higher volumes, the Dyns tend to clearly outperform them in terms of top to bottom tonal balance.

I'd love to do some a/b comparing between what I have and good small Merlins. The nice thing about small monitors is that they are easy to ttransport to facilitate this kind of thing.

Any Merlin dealers in Baltimore/DC metro area?

Mapman,

I can honestly say that I owned a lot of speakers that sounded "boxless", but the Merlin' vanishing act is even more absolute.

Most speakers have some level of beaming, however subtle, that shatters the illusion. Again, I'd like to point out that the Contours are splendid and a lot of fun to listen to, but they sound less refined to my ears overall.

I don't know where you can hear the Merlins, but if you ever get near Mahopac a bit upstate in NY, you can come hear mine.

Rob