I've always preferred the sound of a really good monitor speaker paired with a really good subwoofer. A little over a year ago, however, I happened to order some Magnepan MMGs. I had just gone through a divorce and I had recently sold my Paradigm studio gear, so I felt this was a nice, inexpensive solution at the time. Well, I found myself really drawn to the realism and open, airy, BIG sound of the Maggies.
Fast forward to today....I'm really wanting to make a very nice upgrade to my system, and bigger Maggies are the frontrunner right now. I've listened to a lot of other gear in the meantime, but the only thing I really found appealing was the Von Schweikert stuff. I got a deal on some of the little VR-1s, so I brought 'em home to play with them. They are very very good, but I find myself missing the qualities I listed above.
Well, I've known about Merlin for a while being that I grew up in Rochester, NY. I've never actually heard them, but the TSMs are within my budget, and after reading several reviews that described their qualities (specifically the 3-D soundstage, transparency, and detail), I can't help but be tempted to pick up a pair and give them a try.
Does anyone have prior experience with Maggies to the point that you could offer some feedback on how they would compare with the Merlins? Am I too far gone as a planar guy to ever go back to ANY monitor speaker?
Thanks,
AJZ