Tyler Signature System versus Merlin VSM-MM

Evita:"the Seas are a excellent speaker but not as good as the Merlin"....If there was a Merlin dealer here in Baton Rouge I'd take my stereo over to his show room.
Of course the dealer would never admit the Seas sound better. "just different, but not any better" Same as you are saying.
We must have some truth somewhere here. Or should we wait another 10 yrs to begin the search for truth?
I'm willing to drive 250 miles to Jackson, Miss. and hear the Tylers.
I'm also willing to pay anyone half the ship fees to hear the Merlin's.

Paul

paul,
first of all, i have heard tylers and they are very fine speakers. and i think you should get them for yourself.
i would consider taking you up on your offer if you seemed open minded and were able to consider that there are many more important aspects of speaker design than the size of the woofer, the quantity of them or the tweeter brand. drive components in reality are only a small indication of the potential of a given design. it is far more important how you use them. the truth of the matter is that if you have a system capable of getting great things out of tylers, it probably won't do the same for the merlin. they like to be used with completely different gear. they are also designed to do different things and be used in a different manner.
regards,
bobby at merlin

paul,
first of all, i have heard tylers and they are very fine speakers. and i think you should get them for yourself.
i would consider taking you up on your offer if you seemed open minded and were able to consider that there are many more important aspects of speaker design than the size of the woofer, the quantity of them or the tweeter brand. drive components in reality are only a small indication of the potential of a given design. it is far more important how you use them. the truth of the matter is that if you have a system capable of getting great things out of tylers, it probably won't do the same for the merlin. they like to be used with completely different gear. they are also designed to do different things and be used in a different manner.
regards,
bobby at merlin

Jerrym303,

The FWIW department, I'm just a Tyler Signature System owner..........

Bobby P has given you a huge clue - These speakers will sound nothing alike, in any room. Apples v Oranges and that is apart from the additional issues of the driving electronics.

Evita is correct, the Tylers do have a warmer signature than the typical 'audiophile, hair shirt type, speaker, but the warmth doesn't come with a reduction in mid-range/high frequency resolution, in fact in my room they are providing me with excellent resolution. I've lived the past 20 years with Thiels, Paragon's, Quad 63's, all of which are fairly revealing with a flatish frequency response, and I went thru a lot of electronics trying to find the best match. Never was quite satisfied except for LP's and very high quality CD's. I think, in retrospect, what I was looking for was the 'warmth' that the Tylers provide.

Frankly, at the end of the day, I'm enjoying my Tylers driven by (hold your breath now) a cheapo Primaluna 3/5 pre-amp/amp combo, a Wadia 302 (with a CAL DAC as an alternative for certain recordings), as I have ever enjoyed any of the other combo's in the past. (Now if I can just replace my phono section.)

If you really enjoy your sound system with a bit of a warm signature you can't go wrong with the Tylers. If your still chasing the holy grail of flat frequency response as many audiophiles are don't buy the Tylers. You can add some warmth to the others but you won't get the warmth out of the Tylers. Not even with SS stuff :-).

With respect to bass, be aware that the bass extension w/teh Merlin super BAM is much better, but a 19 x 33' room is quite large. I think that you would want a pair of subs if you went Merlins. I am a Merlin owner and have not heard the Tylers. Just my $0.02.