Merlin super bam How to connect.

paul, the debate between passive and active is not silly. if you use a speaker that is underdamped then you may prefer it. if you use a speaker that is well damped like the vsm/bam combination (without the 2nd and 3rd order harmonic distortion in the bass) then you will prefer an active. it depends on what is in your system. this is not an absolute...and should not be spoken of as such.
jmtc.
best, b

I agree. It is all about system building and matching between components, to the point where it come sometimes be a little misleading to even say what a particular tube sounds like absent any information of the circuit it is used in, I know the Roger's EL34 sound is different the CJs EL34 sound, so your left with the question, what does an EL34 sound like, and answer of course is, "it depends".

So I've been listening to the Goldpoint for a few hours, and without comparing at the this point, I would say that for $2,300 to get a Goldpoint ($312) and a Music Reference RM10MKII ($1950) you could pretty darn happy running a pair of VSMs. For $312, the Goldpoint, in the right system is "stupidgood". As good as the Joule or Atmasphere preamps? I don't know yet, but you would be surprised how darn good a $312 preamp can sound.

Is there any indication that the bam is on? 

Is there any indication that the bam is on?

The simple answer is no.  There is no power on indicator light built into the BAM