Excerpt from the CES '97 Show Report
Published February 1998

". . . Hovland and Merlin Music Systems were my next stop. I know Hovland by their wire and the justly famous MusiCap, but this was the first time I encountered their preamp and power amp. The Hovland HP-100 preamp ($4595) is a visual stunner. The smoked-aluminum finish looked smooth as silk. The amp, the Aurora, is an experimental/demonstration unit. A large cube, with the corner turned toward the listener and the tubes arrayed on the back corner, it looked as attention-grabbing as a show car. The analog front end—Basis 2001 turntable, ($3000) and Graham 1.5 arm ($1996)—was everywhere at the Show. Hovland was using the Benz-Micro Glider cartridge ($750), one of my personal favorites. Digits were decoded using a G&D Transforms Reference 1 transport ($649) and a Dodson Audio DA-217 Mk II DAC ($3795). Speakers were the omnipresent Merlin VSM-SE ($5950). Replaying "La Nevada" from Gil Evans’ Out of the Cool, this setup made me feel as if I were in the studio with the band. Very incisive and exact. Very good. . . ."

...Todd Warnke, Senior Contributor

". . . What can I say? Gilbert Yeung simply makes music. This, of course, was in the Blue Circle Audio / Merlin Music Systems / Sounds of Silence room. The turntable used, a custom job by Roy Gaiot, and the cartridge, a Decca Crown Jewel, were molested when Gilbert played his Village People album! On the other hand, I treated the system with the respect it deserved by playing Gil Evans through the digital setup, an all-EAD rig (T-2000 transport and DSP-9000III, $5995). Gilbert used his BC3 preamp ($3300) and a pair of the BC6 amps ($3700 each), vertically bi-amping the superb Merlin VSM-SE ($5950). Wire was Cardas Golden Cross throughout. As for the sound, whenever I needed a soothing musical wash I found myself in the Blue Circle room. Pure. . . . "

...Todd Warnke, Senior Contributor