Joule vzn 80 or 100 for merlins?

Just a note regarding power for the VSM. I'm going to be running my VSM-MMs (wich should arrive in the next couple of weeks) with 16 SET watts. After speaking with knowledgeable individuals with experience running the VSM with lower watts, I'm confident that they will sound great. The only issue being ultimate SPLs with the lower watts. This should not be a problem since generally I do not listen louder than 85db peaks and do most of my listening in the 75-80db range.

Hopefully I will be very happy with the results. I will report my findings when I get the speakers. I've seen many post that suggest you need 60,70, 80 or more watts for the VSM. I do not believe that is true. I'll find out in a couple of weeks.:-)

So, for people who are using lower watt amps and are considering the VSM, check them out. Give Merlin a call and talk to Bobby. He'll let you know if his speakers will work with your amplification. Happy listening.

Cheers

I have 30 watt Dehavilland monos driving my Merlin VSM MM speakers and am more than happy. Plays much louder than I care to listen to. Even without cranking it up my wife is always screaming at me to turn it down.

Do those Dehavilland monos use OTL tubes like Stargates or VZN80?

They use a large and strange SET tube, the name of which I can't think of. They are SETs, not P/P or OTLs.

The Dehavilland monos that output 30 watts employs the commonly used 845 triode output tube. The Joules use 6336C tubes. There's no such thing as a "OTL tube" .... it depends on the how the output tube is applied in the circuit.

FWIW, I use about 25 watts of SET power (Art Audio Jota monoblocks) on my Merlins, and I love how they perform. It should be noted SET sounds lot more powerful then its wattage rating suggests (relative to SS, PP, or OTL circuits). The Jota monoblocks are high current animals. For the same reason, I believe the VZN100 is a lot better then the VZN80 because of its better current delivery (monos versus stereo).