I was in Mumbai late last month and it was on my agenda to visit FM mpw to listen to his setup. Having followed his speaker search with interest, I was very interested to hear his Merlins. Mahesh is an extremely generous host and gladly made time for me despite the short notice.
FM mpw has a setup that is in a space (living room) that is shared by the entire family. The room is a large space with the system placed in one corner with one of the long wall on the left. The right side opens out to a large space which comprises of the dining area behind the listening position and an anteroom behind the speaker line. The ceiling is a stepped recessed design which accommodates lighting and a fan in the listening area. A large leather L shaped sofa and glass topped coffee table is positioned behind the "hot seat". Speaker toe in is with the hot seat in mind where FM mpw does his critical listening. The decor is modern sparse with little else in terms of furnishings with a medium sized carpet in place when listening sessions are on. The room is a huge space and has very nice acoustics which is a huge bonus in a shared family space.
Listening from the main seat is a pleasure. Sound stage is very well filled out. Center fill is solid with vocals coming from middle of the centre line. With the speakers positioned about 3 feet in to the room the sound stage was positioned about a foot back from the speaker line. The Merlins throw out beautiful mids and crisp highs - layering of the sound is effortless - typical of high quality speakers. The drivers in the Merlins are in a sealed box enclosure which makes for very tight bass no bloated bass in these speakers.
Most would be very happy with the sound as it is but it would be interesting to try these speakers with an amp with a little more grunt. His current Naim Integrated is a high quality 50 watter which provides plenty of the famous Naim PrAT. However an amp with more power might be able to plumb the LF depths a little more providing a little more foundation to the already wonderful mids and highs. I was hesitant to add this part but after some thought I will offer FM mpw this as an interesting possibility to experiment with somewhere down the road. As always the thought of diminishing returns comes to mind.
FM mpw has carefully considered a wide variety of factors and constraints - which we talked about - while putting together a gem of a system. Most would be happy with the setup and would be a great reference for a living room setup. I would like to thank Mahesh for his hospitality and letting me into his listening space for a wonderful evening.
FM mpw has a setup that is in a space (living room) that is shared by the entire family. The room is a large space with the system placed in one corner with one of the long wall on the left. The right side opens out to a large space which comprises of the dining area behind the listening position and an anteroom behind the speaker line. The ceiling is a stepped recessed design which accommodates lighting and a fan in the listening area. A large leather L shaped sofa and glass topped coffee table is positioned behind the "hot seat". Speaker toe in is with the hot seat in mind where FM mpw does his critical listening. The decor is modern sparse with little else in terms of furnishings with a medium sized carpet in place when listening sessions are on. The room is a huge space and has very nice acoustics which is a huge bonus in a shared family space.
Listening from the main seat is a pleasure. Sound stage is very well filled out. Center fill is solid with vocals coming from middle of the centre line. With the speakers positioned about 3 feet in to the room the sound stage was positioned about a foot back from the speaker line. The Merlins throw out beautiful mids and crisp highs - layering of the sound is effortless - typical of high quality speakers. The drivers in the Merlins are in a sealed box enclosure which makes for very tight bass no bloated bass in these speakers.
Most would be very happy with the sound as it is but it would be interesting to try these speakers with an amp with a little more grunt. His current Naim Integrated is a high quality 50 watter which provides plenty of the famous Naim PrAT. However an amp with more power might be able to plumb the LF depths a little more providing a little more foundation to the already wonderful mids and highs. I was hesitant to add this part but after some thought I will offer FM mpw this as an interesting possibility to experiment with somewhere down the road. As always the thought of diminishing returns comes to mind.
FM mpw has carefully considered a wide variety of factors and constraints - which we talked about - while putting together a gem of a system. Most would be happy with the setup and would be a great reference for a living room setup. I would like to thank Mahesh for his hospitality and letting me into his listening space for a wonderful evening.
so when i think of the SN2.. i am also petrified to lose the music in search of lesser THD.
.. do up my living room with a large painting maybe think of a wall mounted LP rack and those little things...besides the music.
