Once they have broken in I noticed a clean clear 3 D sound like never before in my home.

None as of yet

This is my opinion and thoughts of the merlin TSM-MXe speakers.

I purchased them thru Rich Brkich of Signature Sound in late march of 2008 and took delivery July 10 2008.
The speakers arrived very well packaged in a single box. They were covered with masking tape which should be removed carefully.
I did notice a tiny chip in the finish of one of them. When I brought it to Bobby Palkovich of Merlin music's attention he suggested I send
them back to have them fixed professionally. As of yet I have not done so.

A rundown of equipment used, room dimension and listening distance.

I am using: Monster AVS 2000 and Monster HTS 5100 for voltage conditioning, Antique Sound lad Aq1003DT with Response audio mods,
Subwoofer-Valodyne SPL800-R, NAD 541i CD/HDCD player, SONOS music system with Rhapsody, and a Parasound Ultra 2000 DAC.
My speaker cables are 45' of Belden 5000 series Cable from Blue jeans and 45'of Blue Jeans Cable LC-1 for the sub.
Interconnects are VDH 102 MK III Hybrid. ATS Acoustic panels .

The listening Room is my living room and Dining room 33'LX13'WX8 1/2'H.

The Speakers are sitting on a 10"W X 14"L X 1 1/4" thick butcher block.
The butcher block is mounted to a flat panel cantilever mount. This
cantilever mount is secured to the wall beams and are positioned 8' apart.
I custom made this stand because it allows me to retract the speakers up
against the wall. When I am doing some serious listening I extend the
cantilever mounts holding the speakers up to 28" off the back wall which
improves the sound all around . The center of the speakers are 48" off the
floor so I adjusted the height of my chair to bring me back into the sweet spot.
My listening distance is 6'to 7' from the face of the speakers.

Listening straight out of the box the music coming out of these speakers blew away the pair of B&W SCMS wall speakers I was using.
I compared them to a pair of Vienna Acoustic Mozart's that I am using for home theater and I found them to be as clear but tight.
The first few nights my wife and I spent at least 2 to 3 hours choosing music and listening to the wonderful detail and clarity.
We toe-tapped and danced around to music from bands like The Talking heads "The Great Curve", Thievery Corporation "Liberation front",
Delirium "Terra Firma", Gypsy Kings, Rusted Root, Steely Dan, Allman Brothers, Cash and many others.

Its been now well over two months and I must have well over 700 hours playing time. They have opened up dramatically and disappear.
The music and sound seems to come from a larger area in front of me rather than 2 speakers. Listening to Dire Straits -brothers in
arms CD Track "Ride across the River" gives me goosebumps and made my scalp tingle. The separation in the instruments finally gave the
music a 3D effect I've been reading about but, not truly ever experienced. Now I know what is meant by audiophile review terms like "Air
between instruments", "Depth", "wide sound stage". I truly love these speakers!

I am amazed by the rich and full sound coming out from these 2-way monitors and adding the Valodyne SLP800-R Sub improved the low bass.
The music seems to extending into the room. It's dynamic,lush and deep.

The Merlin TSM-MXe's are in my opinion Fantastic speakers. I know I have a great foundation to build upon


I have improved on my system by re-tubing my amp with Mullard CV4003 and Cyro SED winged C EL34's. Next may be a better DAC.

Customer Service

Bobby Of Merlin was available for me to talk to and replied via e-mail or returned my call when not.

Similar Products Used:

Vienna Acoustics Motzart's , B&W SCSM wall speakers,

Absolutely neutral, this speaker talk about music, not sound.

Very honest and trustable bass, highs & medium "to die for", easy to drive but need a careful placement.
Gorgeous presentation (top rating WAF)

addiction ?

TSM-MXe Premium high-gloss finish: piano black (bought in 2008)

Need a little time to find the best placement in the listening room. When found, it's amazing how the TSM simply disappear and let the music play around and mostly behind them. Great stage, very precise, right, balanced and most neutral speaker ever heard.
Lot of energy even with a low powered (but good) amplifier like the Stingray (Manley). In my small room (15m²), the TSM and the triode mode (20w) is a killer combination.
I feel no need for extra bass with these speakers.
Bass are very detailed, defined, precise and responding.
Great speaker for classical music, jazz (great swing) and other musics, I gess.
Incredible performance on voices and acoustic music, in general.

Some very emotional experiences with the TSM:
Cello concertos Shostakovitch, Andrea Schiff (Philips)
Night Club Patricia Barber
Ligeti Cello Sonata Emmanuelle Bertrand (Harmonia Mundi)
Schubert last sonatas Leif OveAndsnes (EMI)
Mozart Violin Sonatas Hilary Hahn Natalie Zhu (DGG)
Cantata BWV 106 Gustav Leonhardt (TELDEC)
Johnny Cash American recordings Vol III Solitary Man

Customer Service

Bobby Palkovic is like a mother to his dear customers.
"You'll never walk alone !"

Similar Products Used:

Many small to medium size speakers, from Tannoy Stirling TW to DIY 3 ways floorstanding, bookshelf, etc...

Sonically right, balanced, neutral and seamless

None to my ears, however during 0 to 5 Hrs of break in the TSM’s were dry/thin/lifeless, then begin to show their stuff around 20+ hrs. & fully blossom at around100 hrs. Although not a problem for me, the color “Black Ice Blue” almost appears gloss black in low/ambient light conditions (unlike the flash photo sample on Merlin’s website) and to achieve that color, naturally bright light rooms/dedicated track lighting/or other lighting options are required.

For reference and comparison, over the years I have owned SF Concerto’s & Guarneri’s (not the new memento version), Magneplanar 3.6, Spendor, JMR, and Vienna Acoustics. Also, if I had to choose which I liked best, it would be the Mag. 3.6’s, Guarneri’s and Vienna’s, which I preferred equally for different reasons and only sold them due to various relocations/space issues.

When deciding on replacement speakers and integrated amplifier this go around, a sincere “cost conscious, get the best I can” approach was utilized to address my smaller 1000 sq. ft. living environment (which is not much space to work with). After a year’s worth of research, I finally decided on the Merlin’s TSM MXE’s based on having listened to them a couple of years ago, combined with the many favorable reviews from both professional and hobbyist reviewers who have had/used similar speakers/equipment that I was familiar with.

THE SOUND: After approximately 120+ hours of usage, I find the TSM’s are one of the best, if not thee best that I have owned thus far, because they just do everything “right” in a perfectly manner, allowing me to totally enjoy and explore the proper placement & size of various instruments, hear the lead singer, back up and/or chorus in a life sized 3D presentation, along with the emotion, color & texture that the music being played has to offer. Because of this, I just forget about them and embrace the musical presentation (something, even my above three favorites lacked in some degree or another). Also, the TSM’s are very “revealing”, but to me are no way harsh and can be listened to 24/7. In addition, the TSM’s have no boundaries of H, W, D and provide a virtual wall of sound, if the music dictates) and I can almost sit/stand anywhere in the room and not be out of their sweet spot. Some have said that the TSM’s bass can fall short; however, because I find the TSM’s to be perfectly balanced, they don’t miss capturing the essence of the lower octaves (a subwoofer might be in the future for me, but I don’t find myself thinking or missing it when the music is playing, if ya know what I mean).

LOOKS/FINISH: Let’s face it, for most of us this is a factor, particularly if being placed in one’s everyday living environment. With this in mind, I find the TSM MXE’s in “Black Ice Blue” (one of their five standard colors, or for a bit extra one can order any color they like) are visually stunning and possess a timeless, handmade craftsmanship, heirloom quality about them, which visually complement and not overtake my living environment. Because of this, I rather prefer the looks of the TSM MXE’s on an everyday/live with em basis compared to the more elegant, visually stunning, work of art, Italian themed, can’t stop looking at them Guarneri’s.

In closing, I highly recommend to anyone who is looking for speakers in this price range to try to take a listen to the TSM’s, for me anyway they have proven to be “one” of the few, far and between “best” all-time purchases I have made in this hobby of ours.

Customer Service

Excellent

Similar Products Used:

As mentioned in my review

1 Easy to drive
2 very non fatiguing and clear
3 the high quality of the drivers, the cabinet, the binding posts and even the speaker grill really stands out.
4 one of the most tuneful and articulate bass i have found in a standmount.

1. Henry fords you can take any colour as long as it is black :) wish there were color options in the MMe
2. binding posts do not take Banana pins

These are one of thje most refined, natural and realistic speakers around. Their ability to resolve detailand yet remain musical is what sets them apart.

The midrange is full and clear, High frequencies are realistic and the bass is natural and articulate with no no artificial mid-bass hump . They take a min of 25-30 hours of break-in to start sounding good and opening up (they can be very closed and scarily lean initialy !), with subtle improvements after that.
. The resolving ability of the MMe's is good at low listening levels as well as at higher listening levels. They can play loud enough to impair your hearing if you're not carefull. .
One word of the "creator"- Bobby Palkovic has created a quality product; and is very helpful with questions regarding his products and how they perform with gear from other manufacturers. the very thought of one man so committed ti his product that he can spend more than 12 years to iron out any wrinkle in order to bring it to perfection is perhaps what finally sold me to it. so unlike other manufacturers who keep changing their models every 2 -3 years making the earlier one redundant and its owners a bit insecure !

Customer Service

perhaps one of the Best in business

Similar Products Used:

have auditioned many in that range

1. Easy to drive
2. easy to listen with a very smooth response from 40Hz to 20Khz
3. musical and resolving..a pretty rare combination as most other speakers tend to go along only one of those dimensions
4. Most importantly Customer Support which is perhaps the most prompt and personalised which I have seen in this industry !

1. the henry ford "any colour as long as it is black" view on the entry level speaker :)
2. cannot accept Banana cables (apparently they do not provide the best connectivity)

The best description I can think of for the TSM-MMe is 'refined' and musical and the sound is natural and realistic. Their ability to resolve detail is uncanny- yet lesser recordings still come through as musical-The midrange is full and clear
. High frequencies are extended and have the sparkle of live music. The bass is natural and articulate and pretty surprising for a monitor. all in all they have an extreemly smooth frequency response.

. The resolution of the MMe's is good at low listening levels as well as at higher listening levels. They can play loud enough to impair your hearing if you're not carefull. Recommended amplifier power is 30wpc min., and I would agree if your room is "live" or if your room is small. If your room is more acoustically "dead" (probably a good thing) then, you may desire more power- but you won't need a behemoth of an amp by any stretch of the imagination. I would suggest 50wpc + or - for most applications. The TSM's sound very real, natural, and so engaging that you will find yourself being re-introduced to your music collection. As hinted at before- your good recordings will startle you- and even your older or less-than-optimum recordings will sound like music.

One thing I will repeat from other reviews of Merlin products- Bobby Palkovic has created areally great product product; and is very helpful with questions regarding his products and how they perform with gear from other manufacturers. He has answered my questions with much patience and courtesy. A quality guy producing a quality product.
Someone who has designed a great product and fine tuned it to almost perfection over the last 15 years. this is perhaps the crux of this speaker. most other manufacturers just launch a new product every 2-3 years while Bobby has perfected his original design and thus you are sure you will never be faces with a redundant product as each model of his can be upgraded to the latest !

Customer Service

As mentioned above... Fantastic

Similar Products Used:

quite a few owned And auditioned

Beautifully communicative speaker for music.

Outstanding build and construction. You know where your money went.

Slightly retro styling ( the brass bars ) in my opinion looks very cool in an art decoish sort of way.

The box itself is dead quiet ( not surprising, you could crack coconuts on the box, very heavy and inert ) and totally disappears.

I like the binding posts.

Sounds good straight from the box.

Even the speaker grills are made to a higher spec, the cloth is nice too.

You need to set them up properly to get the best sound. And you need to read to read the manual.

Although it sounds good straight from the box, without proper break-in and set-up listening fatigue can set in. My first day I was fatigued ( then again I listened for like 8 hours ) but by the fourth day, right around the time I set them up properly and around the 20-25 hour mark of playback i was listening longer and louder.

RTFM

The Merlin sticker comes off too easily. Bobby can I order these?

Fantastically right! That's my personal description of the sound from these little marvels. While other speakers get your attention with gross colorations masquerading as musicality the Merlins lay the music out for you. The result is a sensory experience that bypasses your audiophile sensibilities and jacks straight into your brain. You forget about discerning and just listen to music, toe tapping, grinning, drumming, head bobbing, you'll find yourself doing these things without even knowing it till after the fact.

Ok the sound, detailed, detailed, detailed, not bright, not bright, not bright ( except on some cd's ) very very expansive soundstage, width and depth gives you a sense of the recording space, vocals are suspended and separate but not forward. Full bodied with all the virtues ( authenticity ) and warts ( some chestiness on some recordings ). Vocals are followed from the first breath going in to the last tremolo fading out. Amazing. More than once i was shaking my head in amazement. hell these shouldn't be called Merlins. it should be more bad-ass like Gandalf or Sauron haha.

Liquid liquid liquid. more than once you'll for no apparent reason visualize water droplets into ponds when you hear what these guys do to plucked strings and close miked vocals, the consonants in the lyrics positively drip in slow breathy passages.

Dynamics, the rise and fall of the song had a fantastic presentation on the merlin. this was one aspect i never even took into consideration with other speakers i've heard. Usually with dynamics you can picture the dramatic crashing of musical waves and The Merlins certainly did that but they also had a very unique quality that bordered on gentleness. For the first time I didnt just hear crashing but gentle rising and ebbing like slow moving waves. It could be a piano key decaying just a little bit longer or a string plucked with a little more twang. Whatever! I heard it, and I never heard or more importantly felt what those notes were doing before. BTW the Merlins were very quiet between the notes so when the new note came on you felt it more.

Bass. Tuneful and Dynamic. Not only were they punctuation marks to the music they were commas, dot dot dot's and question marks. Your thinking "question marks???!!! Geddueatahere!!!really?? Yeah, with Holly Cole for sure they were. Who knew bass had so many notes? Not me that's for sure. listening to my old stuff. Oh sure i heard them before but with the merlins I really r e a l l y heard them. I have no plans off adding a sub anytime soon.

It sounds very good at a low volume, you don't need to turn it up to be moved.
or to tap your feet.

It sounds very very real. my cat has been roused more than once by a singers vocals. that never used to happen.

Neutral. The word itself is underwhelming kinda like Nice but in the end Nice is the most important quality just like neutral. It's all about the basics and the Merlins have the basics down.

Lastly i'd like to add that for sure these speakers aren't for everyone, in fact a lot of people will probably hear them and not really get them. The Merlin design team has decided to walk a tightrope and commit themselves to values that are not safe but i think ultimately right. Just look at the product.

Holograpraphic soundstage, dynamics, 'real' sound. Fantastic build quality. Beatiful looking. Premier (better than 1st) class manufacturer back up.

Don't be silly!! There aren't any.

Having owned some great speakers - Proac Response 1SC, ESL63, SF Electra Amator & Guarneri Homage, JM labs 927Be and B&W 805S amongst them I write with reasonable experience.
I bought the TSM-MX used and recently had them upgraded to the MXe (well worth it even from the UK). I use them with the MJ Acoustics Reference 100 subwoofer. Audience Au24 Spaker cable and Cardas lead free jumpers.
These speakers are uncannily real sounding and certainly leave the 805S that they replaced in a shade. The holographic soundstage stretches from wall to wall and goes so deep that one is left in awe (and a great big smile), Voices are 'in the room' and the timbre of instruments is a joy to hear. They are so perfectly balanced and no particular instrument shouts at you and makes you say "Hear that". MUSIC isn't like that. Drums, strings, brass - well everything sounds as it would in real life. They are non-fatiguing and make you want to play evrything in your collection. They favour no particular genre. Play well used CD's and they sound so fresh and like you have never heard them before.
My pair are in pano black finish and they sit on Partington Dreadnaught Broadside stand also in piano black. They look awesome!! These are the best speakers I have owned (or heard) by a mile and feel i have now reached my 'Hi Fi Heaven'

Customer Service

See strengths

Similar Products Used:

See review.

Wonderful revealing live performance like midrange, bass, and treble
Non fatiging yet detailed (unlike B&W 805s)
Efficient and not power hungry, great with solid state and tubes
Sound wonderful with all types of music

A bit pricy but the best around, well worth the invenstment

For Jazz, Vocals, Instrumental, Easy Listening, and moderate Rock these are the best speakers I have ever heard. They have an angelic openess and detail with full rich midrange and an an accurate well defined bass presence that charges the music. They made my B&W 805s sound like something was wrong with them. The 805s were harsh and fatiging, these speakers were as open without being such. The TSM MMs played everything well and excell at beautiful sound reproduction even at lower playing levels.

The Merlins outperformed my Dali Helicons, B&W 805s, and Dynaudios, with the only exception by my ears in that If you like to play slaming loud heavy metal, I might give the Dynaudios a slight edge with that type of music only, otherwise by my ears the Merlins are the best made and my personal choice.

Customer Service

Extraordianry customer service.

Similar Products Used:

B&W 805
Dynaudio Contour
Dali Helicon

Everyting

Spend too much time listining to my speakers. Have become a Hermit.

Review of Merlin Music Systems’ TSM MMe Speakers - Steve Coon

When I was a teenager I spent some time employed by a store that sold high-end audio equipment, and was spoiled by listening to speakers like the Mirage M1’s that had incredible clarity and imaging. Since then, I’ve wished I could create a sound system that could recreate some of that magic – within my price range.

So, when my surround receiver recently died, I decided it was time to upgrade my system and go back to two-channel. I kept explaining to my girlfriend and a string of speaker salesmen what I was looking for: Vocals that weren’t muffled but sounded like the singer was really in the room with you. Imaging that would allow you to hear, and almost see, where each singer and player was sitting. Cymbals sounding like cymbals instead of static, pianos sounding like pianos instead of an approximation.

I went to all my local high end audio shops and listened to a string of speakers by B&W, Totem, JM Lab, Thiel, Martin Logan, Dynaudio, and Sonus Faber. Some sounded great, some were just OK, and several failed miserably. At the end of the day I couldn’t find anything that gave me what I was looking for within my price range.

During my shopping trips a passing comment was made about a local speaker builder who worked out of Hemlock, NY. Hemlock happens to be a tiny rural village with one gas station and no traffic lights, about ten minutes from my home. I decided to look into it – and was surprised to find there was a world-class speaker builder in my back yard.

When I called Merlin Music Systems, owner Bobby Palkovic answered the phone and invited me to come down and listen to the speakers. When I got there, he was breaking in a pair of moss-green TSM MXe’s speakers recently sold to a customer and packing for the 2007 CES show in Nevada. I ended up spending about three hours listening to the speakers and to Bobby talk about his “babies,” including his development of the speakers over the past ten years. He had a very obvious passion for quality and attention to detail that was exciting to find. Even more exciting was the quality of the speakers. They were crystal-clear, accurate, and had realistic imaging. It felt like the speaker wires were plugged into air – or a futuristic hologram machine - and that you could reach out and touch the music. Bobby described the sound coming from the speakers as a “rotating sphere,” and it was. The price for speakers of this quality? Just $3,800 for the MXe model with a painted gloss finish or $2,800 for the MMe model with a studio black finish. I was sold.

Since each speaker is hand built on-site in Hemlock by Bobby, his cabinet maker, and his painter, it took about two weeks from the time my name was put on the production list until they were ready for delivery. While that’s not bad for a hand-crafted speaker, I did spend some sleepless nights anticipating the new arrivals and shopping for the components I needed to run the new speakers. (It’s worth noting that when I picked them up, I got a call on my way home from Bobby, yelling at me for leaving without saying good-bye…I was just a little excited…)

From all reviews and on Bobby’s recommendation, the speakers need to be broken in by playing for 120+ hours. Bobby himself will play the speakers for a full 24 hours during which he periodically torques the drivers and makes minor adjustments to make sure sound quality is maximized. The speakers also come with a wooden angle to help set them up with the right degree of toe-in to give the best sound and imaging.

Bobby called me daily for the first week or so, as excited as I was about my new purchase and looking to make sure I was happy with the product and was getting the best sound quality. I don’t think there is any other company owner that would provide the level of service and support that Bobby does for his customers, regardless of the money spent. I’m pretty sure he would come to my house to help me out with set up or give advice if I needed it.

I’m far from being a professional reviewer or experienced audiophile, but I do love and play music, and know what instruments should sound like. I’ve found that the Merlins give a true rendition of instrumentals and vocal without any coloration or holes in the sound. Most speakers are described as having a certain kind of sound, but not Merlins. These speakers take the signals put in at one end and recreate the sound faithfully at the other end. The imaging and separation of sound is what I was looking for – defined, focused, and believable rather than exaggerated. Finally, those cymbals really sound like cymbals…

I’ve been listening to everything in my CD collection on these speakers, from Thom Rotella and Tuck & Patti to Pantera and Rage Against the Machine. Several other reviews I’ve read on these speakers suggest that these may not be the best choice for listeners who prefer heavy metal. I’ve been enjoying listening to hard rock on these speakers and find that they actually handle bass well on their own without a sub-woofer, which was initially a minor concern of mine. I would venture to guess that listeners who aren’t enjoying their heavy metal collection on these speakers are hearing the shortcomings of the recordings through a speaker that gives a faithful rendition of the input.

It seems like most audiophiles are bitten by the continual upgrade bug, and I’m not done tweaking yet. I’m still looking for a dedicated CD player and finding the best space in my home for listening to the speakers to make sure I’m hearing them at their full potential. However, I think I’ve been able to put together an entire sound system that outperforms any of the other high end speakers I’d been looking at, while spending only 25 – 30% of what I would have spent had I purchased some of the other models. And with the incomparable service and support from Bobby at Merlin, I’m a customer for life.

Customer Service

Does not get better. Bobby is the best read above.

Clarity & attention to detail & tonal balance
Good value for the excellent music these speakers reproduce
Customer service from Merlin is top notch

Large rooms may require a sub

I must say that over the past two years with my Merlin TSM-MXs I have really enjoyed the Merlin magic these speakers convey. A delightful listening experience.

Two weeks ago, I upgraded to the TSM-MXe.

Very first impression…
Midrange clarity and texture were excellent, an immediately noticeable difference. No strain for my ARS Sonum Filarmonia amp which effortlessly presented the music. The greater clarity here seemed to offer better contrast to the background. Like a lower noise floor. I guess I'm fortunate in that I have a basement (all to myself) that is dead quiet so I can really hear these improvements in sound quality. The highs were very good but at first sounded a little less clear on the top. I called Bobby and he advised that the new no-lead jumpers needs a little time to settle in.

By the end of the 2nd week …
The mid-range clarity was excellent. Highs were clear and overall presentation top to bottom was smoother and more balanced. Lower mids and base developed a clearer fuller tone with rich texture. I can best describe this by the reproduction of the tones of a stand-up base, which sounded fantastic. Piano (my favorite), sounded clear with excellent decay.

As I mentioned, these MXes are mated with my beautiful ARS Sonum Filarmonia. Although my Filarmonia has the ability to drive the TSMs quite loud even in my large room which is 17 x 26 x 8, I do use a sub for tonal balance due to room size. The combo is superb.

Let me just say this is a no-brainer upgrade which improved the performance of this already excellent speaker beyond my expectations. Thanks Bobby for the fast turnaround in less than a week!

Customer Service

Merlin is among the best I've experienced

Similar Products Used:

B&W CDM9NT