PREFACE: The following review is of the GenIII Merlin VSM loudspeakers prior to the addition of the RC Networks now provided on current models. Please refer to the VSM product literature or the Merlin Revisited article from Bound for Sound for a look at the sonic impacted offered by the RC Networks.

THE MERLIN VSM - LISTENING IMPRESSIONS

By Robert Amundsen
Audio Journal, Norway February, 1996

Listening to a wide range of music was a revelation through the slender Merlin VSM's. Living with this latest addition to the Merlin family of loudspeakers for several weeks was a sheer pleasure because these compact floor standing monitors never for a moment let me or the music down.

Over the years, more speakers than I care to remember have passed through my average-sized living room. Frankly, I have been relieved to let the vast majority of them leave my house; the Merlins were among the handful of speakers I really wanted to keep for my own musical enjoyment. Normally, testing any component becomes a chore when you have gotten over the initial honeymoon phase, and daily exposure to its emerging flaws and shortcomings makes reviewing a duty rather than a fulfilling activity.

The Merlin belongs securely in that rare category of speakers that is destined to become a classic. A hi-fi "classic" is a component that is so inherently faithful to the essence of the musical experience that it will continue to capture that elusive sense of musicality far beyond the time it ceases to be available. The virtues of a distinguished instrument -- be it a speaker or a piano, an amplifier or a violin, etc., never become outdated. I suspect the VSM is destined to become just such a classic, and for the following reasons:

The speaker has such vanishingly low levels of boxy coloration's that the many golden ears of my listening panel, all of them seasoned concert goers and audiophiles, were unable to identify resonances, "honkiness", nasality or amusical distortions such as a strident treble, a boomy bass or a colored midrange. In this sense, the Merlin VSM rates as the most uncolored speaker it has ever been my pleasure to evaluate. In fact, it is so clever at disappearing that one is time and again fooled into believing that the music is radiating from a vast planar surface. In fact, the VSM constantly reminded me of a big pair of Tympani B's that I owned in the seventies and early eighties. However, the speed, razor sharp transients and breathtaking dynamic capabilities of the VSM is in a different league altogether.

The 6.5" carbon fiber ScanSpeak bass/midrange unit cooperates so well with the DynAudio Esotar soft-dome unit that they act as one single driver, thanks to the cost-no-object crossover. The result is something uncannily akin to a perfect point source -- the sort of theoretical ideal many loudspeakers strive for but never quite seem to achieve.

The exemplary crossover, the uncolored cabinet and the superlative drive units and crossover result in a musical performance that must surely be without peer in this price range. Indeed, price is quite irrelevant in this instance because in terms of image size, transparency, soundstaging and imaging as well as image solidity and tonality, it is as good as, or better than, far costlier designs. Thus, it can easily hold its own against the vastly more expensive WATT/ Puppy 5 that I have also auditioned this year. True, the Wilson speaker goes deeper and is a little tauter in the bottom octave. On the other hand, the latest version of the Merlin VSM is a mite less clinical and more relaxed in its presentation of the musical event. Also, the VSM is far less critical of room placement than many of its expensive competitors. In my particular listening environment, it worked fine placed about three feet from the back wall and with a distance of a little less than eight feet apart.

While the early version of the VSM tended to focus a little too much on the upper midrange and treble to my ears, the latest incarnation of Bobby Palkovic's design exhibits a quite superb balance between treble, midrange and bass. As a result, no part of the audible frequency spectrum calls attention to itself - unless the source itself is to blame.

Throughout my listening test, I drove the speakers with a powerful Danish triode power amp whose four 3OOB's per side churned out somewhere between 55 and 60 watts of unadulterated analog signal from my Linn LP12 turntable.

On one occasion, I also tried the VSM with a solid state amp, and the speakers left no one in any doubt as to what kind of amplifying device was driving it. The speaker's high sensitivity made it possible to drive it with even lower powered amplifiers, but with the Danish L.A. Audio P-66 monoblocks, I was treated to an exquisite sonic experience which simply made anyone listening to the speakers forget that this was not live sound!

The Merlins are equally at home playing a Schubert quartet, Bach's cello sonatas, Pink Floyd, Dolly Parton, Purcell's choral music, Pavarotti or Paganini. Ray Brown on his enormous double bass was just as convincing as Heifetz playing the Beethoven Violin Concerto. Massive choral works, such as the Messiah, or Power Biggs treating us to one of his floor-shaking organ performances, the intimacy of Julian Bream playing the Baroque guitar or the deeply stirring music of Pergolesi's Stabat Mater - the Merlins accomplished these musical feats with aplomb and disappeared, letting the music speak for itself.

I could go on and on about the many unforgettable late nights I spent with the VSMs, but I feel I have given sufficient indication that we here have to do with a speaker that, above all, excels at generating total involvement in whatever musical performance it is asked to convey. Here is a speaker that appeals both to the brain and the heart -- above all to the heart. For once, I found no flaw I couldn't live with.

On those occasions when the Merlins were less than delightful to listen to, it was the source material, or some other component, that was to blame. The Merlin VSM is a true aristocrat and will not tolerate anything but the best associated equipment. It is well worth matching it with the finest associated equipment you can afford because it will reward its owner richly. Believe me, this is one component you will not want to change for many years. Like the good vintage it is, it will simply improve over the years.

It would be folly not to audition this classic before considering any high-end speaker. It sounds like no other speaker I've heard because it is capable of transporting the music lover beyond itself into the music itself -- and that is what high fidelity is ultimately all about.

VSM

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Merlin Music Systems Inc.
4705 Main Street, PO Box 146
Hemlock, New York 14466
PH (585) 367-2390 FX (585) 367-2685
E-mail: info@merlinmusic.com
www.merlinmusic.com