Merlin TSM comparisons

I'm going to clarify why I sold my LSA1 Statements -- if only because people making equipment choices use these threads to help figure things out, and I don't want them to draw the false conclusion that I was unhappy with the Statements.

I really do love the LSA1 Statements, and continue to think that they're wonderful (for all the reasons I've already posted) and really quite a steal at the current street price. They sounded better at 50 hours than they had out of the box and no doubt would have sounded even better at 200 hours, as LSA suggests. I got a lot of pleasure from them -- to my ears, they're the best sounding speakers, for my tastes and listening room, that I've ever owned. And I'd have kept them long term, all things being equal. The experience also convinced me that my heart and brain prefer the "conventional" imaging and presentation of a forward firing speaker to the pseudo-omni presentation of speakers like my old Ohms, as striking as it can be.

Anyway,I'd read a lot about the Merlin TSM's as I was considering what monitor to buy, and was quite interested in them, but at their list price, they were out of my league. However, I lucked into a great deal on a pair, and decided to take a gamble on them. Will I like them more than the LSA's? Dunno! I may be looking back here for a used pair of LSA's in 6 months if it doesn't work out. ;-)

But I'm determined to give the Merlins all the time they need to break in, and if they're as stellar as the pro and amateur reviews suggest, I'm in for a treat.

By the way, it occurs to me that there's somewhat of a similarity between Merlin and Ohm. Both are made in the USA by small companies, and both reflect the vision of a single designer, refined repeatedly over an extended period of time.

In any case, my hope is to be done with the speaker merry-go-round for quite a while. It's making me crazy, and I'm embarrassed to be on a first name basis with the guys at the UPS store. ;-)

Peace...

I have Dynaudio Contour 1.3 mkiis.

I'd be curious if anybody has compared these Merlin monitors to those?

Also I see these have used Morel drivers. I have a pair of OHM L bookshelf speakers that I have custom modded myself using some high quality 8" Morel woofers. That has worked out extremely well!

All the newer OHMs (inclusing my custom Ls) also use an internal bass equalization circuit called the "sub bass activator" which as I recall is somewhat similar in concept to Merlin's BAM.

What happened to the LSA1 Statement love affair?
Tvad (Threads | Answers)

It's called Speed Dating, Tvad.

Just kidding with you, Rebbi. Maybe you should ask Tvad how many speakers he has owned and also auditioned but not kept....

Maybe you should ask Tvad how many speakers he has owned and also auditioned but not kept....
Finsup (Answers)

That's fair.

1) Aerial Acoustics 7B - Bought them as my first foray into high end audio after reading Stereophile's Recommended Components list, and hearing them at a local dealership. Once I got them home, I hated them. I learned quickly to ignore Stereophile's Recommended Components list. They were sold within six months.

2) VonSchweikert VR4 Gen III HSE - Bought them on the recommendation of member "Lrsky". I loved them. Owned them for about three years until my employment situation got a little tight, and I sold the entire system to buy something less costly.

3) LSA Group LSA1 Standard - Auditioned them for a couple of weeks while I owned the VR4 Gen III HSE speakers. Liked them. Appreciated them for what they were, but ultimately favored the VR4 Gen III HSE.

4) Ohm Walsh 200 MK II with the latest Walsh drivers - Had a bad experience with Ohm. Long production delay, poor workmanship, and ultimately a blown Walsh driver within the first 30 minutes of playing them. I returned them for a refund.

5) Castle Howard S2 - Loved these speakers driven by a Leben CS600. Had some issues with these drivers as well, and returned them for a refund after personally replacing three bad drivers. It was a discontinued model, and the speakers although "new" were many years old. An unfortunate experience with a speaker I liked.

6) Silverline Sonata III - Bought these after extensive research and on the advice of an audiophile whose tastes I respect. The speakers were excellent once I found amplification that drove them to my satisfaction. Owned them for about two years until I decided they had a couple niggling sonic issues that I could not ameliorate with set-up, electronics, or cabling.

7) Audio Note AN-E SPe HE - Bought these when I made a decision to go to a higher sensitivity speaker that could be driven by low powered tube amplification. I heard them at several audio shows, and spent a good amount of time listening to them at RMAF 2009. They are my favorite speakers to date. I loved the VR4 Gen III HSE, but I love the Audio Note speakers more. They fit my room better from a sonic perspective. They "disappear", and they create a wide and large stereo image that goes wall-to-wall. My journey with them is still in progress as I zero in on my preferred amplification.

That's the 7 year journey.

Tvad,

I might be willing to wager Rebbi finds his true loves in less than 7 years, though I don't think that timeframe is uncommon!

For me my path was essentially OHM, Magnepan, B&W, Triangle, Dynaudio and back to OHM 30 years later.

My original OHM Ls and Walsh 2s stuck around for comparison the whole time while the others came and went. Well, the Dyns and Triangles have stayed as well mainly because I have room and use for them and each is quite nice.

When I upgraded my OHM Ls myself, I almost decided to punt on updated Walshes, but I decided to go for broke.

I've never missed the B&Ws. I would consider giving the Maggies another run with newer models if I needed new speakers again and I were able to set them up correctly just to hear what the rest of my upgrades since could do. But practically, the Maggies just are not a good fit in any of my listening rooms in my current home.

I would have liked to have heard your impressions of your OHMs when you had them if they would have worked out somehow.