Merlin Music VSM Me speaker review

rbwalt · « **on:** 28 Jan 2008, 01:07 am »

This is a review of the Merlin Music VSM MXE loudspeaker. I have been a fan of Merlin Music's speakers for a long time. I have known Bobby Palkovic the designer for over 20 yrs and worked for him for 10 yrs. He is one of the few true gentleman in audio today.

This past summer i had my VSM MX's upgraded to the new MXE version( all lead free) along with a new Super BAM( also lead free). I loved my MX's. They were smooth sounding, offered very very good sound staging(depth,height and width). The resolution, detail and layering of music was simply tremendous.The mids were natural sounding. The highs were sweet and airy without any of that metallic sound that so many speakers have. The bottom end was extended sounding with very good definition and weight.The Mx's are a very well balanced sounding speaker.They are coherent, life like and complete sounding.That is why the speaker is a recommended component in stereophile( class A (RL).They simply play music!

What i got after my upgrade to the MXE version and Super BAM is nothing short of amazing.The MXE is now much more smoother sounding( Liquid sounding).There is a total lack of grunge or harshness. The sound stage now takes on a more life like presentation. voices are oh so natural with none of that chestyness or hollow sound that one hears from most speakers. The highs are even more refined. delicate with even a more airy sound. None of that bright brittle metallic sound here. You know the kind that makes your ears bleed!! The bottom end is much more weighted sounding with much better resolution and definition.The new Super BAM plays a important part in this also.On full Ac the new BAM sounds much better than the old did on batteries. When you switch to full batteries you will notice how things smooth out even more.

The MXE's are much more continuous,coherent, and life-like sounding. As a result the MXE's are a more complete speaker and because of this it sounds more expansive in its portrayal of music. A speaker that is all most beyond belief in its ability to play music in a seamless, natural nature. No phony sounding mids, bloated over ex agerated bottom end and artificial sounding highs. It may be the best speaker in the world as some had suggested. I leave that to the ones that already have them.

Thanks Bobby!!

Here is a list of my gear:

Merlin Music VSM MXE speakers
Music Reference RM9SE Power Amp
Joule Electra La-150MK2 line stage
Audio Aero Capitole Classic SE CDP
Equi-tech balanced power units
Cardas Golden Reference interconnects, power cords and speaker cables
JPS AC+ power cords

room size 19x13x12.

Many thanks to Rich Brkich at Signature Sound for his help in getting me the new Capitole Classic SE and the Equi-tech's along with his help in setting up my system.

anubisgrau · « **Reply #1 on:** 7 Feb 2008, 02:54 pm »

why do we have to read the same merlin propaganda all over the forums around? the same post is on audio asylum.

are merlin sales so bad?

rbwalt · « **Reply #2 on:** 7 Feb 2008, 03:19 pm »

please do give me this crap about propaganda. allot of people do not go to every site. so it makes sense to post on all the sites.no Merlin sales are not bad. if you do not like it you do not have to read them. many people do however. i have read you posts before and i know you do not like them. fine you have that right but many people do. many people have taste and it sounds like you have none.so stop your complaining.

rob Walters.

rockadanny · « **Reply #3 on:** 7 Feb 2008, 03:54 pm »

anubisgrau - I am curious as to why you think this review is propaganda as opposed to an honest review? Can you please explain?

mcullinan · « **Reply #4 on:** 7 Feb 2008, 04:09 pm »

I have Merlins, not the latest versions... but I can attest to the fact that these are some of the finest speakers I have ever heard. Though I am far from listening to every model out there.

Propaganda [from modern Latin: 'propagare', "extending forth"] is a concerted set of messages aimed at influencing the opinions or behavior of large numbers of people. Instead of impartially providing information, propaganda in its most basic sense presents information in order to influence its audience. The most effective propaganda is often completely truthful, but some propaganda presents facts selectively to encourage a particular synthesis, or gives loaded messages in order to produce an emotional rather than rational response to the information presented. The desired result is a change of the cognitive narrative of the subject in the target audience.

Its an interesting thought that propaganda is an emotional response rather than rational response from a reader. Isnt our hobby or passion built around an emotional response rather than rational. I guess the writer could go into specs and graphs but that, at least for me, would not connect with the human side which is what I make a lot of my purchasing decisions on. Saying a speaker had a flat response does little to convey the subtlety and true personality of a product.

Since I am not an engineer I wouldnt appreciate the technical aspects as much, though even an engineers final measurement is his ear. His emotional ear.

Mike

miklorsmith · « **Reply #5 on:** 7 Feb 2008, 04:14 pm »

I didn't read an ounce of propaganda in that review, rather an enthusiastic owner like most of the folks here.

rbwalt · « **Reply #6 on:** 7 Feb 2008, 05:03 pm »

thank you. My aim when i wrote the review was to let or inform people about how the Merlin VSM
MXe's compared to my MX's and to some of the other speakers that i have heard. I did not want to mention names so as not to draw fire. Propaganda was not a good choice of a word to use as i took it to mean misinformation or misrepresentation or simply BS.

rob walters.

Geardaddy · « **Reply #7 on:** 7 Feb 2008, 05:12 pm »

I am a former Merlin owner (VSMm upgraded to the mx) and still think they are fantastic speakers. I converted to something else partly due to being pushed into a smaller listening space with an almost nearfield setup (aka banished by wife into my office in a 1940s farm house). Rob's post does not strike me as propaganda in any way. If we accept anubisgrau 's definition of propaganda, then 95% of the posts on this forum are essentially that.

TomS · « **Reply #8 on:** 7 Feb 2008, 05:19 pm »

Quote from: anubisgrau on 7 Feb 2008, 02:54 pm

why do we have to read the same merlin propaganda all over the forums around? the same post is on audio asylum.

are merlin sales so bad?

I choose not to frequent that other forum so it was very useful to see it here. As a VSM-MX owner, I appreciated these comments on the MXe as another data point. Not sure where you're getting the "propaganda" feeling from. There are certainly a lot of Merlin owners out there who post about them (good and bad), and the manufacturer very actively supports his products using various forums. That creates a lot of traffic (information) which is fine by me.

rockadanny · « **Reply #9 on:** 7 Feb 2008, 05:43 pm »

And that is why I asked. I see no propaganda in the message. I am curious as to why anubisgrau thinks so.

Wind Chaser · « **Reply #10 on:** 7 Feb 2008, 06:05 pm »

If you read the same review word for word posted in more than one place it becomes more like an advertisement. In that sense it becomes propaganda, information deliberately and methodically spread to promote a cause. Imagine subscribing to TAS, Stereophile and a few other rags when the exact same review appears in them all. That's propaganda, that's the point anubisgrau was trying to make.

mca · « **Reply #11 on:** 7 Feb 2008, 06:08 pm »

Tough crowd in here these days

TomS · « **Reply #12 on:** 7 Feb 2008, 06:22 pm »

Quote from: mca on 7 Feb 2008, 06:08 pm

Tough crowd in here these days

That it is

rockadanny · « **Reply #13 on:** 7 Feb 2008, 06:26 pm »

If the same person posted the same review on another forum this does not constitute propaganda. It just proves they are active on more than one forum. If this is the only "proof" of propaganda then the reviewer deserves NO crap about it at all.

miklorsmith · « **Reply #14 on:** 7 Feb 2008, 06:27 pm »

I agree. I think we should be promoting contributions from members rather than giving them reason to hide.

Wind Chaser · « **Reply #15 on:** 7 Feb 2008, 06:35 pm »

According to my dictionary, propaganda is "information deliberately and methodically spread to promote a cause."

Some people like propaganda, others find it annoying. I find it interesting. However if the "tough crowd here" was saturated with it, they too might have a different perspective.

miklorsmith · « **Reply #16 on:** 7 Feb 2008, 07:00 pm »

The connotation of propaganda carries a flavor not imbued in your dictionary definition, as often happens.

Calling a reviewer here a propagandist discourages that person and others from contributing to our cause. And, it starts to smell like the stink pile over at AA which I dearly hope does not happen here.

Wind Chaser · « **Reply #17 on:** 7 Feb 2008, 07:22 pm »

Webster: propaganda, the spreading of ideas, information, or rumor for the purpose of helping or injuring an institution, a cause, or a person

Two other dictionaries more or less say the same thing.

Nobody called anyone a "propagandist". People responded to anubisgrau wondering why he thought the OP was propaganda, another stated he didn't read/see propaganda, yet another not sure, and so on.

It's really not that big of a deal.

Geardaddy · « **Reply #18 on:** 7 Feb 2008, 07:35 pm »

It is a big deal in the sense that it represents a "wrong spirit" for this forum...one that drove many away from another site to AC....and a big hearty amen to your comments miklorsmith aa

p.s. Rob, kudos on your system....the music must be flowing sweet and true....

miklorsmith · « **Reply #19 on:** 7 Feb 2008, 07:48 pm »

Maybe that was my point - not directed to this occasion per se, rather a general commentary on positive versus negative contribution.