Focal Mini Utopia vs Merlin MXe

I’ve owned the Micro Be (sorry, not the Mini, I know) and the Merlin VSM-MM. Without question, I would recommend the Micro Be speakers. My biggest gripe with the Merlin’s is that they only work with a few company’s pres and amps to sound good. Take a look at most Merlin owner’s systems; they are all the same i.e. Joule Pre, Joule or Atma Sphere amps, plus Au24 or Cardas cables. The Micro Be sound good with both tubes and SS and can be matched with a lot of high quality equipment, unlike the Merlin’s. The Utopia line of speakers are also works of art and built like a tank. Resale on the Micro is also good, unlike the Merlin’s.

I have McIntosh gear and they sound terrific. So much for that assessment.

I own the Mini and would not suggest an OTL. The Mini's impedance gets pretty wild below 100 hz.

Phaelon, I liked OTL with Quad 989s. I definitely agree with your assesment about Mini and would not use it with mini. I use Krells with my mini. Curious though, anybody using mini/micro with tube gear with success? I loved original micro (best imaging with lots of air around instrumments..).

Sstalwar, I've always used tubes with the Minis. Currently, I'm using a 25W/ch integrated. It actually sounds more dynamic and performs better at the frequency extremes than a 70w/ch amp that I was using. I guess it should since it's significantly more expensive than any amp/preamp combo that I've used. Like you, I listen to mostly jazz and classical but I'm not trying to reproduce anything near concert level volumes.