Best Speakers at RMAF 2011...?

Rebbe, did you make it to the RMAF this year?

If so good for you!

Drop me an email and tell me about it some time.

How did JM Reynaud's Offrande Supremes sound this year?Anyone get to their room for a listen?

I heard the Merlin's. They consistently sound warm and musical at every show I go to. I especially like the quality and finish.

The only bummer is that I'm not too big a fan of the BAM Module (some type of bass alignment filter, that you put between the amp and preamp). It seems a little bit gimmicky. I prefer the more simple setups... Example (although this could be sacrilege): If an integrated has enough power for the speakers, I would prefer to use integrated amps.

Any thoughts on whether the BAM on the Merlins makes a huge difference, in real world settings?

I'd say my favorite was the Wilson Sasha's being driven by the Agostino monoblocks. Bass was a touch heavy in that small room, but it was so dynamic I didn't care! A lot of fun listening in there.

I also liked the Raidho/Nodost room and the Kaiser Kawero's.

I don't understand how anybody could enjoy those Western Electrics though. To me they sounded like listening to music over a telephone, no extension at either end.

having read about BAM but not actually heard, I suspect BAM can make a significant difference in extending the low end with the Merlins.

I say this because the OHM speakers I use take a similar approach. The difference is OHM uses an inexpensive passive circuit connected internally off the crossover called the "Sub Bass Activator" I believe to extend the low end of many or most of their models by default these days. They also offer it as an option to enhance the low end of older OHM speakers similar to Merlin. I purchased it for my old OHM Ls that I have had for 30+ years now and the bass is quite excellent. I believe my newer OHM 100 and OHM 5 series3 driver based OHM speakers also use this circuit by default. The cost of the "Sub Bass Activator" circuit as an enhancement for teh OHM Ls was less than $100 I recall.

I think of these types of devices as specialized equalizers that are integrated as an option to the base level speaker design. A vary practical approach I think to wean better bass performance out of a smaller box if done right I believe.

Bose 901s are speakers that many may be familiar with that use a similar approach (heresy!) but to a much broader extent I suspect in that the basic 901 design is considered flawed by many and requires the equalizer to sound good, whereas with OHM and MErlins it is used to enhance and extend an already solid design.

Emerald Physics is a line that does similar things like Bose but using modern digital signal processing technology, which I suspect could work quite well though I have not heard those either.