Merlin vsm mme owners, Cardas cabling Question.

It's funny to see how kooky people get about this stuff. With over 30 years of the dreaded and often incurable Audioselpalitis, I've learned to take every opinion with a grain of salt.

However, I have a pair of TSM-XMr's on order and Bobby has been careful in explaining why he recommends one item over another, including the Cardas cable. His suggestions are well supported by a good number of owners.

Does this mean no other wire or amp or speaker stand works well with the Merlins? Of course not. Bobby has his favorites and others will sometimes not agree with his. As I told Bobby when we initially spoke, I first heard an older set of Merlin TSM's with a very old Creek integrated amp. It was connected with monster cable from bestbuy and fed by a Marantz DVD player. The sound was utterly musical. But Bobby hopes we all would get even more from our speakers and that kind of passion is always welcome.

Cheers,

Rob

i actually have a great many personal favorites in the way of ancillaries to use with my speakers.
best, b>>>

Bobby, the above statement is a good one. But then, as many Merlin owners (and future owners) would like to know...what other cables do you like with your speakers? What other associated gear to you feel mates well?
I wonder if it would be sane and sound for a designer to list his or her favorites and post such a list, even if it's far from complete?

On a related note, I've never heard a "bad" speaker cable. I've only heard better ones, which is to say that my Magnepans sounded fantastic with Monster Cable and then even better with Audioquest wire, MIT and Anti. None of it sounded bad, truncated, smeared, bloated or anything dramatic in spite of warnings that my Maggies could only sing with a few types of wire, amps and CD players.

Still, you're the man behind a highly regarded speaker and what YOU like is going to carry weight as most buyers don't know 1/10th of what you do about audio. And some will even be annoyed at the none-too-subtle assertions by some owners that they are doing their gear a grand disservice by not using/liking what they do.

The audiophile life is hell!

Cheers,

Rob

9rw, you sound like someone with an axe to grind. You owned Merlin speakers a LONG time ago it seems and the product has been reviewed quite recently with strong observations that the evolution has been more than subtle.
Bobby and others have reported that they like certain associated gear, but I have spoken to quite a few owners of Merlin speakers and learned that they are enjoyed when mated to a wide variety of gear. You speak of a "path" that you suggest is more problematic than it's worth. Clearly a HUGE amount of owners and reviewers don't agree.
Interesting that you mention the Totem, a lovely speaker that is quite colored compared to the Merlins.

Rob

Unfortunately, he made his best speakers in the early 1990s.>>>

I'm afraid you do have an axe to grind with the above statement. I've had the chance to listen to an "old" set of Merlin TSM speakers vs. the quite recent MMe version. Right away the MMe was a better speaker, more coherent and flatter sounding. Both sets were powered by Rogue gear.

Are you even aware that he's changed the tweeters and altered cabinet construction?

But it is your comment about spectral balance deficiencies that rings truly false. EVERY speaker suffers from these and everyone tunes their system to THEIR taste. As I said, the Totems are COLORED far beyond the Merlins. It is the Merlins quest for tonal accuracy, transparency and resolution that drive owners to further tweak their systems. I understood this very well when I recently compared a pair of Focal Diablos to the Merlins. The Merlins were more balanced by a clear margin, though the Focals "impressed" more initially with their presentation. It was the Merlins that sounded more like real instruments in the room.

Finally you speak of value. High end audio has very little to do with value. It's a pursuit of arguably ever diminishing returns relative to cost. Since the majority of reviewers and owners don't seem to agree with you, perhaps you should let it go. The comment about his speakers being at their best may only be your opinion, but it's patently absurd. Your only defense of your position is that everyone is caught up in some sort of audiophilic religious fever over the Merlins. Yet virtually every review is in awe of these designs used with a wide variety of gear. My friend recently auditioned Merlin VSM's in LI and said they were in the top 10 speakers he's heard at any price.

You should consider letting this go. Bobby makes a high end niche product that is highly respected. Who exactly are you? Just one guy with an opinion and that's all. I know people who prefer Canton to Snell. And they're entitled to say that. But when you say that Bobby built his best speakers 15 years ago it begins to sound like you have an issue with HIM and not the product.

Rob

As for the alleged night-and-day sonic differences he's achieved by taking the lead out and through other tweaks, please provide me with even one example of another speaker that uses the same drivers>>>

Frankly, I'm SHOCKED that you asked this. My previous speakers, Magnepan 1.6's were altered quite completely by changes in the fuses!
Improving the bracing in Spica TC60's made the speaker utterly world class...same drivers.
Heck, even my old Heybrook's sang better with the wiring changed. Same drivers and cabinet.

There is a big industry built around this. Fine speakers respond better to small changes because they are more revealing. On the other hand I don't worry that much about cables and associated gear for my Definitive Technology home theater system.

When I get the Merlin TSM-MXrs I will have the chance to put a older pair on the same stands with the same amp and CD player. The new version has a lot of changes. Do actually think they'll sound the same? Ridiculous.

I will post a full and detailed review with photos when they arrive.

Rob

I notice in previous posts that you're predominantly a home theater kind of guy. That's nice.>>>

Yup. I surely is! Hee Haw! Let's all watch Top Gun and Showgirlz!

Good grief, dude. I've got a dedicated theater with a 10 foot wide screen. But that doesn't have anything to do with the refined speakers I've used...from Canton and Fried TL to Royd, Heybrook and B&W. I'm new to tubes, but I've heard and owned a lot of gear.

If you don't know that Totems and MOST speakers are colored, then I suggest you attend some live concerts and recordings. Then try actually recording a live piano or cello and play it back on Totems, Revel, Focal, ML, and a lot of other speakers out there. They're all colored to varying extents.

The Merlin and a few others are among the most neutral speakers I've heard. You're free to disagree, but maybe it's in bad taste to bad mouth Bobby's efforts, especially since no one is really agreeing with you. Since you are not in agreement with most experts and experienced audiophiles, why push the envelope?

I don't care for Bryston amps, but I don't run around bashing them because I KNOW plenty of people enjoy their products. In audio, dead weight finds it's own level. If a product is smoke and mirrors people usually figure it out. With loudspeakers you can't fool anyone. And few speakers on the planet have the universal acclaim as do the Merlins. That's amazing since he is up against companies like B&W who have advertising budgets just as big as their R&D budgets. And yet the little TSM's are superior to every B&W monitor I've heard.

You simply sound frustrated with Merlin or Bobby or the world. Still worse, you don't own the product, which everyone agrees has seen many changes.
This is my last response to you on this matter.

Cheers,

Rob

Right you are, Bobby! I made my LAST comment...and being a "home theater kinda guy" I will now use my new Manley Stingray as a center channel stand while I watch Rambo III.

Rob

Bobby....

Thus far the speaker wire I've got on hand to try....

1) Audioquest type 4 3.5 meters
2) Anti cables 3 meters
3) Audioquest rocket 44 3.5 meters

I'm trying to borrow some Cardas stuff as well, but I really want the speakers & amp to be broken in before I dish out for cable. Based on what I've heard from some owners I have some hope for the anti cable. What do you have to say about the Anti Cable stuff?

Thanks as usual...

Rob

I agree 100%. The first time I heard the Merlins it was with a Creek amp that was OLD. Right off the bat I knew they were something special and I had barely any idea of what Merlin was at that point.

I was close to replacing my Magnepan 1.6's with Revel M22's or one of the Dynaudio monitors. Now I have the Merlins on order and I can't wait.

Rob