[drphoto]

As I've mentioned in a few other post, I recently sent my Merlin TSM-M for upgrade to the latest MMe status. The MM part (the 'magic mod') is an upgrade to the crossover which among other things involves cryo'd parts. The 'e' portion is replacement of all solder w/ a lead free variety. My speakers got more than this though. The tweeter diaphragms were replaced along w/ both woofers. In fact the only retained parts were the cabinets, tweeter motors and the binding post.

Frankly, I did not care for the original TSM-M in my system. It was very revealing and 'fast' and clearly a good speaker, but it seemed brittle and edgy. I wrote this off as the rest of my system and room as not being up to snuff. I was wishing I'd gotten something more euphonic like a Spendor, Harbeth or ProAC. I had borrowed a pair of ProAC 1.5 and liked them for the most part, except that they sounded 'small'. I was thinking more along the lines of the ProAc 2.5 ultimately.

Well, the Merlins got damged by a shorted IC, so I had to at least get them fixed before I sold them. However Bobby P....the owner and designer of Merlin assured me I would love them after the upgrade.

Boy was he right! These things are fantastic. I know everyone who likes a speaker says 'they just sound like music' but in this case, it's true. The TSM sounded like a hi-fi speaker, these sound like music. The sound is what I would call 'liquid', it just fill the room w/ no trace of edge or harshness but are still ultra detailed in the high end. You can hear all the suble overtones in cymbal work and differences between different types of guitars. This is exactly what I wanted all along.

Downsides? Well they are a small sealed speaker so they have no bottom end to speak of. Maybe in a small room they'd work ok, but a good sub is must. My crappy Mirage is barely adequate, so I'm going to build a pair of OB subs using Danny's version of the Rythmik servo soon. They image well, and pulled well out in the room they present a nice soundstage. However, in someways I still like the big presentation of my old modded Maggies 2c's (though these beat them in  every other category, by a wide margin)

Obviously I've not heard everything out there. But these compare favorably in terms of musicality and listenablilty to some much more expensive designs I've heard. Still for a small speaker they're not particularly cheap. I think new they go for around $3K. I paid $1200 for the original pair and all the upgrades and shipping cost me at least $1K. However, I couldn't be happier. Once I get some good subs and more GIK panels, I think I'll be done. At that point I could just start upgrading source and anps, but faced w/ tuition for pharmacy school and some much need building repairs, I'm probably done.

BTW: I tried the diffraction-be-gone wool pads and these speaker don't need them. In fact they make them sound a bit muffled. The old speaker probably would have benefited from them, but not needed now.

To sum up, if you are in the market for a small standmount speaker..... give the latest Merlins, the TSM-MMe or the TSM-MMXe a listen. ( the X version is the more expensive version finished in gloss laquer....mine have the textured matte black coating)

[satfrat]

forget it, I just reread your review.

Cheers,
Robin

[TomS]

Nice comments on the upgrade.  I had the TSM-MX's (before the "e") and liked them a lot.  I used them for several months with Joule Electra LA150/VZN-100's while waiting for my VSM-MX's to be built and they really sang with that gear.  If you go the sub route, I highly recommend using stereo subs.  I had the ACI Titan II LE's with mine and they worked very well together.  Danny's servo subs seem like a great match too.  Glad you're happy so now you can back to listening to music (while you study!).  Tom

[drphoto]

One thing that is really impressive, is that even bad recordings sound ok now. Sometimes you read how people have really revealing systems that require them to listen to the best recordings on the best sources lest it become intolerable.

Well, bad recordings do sound bad. You can hear the overcompression, bad mixes, etc, but because there is absolutely no harshness it is all listenable. Believe me, these puppies are not just rolling off the high and glossing over the ugliness. But they always sound listenable. Of course, good recordings (say anything by Lyle Lovett) just become a joy.

Besides my Stan Warren modded Aiwa changer/MSB Dac, I'm using a stock SB2 as a source and it sounds pretty good.  I'd love to get at least get a modest level Bolder power supple, but the point is, even the stock unit doesn't grate on my nerves. That alone is part of my definition of a real high end system. It ultimately must sound effortless.

Hey Tom, thanks for the feedback and thanks for advising me to get the 'e' mod. Bobby said it's part of the relaxed sound, and who am I to argue.

[drphoto]

I played around with the woolie pads again last night. I stand somewhat corrected. It does seems that there is a loss of high end energy, but it is not necessarily a bad thing. There does seems to be a clarifying effect on the midrange. I'm going to keep experimenting.

[jimdgoulding]

I played around with the woolie pads again last night. I stand somewhat corrected. It does seems that there is a loss of high end energy, but it is not necessarily a bad thing. There does seems to be a clarifying effect on the midrange. I'm going to keep experimenting.

Dr P-  Que paso?  The energy to which you refer is late arriving out of time and phase info reradiated off your naked baffles and cabinet edges.  That very commonly comes with a bump and what follows in the frequency response just as our midrange comes on.  Your pads are taking this out of the equation and permitting more transparency into your midrange while preserving the first event arrival.  It is allowing information to emerge, more right and pure.  Information that is already there but was being messed with.  It makes a good speaker a better speaker.