I too, have owned and very much enjoyed the Merlin speaker. I have owned both the monitors and floorstanders. Their display of resolution and detail was simply uncanny. There ability to distinguish between various amplifiers and CDP's was reason enough for a few changes. I always felt something missing in the Merlin's. it was not due to the associated equipment, room placement or anything to do with their lack of the lower the regions. The Merlin's seem to meet all of the Audiophile requirements. All of the "words" of analytical discription (that we find in the reviews) they easily meet with flying colors. However.... The one thing that I wanted from them, I could not pull out. It is something that the speaker, that I now own does with a stunning array of emotional fulfillment. What the Merlin's did with their high degree and amount of accuracy, detail and resolve, is the work of unrelenting dedication to a craft. I have moved on since then, to a speaker more involved with the musical emotions and passion from the performers. I have found that (IMHO) the Reference 3a MM DeCapo (with the new Beryllium tweeter) packs a greater (true to life) musical presentation in the areas of emotional involvement and intricate sound-staging. They lock onto my listening area like the Merlin's never could and involve me with their sound. I think of my times with the Merlin's, but I don't look back with any degree of remorse. The DeCapos are there for music, but for me, the Merlin's just never got there.
Amps used with the Merlin's: Edge, Rowland, Kora, Cary
