Merlin vsm with BAM between pre and power

sometimes we'll use it between the pre and power.

othertimes we like it in the tape loop.

oftentimes we'll put in right between the source and pre.

every time we love it.

belles 150hr is a very musical ss amp that is pretty much perfect in every meaningful way with the merlins i've owned, and could very easily end your search, if that's what you're looking for. its very close to the magical flow of a nice tubed amp.

but, if you're looking to be swapping gear alot maybe stay away from the belles, because you'll have to spend alot more monies to get any marginal improvement.

tubed ive found even more satisfaction with atma's otls, the m60 are wonderful, and the ma-1 magical with my vsm.

i believe you will have a hard time finding an amp that will not work well with your spkrs. also loads of info has been shared on the various online forums to help point you in the right direction.

have fun!

audio aero pre is only OK. my audio aero has the pre option too.

id suggest that before you upgrade your merlins, you get good and familiar with what you have/get and then make the move, or not.

i'd also suggest you consider a nice tubed preamp and tube amp to really help with the smiles! for example, perhaps you have ever noticed that ALLmost all electric guitar players uses tubed amps? ever wonder why...there is a reason. ok, i'll give you a hint..the sound! woops, that's the answer.

i've had loads of like with atam mp-3, and even more with mp-1. having the option to tube roll in your pre will also allow you to further fine tune your system to your satisfaction.

good luck

Pubul57..don't forget that you can always pull output tubes from your atma's, less power, but less heat too! then when you wanna unleash the beast...

pubul57, indeed. i was VERY happy for a very long time with my m60/mp-3. However, I almost always noticed a certain...something...and well, considering that my taste in music is all across the board, and as i was a sick fool...i mean audiophile, i made the move to the ma-1/mp-1

i thought maybe some headroom was all i was missing with the m60, but with the ma-1....wow!!! all that AND more, heat too! also enhanced experience at lower listening levels.

agree also that the merlins are an easy spkr to drive and most any amp will do.

i've found that "otl watts" need to be aplenty though, for...better...results.

there are no major issues, so relax...and enjoy! you own a major great speaker system!

for what its worth, i've also even run my audio aero w/built in pre stage, to my bam, to my amps. with great success!

the differences in placement, in my experience are subtle but noticable, and only you can determine what you like best.

there will be no problem in any configuration, b@m expressed his thoughts on the matter, and I've found his input most valuable. So go ahead and experiment and decide what YOU like best. thats the beauty of the sport.

i should add that I've noticed that when running on 100% battery, when the charge on the batteries gets way LOW the resultant distortion and, what? dc? "noise" is more-so noticable when the bam is between pre and amp...than when bam is in the tape loop or between source and pre. just an observation. obviously, we need to be ahead of the curve and should not strive to let such occurances happen, but...sometimes i've fallen asleep while listening to music etc...

you can't go wrong, and you are the only judge.

great luck and enjoy you great spkrs!