|
Audio Asylum Thread Printer Get a view of an entire thread on one page |
For Sale Ads |
97.104.174.230
In Reply to: RE: Standmount recommendation ...up to $4,000 posted by pc123v on March 25, 2014 at 20:45:16
The latest Merlin TSMs are a solid contender. I own the larger floor-standing model (VSM) but have owned previous versions of the TSMs. They are fantastic sounding speakers.
Follow Ups:
I can vouch for the latest Merlin TSM MMM Black Magic. I've had them for a couple of months now. They were special right out of the box, and sound noticeably more full and relaxed, particularly in the bass, after break-in. Put some quality, uncolored components upstream of these and you will be amazed at what they can do. Imaging, layering, speed, detail, balance, and convincing, realistic timbre. Seamless integration between the woofer and tweeter, particularly with the new crossover that is Black Magic. The highest praise I can bestow: what comes out of them sounds more like actual music than "good sound."
BTW I've also owned the VSM's since 2007, and have kept up with the upgrades. The new TSM's do not disappoint even my jaded ear - they are truly remarkable.
If you get confused, listen to the music play (Garcia/Hunter)
Hi August West,
I heard that the Merlins only do well with top quality upstream equipment. Is that true? My Hyperion monos are only 18w per channel and my cd player is a Resolution Audio Opus 21. Both around 8 years old. Your thoughts?
No, I wouldn't agree with that. It's true that you need to stay away from overly harsh sounding equipment because the results can be irritating. But I sometimes use a 40 Watt solid state NAD receiver (7240PE, receiver version of 3240PE integrated c. 1988, about $100 to $200 on eBay) when my fancy 120 Watt tube monoblocks are being upgraded or repaired, and every time I plug it in I'm tickled with how nice the system sounds. If anything Bobby has tried to get me to hold back from buying upstream components costing thousands of dollars each. But when I do, I can always hear the difference.Moderately powered tube amps that would sound very good to excellent with the Merlins include the Music Reference RM10 MkII (~25 wpc Class A, about $2400), which I own, and the Atma-Sphere S-30, a 30 Watt OTL that is more expensive than the Music Reference.
It's also important to find speaker cables that bring out the best in the Merlins. You need something that's well balanced, of course, with particular attention to not losing the bass as some of the more so-called "tranparent" or "resolving" cables may tend to do.
Toughest thing for me was a preamp. I tried Joule Electra and found it too "romantic" or colored. After trying a few others, I ended up with a homemade preamp designed by a friend of mine.
Hope this isn't too late to be helpful!
If you get confused, listen to the music play (Garcia/Hunter)
Edits: 01/07/15 01/07/15
Post a Followup:
FAQ |
Post a Message! |
Forgot Password? |
|
||||||||||||||
|
This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors: