Wasn't the TSM-MXE designed for tube amps and the TSM-MMI (owned by the OP) for SS amps?
TSM MMii..........amp pairing??
Recently I purchased a pair of second hand Merlin TSM MMi speakers. I must say I am very excited about the speakers but have hit a few road blocks... what amp to use and the bass response in my room. Originally when I first got the speakers I had an older cheap Onkyo receiver (the sound is kind of dark, very laid back and has allot of bass). On a whim I went out and bought a Yamaha RX- A720 just the hold me over till I found the right amp. The Yamaha allowed me to see a glimpse of the detail, soundstage, clarity the Merlin are capable of putting out, but the sound was just too bright and the bass was horribly lacking. I returned the Yamaha, and went and bought Cambridge DacMagic Plus to serve as my front end pre amp while I try different amps out.
So the first amp I bought and brought home was the Brio-R (Sales man talked me into it). Well the amp, although it sounded good with a pair of ported speakers at the store (can’t remember the name) failed miserably with the Merlin’s. Initially the soundstage with this amp was very wide and airy with vocals, but hi’s were extremely harsh, and bass was even weaker than the Yamahas. I thought about trying the NAD C356BEE, because it’s a little more bass heavy, has a good sound stage, detail, but is not overly in your face. I feel this would be the best option for my listening environment and the type of music I listen too, which is a lot of ambient chill out music. The second option I thought about trying was using a custom built SDS-250C CLASS D AUDIO POWER AMPLIFIER with a Vincent Audio - SA-31 Hybrid Stereo Preamplifier to warm the sound up (has bass control). I am open for suggestions or recommendations for a good amp pairing that won’t break the bank right now.
In the past I had a pair of PMC-TB2’s, biamplified with 4 monoblock flying mole digital amps (incredible detail, holographic soundstage, very dynamic for a small speaker, almost too revealing at times). I’d like to get those same attributes out of these Merlins with less harshness though.
So the first amp I bought and brought home was the Brio-R (Sales man talked me into it). Well the amp, although it sounded good with a pair of ported speakers at the store (can’t remember the name) failed miserably with the Merlin’s. Initially the soundstage with this amp was very wide and airy with vocals, but hi’s were extremely harsh, and bass was even weaker than the Yamahas. I thought about trying the NAD C356BEE, because it’s a little more bass heavy, has a good sound stage, detail, but is not overly in your face. I feel this would be the best option for my listening environment and the type of music I listen too, which is a lot of ambient chill out music. The second option I thought about trying was using a custom built SDS-250C CLASS D AUDIO POWER AMPLIFIER with a Vincent Audio - SA-31 Hybrid Stereo Preamplifier to warm the sound up (has bass control). I am open for suggestions or recommendations for a good amp pairing that won’t break the bank right now.
In the past I had a pair of PMC-TB2’s, biamplified with 4 monoblock flying mole digital amps (incredible detail, holographic soundstage, very dynamic for a small speaker, almost too revealing at times). I’d like to get those same attributes out of these Merlins with less harshness though.
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