Merlin owners who have modified x-over?

david p, once again, pedrillo is a merlin owner and we know each other. most of those posting in this string are merlin owners as well. there was no need to mention my identity, even you knew who i was. if i remember to, i will try to post as bobby@merlin like i do when i think people do not know who i am. i am very sensitive to this. you are preaching to the choir.
*replacing the hovland inductors in the vsms will get you into a lot of trouble because they work in conjunction with the q circuit to provide the needed resistance to negate electrical resonace in the hf. these are very sohisticated pieces, hand made for me by bob hovland. for this application you will not find better regardless of the make or cost. any attempt to change them will surely degrade the sound unless you completely understand the circuit's opperation. dave garretson, i am sure does but he has elected to keep them in the circuit, as well he should.
sherod, i spoke to frederik of duelund about the cast version. i know what they are are and how they are made. they are too large to even put into the vsm's crossover chamber so it was an easy call for me. the benefits of their use "may not" even apply here because my networks are q circuited and shock mounted.
happy 4th to you all!
bobby@merlin

Dgarretson,
Thank you for your detailed and thoughtful response. You are so correct in the pricing of the Duelunds. At their cost it is helpful to the community to have detailed user reports about which crossover networks do or do not benefit.
Unlike many cable options, there are no 30 day trials with these aftermarket components.
Did you do your modifications in multiple steps or as a total one step change?
The Clarity MR cap appears to be a particularly good value in the world of expensive caps.
David Pritchard

Claritycap MR and Duelund resistors were broken in and evaluated separately in each section of the crossover. The MRs sound great across FR and are claimed by design to have internal resonance control characteristics similar to Duelund. Duelund graphite resistors (once broken in) have an exceptionally clear, detailed, and musical HF and represent excellent value-- even in view of relatively high price for a resistor.

Bobby,

Would external Xover's allow the Cast version to be used?

yes it would howard but that would be self defeating because the wire the follows the networks to the drivers would be many feet longer. i have found that rfi and emi affects this cable length to the greatest degree. i also found dynamic compression evident. that is why i elected to have the networks as close as possible to the drivers. good question howard.
bobby@merlin