Gallo 3.5 vs Merlin VSM-MXe

"one day you need to hear it and experience its "total" potential. "

I'll be happy to eat my words if I hear these someday and they redefine the limits of what a smaller monitor can do in terms of weight and impact with music that demands you be able to feel it as much as hear it for teh full experience.

Monitors may do well at plumbing the depths of the low end to a decent extent, but all good ones I am aware of tend to start to roll off at at higher frequencies than good true full ranges so the energy delivered in the lower octaves may still be quite good, but not the best, even in a small room and with a circuit like the BAMM providing a boost.

Typically, the only way to really know what is missing is to experience it first.

Also, I will say that for a lot of genres, like smaller ensemble jazz and classical, it is not a big issue. For most else, it can be and often is, I believe, at least with better recordings.

That's really the only limitations I hear with very good monitors compared to larger designs typically, even in a smaller room where I have experimented with both.

Mapman, I think that is a pretty good take overall. I will say that within its limitations, though suprisingly minor given its "small" size, the Merlins do what they do so well, that I don't ever really think about what they don't do that a larger, more complex multi-driver box might do better, and few of them can match the Merlin in those areas it excels - but like anything else, it might not be the speaker for everyone. As Daniel Webster said of Dartmouth, "it is small, but there are those that love it.":)

I would add also that for smaller rooms, monitors and other designs that more closely approximate a point source tend to perform best overall in general.

Also, I believe monitors + sub(s) is a very practical and modular solution when needed/desired.

We've been waiting for a subwoofer for the VSM sans BAM - not sure it would be better overall, but one would expect deeper, more dynamic bass, but perhaps at a cost sonically in other ways.

Mapman wrote.."....However, most very good small monitors I am familiar with do not go that low. For example, I use a pair of Dynaudio COntour 1.3mkii monitors in a 12X 12 room. I think these do things down below 50hz to some extent. VEry nice in that room! Until you compare to larger floorstanders that also fit well into that room and go a bit lower. Then you notice you are missing something with music that benefits from response in the lower octaves...."

Mapman, I recently went from a pair of Contour 1.3mkii's (which I had for 10 years) to VSM-MMi. Didn't realize what I was missing, especially with regards to the increased bass extension and I don't even have the master BAM/RC's. That from a speaker which height/width/depth wise is virtually identical to the 1.3 mkii on stands.