Any experience... Merlin+Wadia+Rowland

I had the Rowland Model 10 driving the Merlin VSM-SEs at one point. I also used several other top amps on the Merlins, including BAT VK-60, Fi 300B SET, Atma-Sphere M60 MkII OTLs, and Levinson 334. None of them really worked, the Merlins are fatiguing speakers long-term. I replaced them first with Meadowlarks and now with Kharmas, both speakers are much more enjoyable than Merlins. YMMV.

PS--I tried various Cardas, JPS, Analysis Plus, Nordost, TG Audio, Tara Labs, and Transparent Audio cables with the Merlins. Nothing cured the "in-your-face" nature of the Merlins, though the Analysis Plus was (surprisingly to me) the least objectionable of the lot, even more than Bobby's long-term reference, Cardas Golden Cross and now Golden Reference.

tubegroover: mit cables are about the most colored cables in existence. ditto for HT truthlinks, the treble is waaaaayyy rolled off with those. the only people I've run across happy with the Merlins long term use amps like cj and EAR as two examples. do you not see the pattern here? if it takes colored components to live with the speakers, then the speakers are fundamentally flawed. period.