Very thoughtful and enlightening review!!! |
I can't see a sub solving the problem of a thin sounding speaker, it might help a little, but if the fundamental design of the speaker is flawed there is only so much a sub can do. The balancing act of detail and a too lean sound is a fragile one and the TSM's allow one to have their cake and eat it. This is where a talented speaker designer can make all the difference. |
I have compared them to many different brands including, Trinagle, Reynaud, ProAc, Spendor, Harbeth and others and I prefer my Merlin TSM-MXE's. They are really incredible monitors and I would recommend them to anyone. They are extremely well judged and do everything so well including bass which so many monitors have problems with and tonal accuracy where they are right on the money. If a speaker is not tonally accurate I don't feel there is any reason to own it and it is not high end. I have never heard another speaker get the tonal accuracy and transparency so correct and maintain the proper weight and impact of instruments and voices. In other words what good is super transparency if the speakers are thin sounding? |
I agree with you Robbob about the great sound the Merlin TSM's deliver, I own TSM-MXE's, and a person who hasn't owned or spent a good amount of time with Merlin speakers viewing the comments of their owners as possessing a cult-like devotion to Merlin speakers. It is not a cult, but the appreciation of a terrific product that gives them a great deal of enjoyment. There are some who always have to criticize because a product is praised by many and so many seem very happy with their purchase. It is fine if someone tries a product and finds it is not for him or her or prefers another product,no speaker is for everyone, but I feel some people are just contrarians. I appreciate the Merlins because they enhance my enjoyment of one of life's great pleasures-music. |
Just because many people appreciate an excellent product that gives them pleasure and they share their feelings doesn't mean it is a cult. A cult insinuates to me an excessive admiration. The admiration of Merlin speakers by its owners is justified because they are great speakers and have developed over time a large following because of so many satisfied customers. |
I guess if you read all of the positive comments by owners of Merlins without having heard them, you could feel it is sort of like a cult because many owners are very passionate about their speakers, but because the speakers are so good once you spend some time with them you realize it is not a cult, but a valid appreciation of an outstanding product. Before I owned my TSM's I had only heard Merlins at a few Stereophile shows and I never got a real good listen because the room was always so crowded and even with a very bad listening spot they still sounded very nice, but until I owned them I didn't fully appreciate how good they are and understood the passion people had for them. |
Hello Robbob. I am using a Thule Space DVA250B CD/DVDA player and a TRL modded Sony 900 CD/SACD player. Both players sound excellent. I have Skylan 2 post stands and JWN EL34 push pull 35wpc amp and a Jolida JD50A passive. The JWN amp is excellent for the money, $750., and a few reviews are listed under in tube amp section of The Audio Asylum reviews and the JD50A passive is a nice unit for $250. especially since it has a remote, but I will buy better electonics when the funds allow. Despite these relatively modest electronics the Merlins sound fantastic with all types of music. |
This is why my next upgrade will be not be to better electronics, but to the current model Merlins TSM's. |
I sold my Triangle Cometes around six months ago and I thought they were fine speakers, especially for the money, and did well at low volume levels, but the Merlins clearly best the Cometes in every area I can think of including low volume listening which is important to me because I live in an apartment building. I auditioned the Triangle Titus at In Living Stereo in NYC a few years ago, but I actually preferred the Cometes of course I only spent about an hour with them so it is not a really thorough evaluation. I think the electronics used were the Quicksilver amp and preamp. |
Mapman, I think they bested the Cometes, a speaker that I feel is an excellent high value monitor, very clearly in just about every area. They are much more transparent, have much greater tonal accuracy, a bigger and more natural sound stage and better imaging, much better bass and I am not talking about quantity here, but the Merlins have tighter and better detailed and much more satisfying bass. I felt the bottom end was not as natural with the Cometes with a little void in that area, but I have that feeling in most monitors with them either having a sluggish midbass emphasis or just a not sufficient bottom end. The Merlins are much more balanced than the Triangles having superior performance from top to bottom without emphasis on any particular area, the music just flows and they disappear much more than the Cometes or just about any monitor I am familar with. That is just off the top of my head. |
I used to own the Ohm Micro Talls and they are terrific little speakers with the added benefit of a very small footprint. That being said the Merlins are in another league in every area I can think of, but again I feel Ohm makes an excellent speaker and I don't want to knock this underrated company. |
Mapman you are right there is a big price difference, but the is also a big difference in performance. Of course they offer very different designs and sounds so as always personal preference is the key and I gave mine. The person I sold the Micro Talls to is using them for fronts in a home theater system with the Ohm 2000's and he said there is a strong family resemblance. John from Ohm is a real gentleman and makes a very fine product, I could walk to his factory in ten minutes from my workplace and I wish him success as I do Bobby from Merlin because they are both fine gentleman who give great customer support and produce great products. Ohm and Merlin are two great American companies that are easy to root for. |
I found the Ohms like power. My 85wpc Unison Research Unico sounded good, but my Thule IA252B 250wpc integrated sounded better. The Merlins like tubes and I prefer tubes, butI tried the TSM's with my Redgum RGI35 35wpc solid state amp and it sounded very good, but I still preferred my JWN 35 WPC EL34 push pull. |
I also used an Onkyo 9555,class D, with the Ohms and it was a very good match. As far as Merlin goes they only make two models,one monitor and one floorstander, which are both two way designs and have been continuously evolving over the years with great skill and devotion and as you say Bobby provides great guidance with the speaker positioning and associated components as well as just about any other audio question and the bottom line is customers are very happy with the results so word gets around and Merlin thrives. |
I agree tubes don't work well with the OHMS, but the Unison Research Unico hybrid did a nice job. I thought the Triangle Cometes performed much better with tubes. |
I found that following the directions mad a BIG difference in sound. |
Yes the TSM directions and positioning the speakers correctly makes a big difference. Even a slight adjustment can make a big difference and the angled wood tool,I forgot the name, that comes with the speaker is easy to use so even a klutz like me can get it right. |
I got some Supra Classic 6.0 and I think it works very well with the TSMs and for the money it offers fantastic value. Thank you Rebbi. I think this will suffice until I can afford some Cardas cable. Also Lars at Sfojn Audio is a pleasure to do with. |
Hififile,
Thank you for the info, maybe the Supra 3.4 is the logical upgrade from the Supra Classic 6.0. |
BTW it is Sjofn HiFi not Sjofn. |
