Merlin VMS versus VMPS RM-40 versus Proac 3.8

Rhyno Get real, nobody stands up and listens to their speakers the set in a chair. Build quality is not known to be low, as a fact if you take the time to check the quality of the drivers,and all other parts you will find that the vmps are way way better than the merlins. The vmps has a coherence & transparency on par with magnapan or any other good planer speaker and very good bottom end when tuned to your room. They are large,tall and heavy and take some time to set up. Your merlin speakers are just not even close in this case.

So Good, I'll believe it when I hear it that a speaker using different driver technologies offers the coherence of one offering the same. I haven't EVER heard it to date. Long term listening really brings this fact home. The MOST coherent speakers are those that have a single source driver, Maggies, Soundlabs and the like. Merlins get damn close to that degree of coherence. And also do you really believe that the Vamps are special in that they require special set-up and fine tuning to sound their best? This can be said of ALL systems, Merlin's included.

As Rhyno noted, both these speakers are of two different camps. I have heard Brian Cheney's designs from years ago and thought they were quite good but in no way could be compared with the Merlin's which are world class speakers for small to medium sized rooms with superb tonality, coherence and resolution but lacking the bass energy that some can't live without.

Better is very subjective in the hunt for aural nirvana. There IS NO best, only compromises that one is willing to live with within the constraints of budget, room and listening priorities.

sogood
if build quality is so good, is that why cheney had to service the first hundred or so midrange drivers on the RM40s? is that why he had to put a posting on harmonic discord describing how to resolder the midrange planars b/c the original solder joint was loose & causing distortion???

hmmm, last time i checked, i never had to get near my merlins w/ an iron. --sorry buddy, you don't know what you're talking about.

give a knuckle rap test. the VMPS cabinet rings like a bell.
the merlins is not perfect, but it is solid, just like the product, end to end.

NOTE: i never said the VMPS was a bad speaker. i WILL say that its ridiculous to spend $5k on a speaker you have to sit down to listen to, and i will say that build quality is an issue when all the facts support it.

rhyno

Get the facts straight. The defective Neo mid panels had nothing to do with Brian Cheney, but were manufactured incorrectly from his Canadian supplier. Brian recognized the problem and offered a solution for those DIY's who wished to repair it themselves. Anyone else, he offered new replacement panels. At 240lbs a speaker, I don't think they ring like a bell, and I'm sorry, your Merlins do not have drivers as advanced as in the VMPS RM40. Build quality is not an issue. Brian stands by every speaker he sells. He has been making speakers for over 25 years, and the RM40 is a break through product that is getting tremendous, well deserved praise. I don't any ***hole who stands up when doing any serious listening to speakers. I am sure the Merlins are terrific speakers, and if they make you happy, thet is all that counts. There is no reason to unfairly catergorize VMPS speakers- read what people are saying- the internet nonsense of VMPS speakers having only "wall flexing bass" are getting old and completely false. Go listen and find out for yourself.
Have a wonderful holiday season and a Happy New Year.

FWIW, there is serious listening and just plain listening. For example, my office is adjacent to the sound room, so the stereo is on almost all the time. While I love, even lust for, ribbons and planar speakers their limited sweet spot makes them less than desireable for my environment.

More than once I've auditioned planar and ribbon speakers only to have to come to the disappointing conclusion that they just won't work well in my world.

Two sets of speakers. Yeah, that's what I need!