I agree with all that Jamesv says above. I recently bought VSM-MXe to replace my VSM-MX. Why did I make the change? Well, it seems to me that every update to this classic speaker has been an improvement. I love the Merlins, so if there was an improvement to be had, why not? The new speaker looks the same (got it in the same piano black), in reality, this speaker has basically looked the same for the past 20 years; the upgrades tend to be "behind" the scenes. In this case, as far as I know, the basic change was from a leaded to lead free solder - which may not sound like much, till you think about the fact that the entire music signal must pass through all those connections. This is a mature, evolved speaker with years of testing and refinement to wring out the best musical performance, or one man's vision of it.
I previously wrote a review on audioreview.com in August 2005, since what was true then remains so I will not repeat what I said then, but the speaker has indeed been improved. I find the new speaker is even more cohesive. By that I mean the integratation between drivers is even more seemless, like a single driver or electrostatic. But even more important, it is cohesive from bass to treble. There is no apparent emphasis on any particular part of the spectrum, it does not empahsize this at the expense of that. The speaker is spectrally neutral, neutral in the best sense of the word. It does not impose itself on the music. What do I mean? Is the speaker bassy or bass light? Does the speaker have a deep sound stage/ or flat? Is localization of instruments precise, or blurred? Are she speakers warm or cold? Does the speaker get timbre just right? or do altos sound like tenors? etc. The answer to all those contracdictory questions is yes. But the key is that these characteristic don't belong to the speaker. They belong to the recording, to the source equipment. This is what I mean when I say these speakers do not impose themselves. They open themselves to the recording and sources - they reveal. Every recording sounds different through these speakers, that is there gift. They let the music come through as recorded, with little sonic signature apparent from recording to recording, and so they will live up to whatever you put before them. A great recording, great source equipment, great amp and pre - well through the Merlins, very few speakers will sound better. The new Merlins are even better at this magical skill of letting what comes before it speak for itself.
The "new" speakers do everything a little better, but the one trait that seems most noticible is the ability of the speakers to disappear and release the notes. They are more effortless than before, and the bass, which is always found to be very good and satisfying is better yet - more natural, present, faster, more palpable. In short a great American, classic speaker has upped the bar yet again. Don't let the fact that there are just two little drivers fool you - that is part of their brilliance, with the BAM -these are in the upper echelon.
Many professional reviewers, when they really like something, will tell you they bought the review piece. Well, I'm not a professional reviewer, but I do love listening to music, and I bought these not once, but twice - well sort of. I've stopped looking, these speakers do it for me, and if you are a music lover, you owe to yourself to audition these speakers. If you own an earlier version, you should consider the upgrade. You already own a great speaker, MXe simply takes it even further.
