I stop by the Merlin Music Systems / Joule Electra / JPS Labs room for some refueling, but the room is a revolving door of mesmerized audiophiles. Guess Bobby Palkovic and the gang are converting another group of listeners to their wonderful sounding system.  No surprises here, I feel the Merlin VSM-M are the best darn loudspeakers I have heard to date.  That's why I bought the review pair (review forthcoming) and stopped stressing out over my choice of loudspeakers.  The system inside consists of the Merlin VSM-M with Battery BAM ($8,150), 100 watt/ch Joule Electra VZN-100 OTL mono amplifiers ($10,580/pr), and all JPS Labs cabling. 

Sound is consistently breathtaking.  I'm amazed at how often I am blown away by the sound of this system at trade shows, given the notoriously poor sonic environment and my intimate familiarity with the loudspeakers.   And yet, time and again, I come by, sit down and smile from end to end as I bask in the glow of the finest sound yet to reach these ears.  I'm not moving - go away tourist.  But off I do go, after 20 minutes of glorious sweet spotting in the Merlin/Joule/JPS room.  Ho hum, back to the grind.

Sim Audio has teamed up with Merlin in one of the medium sized rooms.   This is my first experience with Merlin's and solid-state electronics at a trade show.  Interesting.  I'm anxious to hear what lies ahead, as I've heard and read exciting things about Sim Audio.  On the top shelf of the equipment rack lies the Eclipse CD Player with CDM-12 PRO transport mechanism, fully balanced topology, and outboard power supply with dual power supplies for both analog and digital sections ($4,995).  The fully remote controllable Moon P-5 preamplifier ($3,995) occupies the second shelf, along with its own outboard power supply and RCA and XLR outputs.  The signal path measures a mere 9", with no caps in the way at all.  In addition, the unit boasts pure copper tracings for lower impedance and susceptibility to interference.  On the floor lies the awesome Moon W-5 190 watt/ch (380 watts @ 4ohms) power amplifier incorporating true dual mono construction with separate transformers, balanced differential input, and zero negative feedback.