The Evolution of the Merlin VSM Loudspeaker
A Short History of VSM Versions

ATTENTION ALL VSM OWNERS

All previous generations of the VSM are upgradable to various degrees. Please call (do not e-mail) the factory for the various options and costs to upgrade your speakers. Merlin Music Systems would like to see that all VSM owners get the best possible performance from our product.

• VSM Gen I (Produced from June 1994 to January 1995, U.S. retail $3,500/pr. introductory offer) The key features that discern the original VSM from later generations are a lacquer finish, a smaller radius on the cabinet edges, Discovery wire in the tweeter network, and the lightly treated ScanSpeak 8545 bass-mid driver (not shiny).
  

• VSM Gen II (Produced from January 1995 to November 1995, U.S. retail $4,000/pr.) The Gen II VSM incorporated a number of small design changes and a price increase due to rising costs of crossover components and the Dynaudio Esotar tweeters. The tweeter harness was changed from to Cardas wire to better match the sonic properties of the ScanSpeak bass-mid driver which was now more heavily damped to further suppress out of band driver resonances. A new three-step non-lacquer finishing process was also implemented which is more durable than lacquer and environmentally friendly to the earth and our painter. The cabinet edges were also milled to a broader radius to minimize edge diffraction.
  

• VSM Gen III (Produced from November 1995 to June 1996, U.S. retail $4,000/pr.) Near the end of 1995 Dynaudio made a change to the Esotar tweeter. The crossover design was re-evaluated and a number of changes were implemented to accommodate the new tweeter. The new networks and wiring harness (Cardas Cross) yielded even better performance and driver integration than thought possible. There were many sonic improvements, but soundstaging and spectral balance were the most significant. The minimum impedance went up from 5.6 ohms to 6.5 ohms with the load taking on a more resistive nature without any loss of sensitivity.
  

• VSM Gen III RC (Produced from June 1996 to mid 1997 1998, U.S. retail $4,500/pr.) Merlin Music Systems developed an RC network specifically for our speaker systems. Its function is to provide high frequency impedance compensation (10 ohms @ 100kHz) and filtering (above 1.6MHz). Electromagnetic interference is greatly reduced when the networks are used. The VSM can now reach its full potential by delivering only the music (not out of band resonances, RFI, or EMI) through its high resolution crossover and drivers. The networks are removable to allow the user to evaluate their need. We have found them to be extremely beneficial in virtually every application (please call the factory, do not E-mail for specifics). The networks connect to the binding posts between the speaker wire spades and the binding post nuts. Two new speaker feet were also introduced. A cone best suited for use on thinly carpeted floors of wood or concrete and a cone/point combination for penetrating thick carpeting. Both are superior to our original foot. Contact your dealer or Merlin for the type of cone recommended.
  

• VSM-SE (Produced from mid 1997 to mid 2000, U.S. retail from $5,950/pr. to $8,150/pr. depending on BAM type and finish). Significant improvements occurred with this version of the Merlin VSM. Proprietary Hovland low loss inductors with further crossover optimization and damping of the ScanSpeak bass-mid driver significantly improved the VSM's dynamics and linearity. We then kicked things up another notch by adding the BAM (an electronic line level bass equalization device) for use with the VSM speakers. The BAM allowed us to extend the bass response of the speaker by several Hertz (to -5dB at 30Hz) while significantly decreasing very low frequency (below 30Hz) intermodulation distortion from the speaker's acoustic output. Latter production SE's were available with a battery based power supply for the BAM. The result (with BAM in circuit) is a more liquid and relaxed presentation from the bass on up along with surprising bass output for a two-way monitor. The VSM-SE  had its binding posts upgraded (towards the end of its production period) to the new Cardas Audio patented "No Stress" clamping type. We used the Edison Price Music Posts for many years, the revolutionary new Cardas post offers clearly audible improvements throughout the audio band and is CE compliant to boot!  The VSM-SE also previewed the introduction of the premium clear coat finish options for the speakers. The luxurious looking optional  finishes improved the ability of  the VSM to fit into a wider range of decors to satisfy even the most particular customers.
  

• VSM-M (VSM Millennium - Produced from mid 2000 to early 2004, U.S. retail from $6,000/pr. to $10,000/pr. depending on BAM type and finish). Please visit our Millennium Series Webpage for details on the VSM Millennium speaker system.
  

• VSM-MM & VSM-MX (Produced from Springn 2004 to Present). Please visit our What's New Page for information on our MM/MX series VSM speakers.

...Merlin Music Systems

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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

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