Merlin TSM with Manley Mahi-Mahi?

Other than for pop/rock and perhaps movies at higher volumes perhaps, probably a reasonable move for a smaller room, assuming it matches well with the Manley pre-amp and you are up for dealing with a tube power amp.

Tube amps appear to be popular with TSMs, so I would expect good results there in general.

Reb, from what I recall, at least on paper, the weak link with what you have currently may be the match of the Manley pre-amp to that particular BC amp, with 20K input impedance as I recall. It may sound fine as is but I would expect things would be more articulate and controlled with a Class D amp designed to work well with tube preamps. These typically have 60K input impedance unbalanced or higher. I'd expect a tube amp to provide similar benefit and mate well with the tube pre-amp.

From manley website:

Mahi Input Impedance: 110 Kohm

That alone will make a difference in the sound for the better I would wager relative to the BC S300 (20 Kohm I believe, though stock Icepower is only 10K ohm as I recall), perhaps more so even than tubes versus SS or Class D technology in of itself.

BC ref series Icepower amps cost more but have 100Kohm unbalanced input impedance. I can vouch that this works extremely well with an ARC sp-16 tube pre-amp, which is why I believe BC ref series and others like Wyred do mods to stock Icepower for this, ie to work better with tube pre-amps.

BTW, I have strongly considered the Manley Stringray integrated as the next amp I would try in my second (A/V) system if I ever decide to invest more in that rig. I always use a sub on that rig which makes using a tube amp with my various inherently tube unfriendly speakers like the Dyns and OHMs a viable option, I think.

Rebbi,

Yes I recall that vaguely, but the real impedance can still vary widely by frequency and cannot be known to that degree of detail for certain unless measured or speced out perhaps at different frequencies rather than just a single generalized number, though 50ohm output is a very good number for a tube pre-amp in general FWIW.

Nevertheless, jumping from 10K input impedance to 10X that with a different amp will still likely have a positive effect I would wager, though perhaps less so than if the pre-amp did not appear to be well towards the favorable end of things in general already.

You'll only know for sure when you listen and compare.

Though, a tube preamp with relatively low output impedance feeding an amp with 100K+ input impedance should safely put things well into the "green" zone without doubt at least on paper, in that both numbers that determine the ratio are both now well into the green zone as well.

Reb,

I think you are approaching the end of your journey at this point and are not far from your audio nirvana.

If you are not there after this amp change, the next thing I would suggest is considering adding a powered sub, if needed.

That should pretty much cover all the possible bases I will wager.

Adding a sub is a natural and cost effective step for most monitor owners that want to go to a more full range sound.

I know that there are some that are anti sub as well.

And there are those that do not care about the lowest octaves of sound as well.

Different strokes.

I've gone all three ways at various times and have found each to have its distinct advantages with little downside if done well.

"Rebbi I thought you might be ending up in Audio Nirvana"

Well, let's wait until the initial euphoria wears off and see about that....

good chance though.....