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How much power for Merlin VSM speakers?

I bought a pair of Merlin VSM-MMs and am driving them with a Cary SS amp. While it sounds pretty good I am thinking of switching to a tube amp. I am familiar with the usual OTL suspects most people use like the Berning and Joule. I was wondering if there is anyone out there driving these speaker with a less powerful SET amp. How powerful does the amp have to be in order to not clip? Is the speaker efficient enough and its impedence curve benign enough for low powered amps? Is 30 watts enough? Am I asking the right questions?
abrahavt
usblues
1,216 posts
 
From powerful[Counterpoint,Ayre] down to 40 a side Rega,the sound is excellent in this 13x22 room.Great,un-demanding speakers,lots of fun , experimenting,everything is working with these so far....keep on truckin,Bob.....and,yes,I am extremely biased,hard not to be,good luck,Bob
bobbyapalkovic
729 posts
 
how about letting us in on the size of the room, music taste and listening volume. the more complex the material the more power you will need. 75 watts will play complex music at any level but i also have 4 quad IIs at 12 watts each on them at home (in a vertical bi-amp). the speakers have a flat and moderately high impedance which is great for tube amps. they do not go below 6.5 ohms so they are really easy on delicate tube designs too.
b
abrahavt OP
101 posts
 
The room is around 14 x 25. Listen mostly to jazz, rock and classical. Lots of vocals. I am waiting for a 30 watt pair of Dehavilland 845G monos and am hoping that they will suffice. I bought it based on a conversation I had with a couple of dealers that carried Joule and Dehavilland and preferred the Dehavs on Merlins. I sure hope they were right. I also spoke with Kara the designer of the Dehavs and she said that she had listened to the amps with Merlins(minus the BAM) and it sounded great. Will let you know how it goes.
bobbyapalkovic
729 posts
 
i would be most interested myself.
but use the bam.
okay?
b
bluebull
269 posts
 
Abrahavt

Personally, I would rather trust the opinions of the Merlin owners in the discussion forums...I think their opinions are worth more than the dealers..many threads and posts here and on Audioasylum concerning the info you are looking for....

It seems that at least 70w seems to be a safe "working wattage" for the VSMs.Less can also work well of course,depending on the character of the amp,a 35w can actually sound more dynamic and in a sense more powerful than a 200w power amp...the Merlins do not present a difficult load to an amp,with the 6.5 ohm minimum impedance,so you dont need high power for control of the speakers...

Do not even think about using the Merlins without the BAM !!! Sorry,it does not work....sounds much better with the BAM as it is intended to be used,you can however play around with the positioning of the BAM in the system ie.Between source and pre,pre and power or tape loop (if possible)Will be interesting what you find to be the differences...perhaps you can post it at a later stage on this forum.

You can follow Bobby's recommendations regarding cables...very difficult to prove the man wrong,he knows his speakers very well....

Hope you are very happy with your De Havilland amps..I use a Pathos Logos for my VSM-MMs and couldnt be happier !

Chris
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