Speaker Asylum: REVIEW: Merlin Music Inc. VSM-MM Speakers by genefass General speaker questions for audio and home theater.

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Model:	VSM-MM
Category:	Speakers
Suggested Retail Price:	$7700
Description:	Two way floorstanding speaker with Battery-Bam
Manufacturer URL:	Merlin Music Inc.
Model Picture:	View

Review by genefass ( A ) on June 29, 2005 at 13:25:04 IP Address: 199.74.155.50

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I’ve owned the Merlin VSM-SA since 2002 and have been quite pleased with the product. But even very good can always get better, and this past fall, I decided to send these speakers back to Merlin Music Systems and have them (and the BAM) upgraded to the current VSM-MM product.

I didn’t exactly know what to expect from the upgrade and didn’t want to get my expectation set too high. However, after having the MM version in place for over 6 months, I can say without any reservation, that this speaker exceeds my highest expectations.

I listen to a wide range of music, everything from quiet jazz and folk to hard hitting rock. My desire is to have a system that can deliver the resolution and musical nuance that is so apparent in jazz and folk recordings but still be able to deliver a clean, powerful rock listening experience. The VSM-MM really can do this!

On the quieter music side, a couple CDs I’ve used to evaluate the MMs are Pat Metheny’s “One Quiet Night” and Ricky Lee Jones’s “Naked Songs”. The first difference I noted with the MMs was a significant improvement in the breath and depth of the soundstage. I’d close my eyes and it is if the sound forms a curve that I describe as sitting in the bow of a large boat. The very nice image is in front of you at the point of the bow, with the sound stage wrapping around you to the port and stern sides. The image and resolution is wonderful. I listen to a lot of live music and have always felt the magic in guitar music comes from the ability of the musician to directly touch the string and convey very subtle musical feelings by the way he or she engages the string. There are very subtle but impactful musical cues in this that I often find missing in recorded music. The MMs, however, do a wonderful job of presenting these subtle cues to the listener, creating a very real, engaging and natural “live” listening experience.

My gold standard for rock music sound systems is the live concert UltraSound system that the Grateful Dead used back in their hay-day. They set out to and achieved a system that could deliver gobs of power without the slightest hint of compression or distortion of any kind. This was truly an obsession of the band’s and of sound system’s creators. The Merlin’s, I’m very happy to report, do achieve this and exceed my gold standard. They can play very loud while also delivering clean, powerful sound. These speakers just don’t compress. It is a very stunning experience. My current favorite demo CD in this vein is Wilco’s latest “A Ghost Is Born” (I also feel this is the best rock CD to come out in many years). Jeff Tweety goes from playing some very quite stuff, to out-there electronic stuff to some just very hard hitting rock. He also has a voice that is very nuanced and expressive. The Merlin’s beautifully reproduce all this and do it all in great form. Tweety’s vocals a very well imaged and resolute and impacting without sounding pushed (something I find with most other “rock” speakers). The loud parts are loud, clean and big without any hint of compression. The experience really leaves you with a smile on your face! I don’t know how Bobby at Merlin was able to get this all to play so well in one box but somehow, he did.

All in all, I’m extremely satisfied with the MMs. This is a speaker I recommend whole heartedly to anybody, no matter what their musical tastes is.

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Product Weakness:	NONE
Product Strengths:	-resolute, natural 3D image -big smooth sound stage -faithfully reproduced subtle, musical nuance and cues -plays loud and clean

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Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier:	Aragon 3002
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	B&K Reference 50
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	Denon
Speakers:	Merlin VSM-MM
Cables/Interconnects:	anti-cable
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	jazz, folk, rock
Type of Audition/Review:	Product Owner

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