Merlin TSM BME

[mpw]

Hey mpw,

Some more on the difference please.
And some thoughts on the Meridian, if possible.
Thanks

=========================================
naturelover,

I understand you are already in contact.

hearing is believing..and as you well know.. there is no ultimate truth.

u will be in Mumbai soon enough...



it is best to form ones own judgement especially when in "purchase mode ".

I mean no offense.

Ganpati bappa.... morya !!

best regards
mpw

 

[panditji]

Which Meridian - Explorer or Director?

 

[mpw]

Panditji

Meridian explorer USB DAC

Mpw

 

[Shahrukh]

Hey mpw,

Some more on the difference please.
And some thoughts on the Meridian, if possible.
Thanks

Let me try and explain the difference.

The entire chain spoken about here is as follows:

Mac > Meridian Explorer DAC > DIY Interconnect > Jolida JD 302 CRC > Supra Classic 6.0 > Merlin TSM mme.

The Jolida uses EL34 tubes which, while having a gorgeous midrange are ever so slightly rounded /rolled off at the frequency extremes. The Merlins, transparent as they are, exhibit exactly this characteristic.

Now the Meridian DAC was initially bought more as a head amp. It's just that it does decent duty in a bigger system too. Can it be bettered? Of course. This is just a placeholder solution till I get a proper DAC. The Meridian house sound is extremely smooth and slightly laid back.

The resulting sound produced by the Merlins is highly resolved, detailed, yet warm and laid back. What it lacks is a sense of immediacy as compared to the Naim sound. but one has to understand that EL34 tubes and Naim are on different sides of the audio spectrum. Like mpw said, we all have our preferences and different set of compromises.

This is still a WIP system and I plan to make more changes to the sound as time and resources permit.

Hope this helps.

 

[malvai]

Hey Mahesh! Would you be free in the coming few days? I would love to come for a listen!

 

[malvai]

Thanks for having me over Mahesh!

You have a lovely home and a beautifully matched set up. I love the simplicity.

the sound itself was open, and effortless. Loved it.

Your turntable was superb too!

 

[mpw]

thanks manav.

luckily i checked the PM last afternoon.

Prem was kind enough to send me your number.

Good to know you could make it on a short notice ....

the world is indeed a small place.

glad you enjoyed the music..

regards
mpw
=======================================================

 

[jai1611]

I got a chance to visit mpw's home last weekend and hear the Naim + Merlin setup. To me the standout traits of the setup were tone and PRAT. While the setup did a lot of things very well (soundstage, extension, dynamics etc), where the setup really stood out was in the tone/timbre of instruments as well as voices and PRAT. It seemed to play to the strengths of both the Naim and Merlin house sound. A few points that stuck in my mind:
- for a compact speaker in a large room, bass was impressive
- soundstage was good but not exceptional
- realism of voices and mid range resolution were very good
- instruments sounded real
- the music had great flow and foot tapping came naturally (typical of Naim setups)

The system was convincing enough that the Merlins would be top of my list if looking for speakers in that budget.

A special thanks to mpw for his hospitality and patience. His enthusiasm and pragmatic approach to audio is infectious!

 

[mpw]

have been using 3 brass cones underneath my TT for some time and i find hindi bollywood vinyls sound better. I think it adds a bit more body. The difference is incremental but perceptible atleast to my ears after having used it for about 2 weeks now.

the CD playback was always good and i tried this for the TT and it helps.

here is a pic of it...

regards
mpw

 

[mpw]

I got a chance to visit mpw's home last weekend and hear the Naim + Merlin setup. To me the standout traits of the setup were tone and PRAT. While the setup did a lot of things very well (soundstage, extension, dynamics etc), where the setup really stood out was in the tone/timbre of instruments as well as voices and PRAT. It seemed to play to the strengths of both the Naim and Merlin house sound. A few points that stuck in my mind:
- for a compact speaker in a large room, bass was impressive
- soundstage was good but not exceptional
- realism of voices and mid range resolution were very good
- instruments sounded real
- the music had great flow and foot tapping came naturally (typical of Naim setups)

The system was convincing enough that the Merlins would be top of my list if looking for speakers in that budget.

A special thanks to mpw for his hospitality and patience. His enthusiasm and pragmatic approach to audio is infectious!

jai,

my room could do with a nice audio rack ( on way ), a large carpet and maybe the TV out of the way totally. Most of us live with compromises ( and we all know what they are )

mpw

 

[mpw]

ok... my avr 255 is sold and i have a new teakwood rack.

reduced electronics drastically by selling off what i was never using and i am left with

Naim Nait 5i-2 integrated
Naim CD5-XS CDP
Naim Power cords ( standard )
Naim Naca5 Speaker Cables
Technics SL 23 belt drive TT with Denon DL 103 cart
Lehmann Audio SE2 PWX phono stage
Merlin TSM MMM BME speakers
Speaker stands from Sound Foundations - sand filled.
Teak wood rack

and enough music to keep me rolling for some time

carpets next up... after some time..

hope you enjoyed watching and reading this thread thus far.

regards
mpw

 

[Naturelover]

Great going! [emoji4]
Don't delay the carpets for too long.

ok... my avr 255 is sold and i have a new teakwood rack.

reduced electronics drastically by selling off what i was never using and i am left with

Naim Nait 5i-2 integrated
Naim CD5-XS CDP
Naim Power cords ( standard )
Naim Naca5 Speaker Cables
Technics SL 23 belt drive TT with Denon DL 103 cart
Lehmann Audio SE2 PWX phono stage
Merlin TSM MMM BME speakers
Speaker stands from Sound Foundations - sand filled.
Teak wood rack

and enough music to keep me rolling for some time

carpets next up... after some time..

hope you enjoyed watching and reading this thread thus far.

regards
mpw

 

[darshanjoshi]

Super Setup. Great going !!!:clapping:

 

[Santy]

Congrats mpw. If you have time, please write a comprehensive review on the Merlins in that section.

 

[shafic]

Nice looking rack and setup!! Congrats mpw!!

 

[mpw]

this looks to be a classic case of psycho-acoustics..or maybe be because of the wooden elephants either side of the rack and the turtle carrying the weight of the STB...:lol:

i detect subtle improvements in the way the whole rig is playing especially since i have now increased the distance from the rear wall to 32 inches. Ideally about 48 inches would be nice but thats seems impossible now.

maybe this can be confirmed by dis-passionate listening by folks who have heard my setup before.

Santy - there is a review of the merlin tsm mmm on Merlin Music Systems Opening Page which captures the essence of this speaker. There is nothing more i can add. here is the link..

Watt Magazine (Norway) Review of the Merlin TSM-MMM

regards
mpw

 

[mpw]

here are some fresh pics in lieu of the pics i deleted ...



mpw

 

[Hari Iyer]

Ideally about 48 inches would be nice but thats seems impossible now.

@mpw,

My TL FS are around 50" from the rear wall and around 18" from the side-walls. I have last week renewed the cross-overs for the phase response and sounds good now over the last tweak around 3 months ago.

As mentioned in earlier posts, i have kept the speakers around 4 feet away from the rear wall to compliment the height of the box which is also around 48". Also the woofer is approximately around 4 feet from the ceiling. This placement allows reinforcement of the lows from 3 corners and allows deep tight bass response. But i will not recommend this for bass reflex speakers though as it would tend to boom a lot. For TLs and sealed enclosures where the roll-off below resonance is around -6dB/octave this enhancement works to its advantage. Also correcting the filter phase now has made a huge difference to the low frequency response in the area of imaging and tightness to the bass. The drums now sound close to real with the correct punch with the absence of boom.

Cheers,

 

[mpw]

new location for the rack...

 

[ghatgepatil]

Looks better now. If space (in front of wall) behind your rack permits, you may add a skeletal wooden rack capable of holding your vinyls and CDs. This way, you would never need to venture too far away to get them.