natural, vivid, surprising enjoyable low end

it is a stand mounter, so...

I have been audtioning speakers and these have caught my ear. (The SE, not even the M upgrade. )The other reviews here do justice to these fine little speakers, but they do not stress the feature that I really liked about them: they sound so vivid, timbre and color naturally portrayed, not at all veiled or distant. Very nice!!

Similar Products Used:

Revel, B&W, Vienna Acoustics, Sonus Faber

(01/05/01) Just want to offer a couple of follow-up notes to my review of the Millenium upgrade (below) after a more extended listening session. Low volume listening significantly enhanced: fuller-sounding with detail, spaciousness and presence TSM-SEs didn't provide at low volume levels. CDs whose sound deficiencies (dynamic range, separation, veiled or muddied sonics) I previously chalked-up to poor recording, production or mastering came alive with the Millenniums. No, they're not now great recordings, they just sound so much better than before. Both my wife and son confirmed my assessment of the upgrade. My son listened to Radiohead's OK Computer CD (in its entirety) and said the following (I watched him as he listened, saying nothing, noting only lots of sotto voce "wows" and tilts of his head as something impressed him): "Do you know how many times I've listened to this album on your headphones (my old Stax SR4s)? There are things in every cut I've NEVER heard before. Or, at least, not like this. What an amazing album. The speakers are killer."

I forgot to mention that the merlins sit atop 24" Osiris stands and I'm using the outboard Hovland capacitor RC network supplied by Merlin (without them, the sound is kind of resembles the "old" TSM-SEs... less open and involving).

Soundstage, imaging, neutral, and natural

A bit laid back, perhaps, but that may be because I am used to my more agressive ProAc's

My demo TSM-SE's with OSIRIS speaker stands arrived from Donald at W Enterprises Northwest with
everything arrived in great shape. I was tremendously impressed with the meticulous care shown in both the condition of the items and in the
time spent on packaging. The speakers are absolutely gorgeous in the heart red finish and the stands are the best I've ever seen or (not) heard. They really kill any resonances, which
added significantly to the imaging and soundstage, and they really coupled well to the floor, improving the
tightness of the bass. I never knew how bad my old stands were.

It's been an interesting weekend (up till 3:00 AM)last night performing comparasins with my ProAc 50 Tablette Signatures. The first evening they sounded great right out of the box, but later became very dark and lacked life. But by Saturday evening, after letting
them play constantly for over 24 hours, they realy opened up and came to life.
Even though they were demo's, they needed to be re-broken in. Once they were ready, I began my comparasin tests. My early impressions were that the soundstaging and imaging were superb, but compared to the ProAc's they weren't as dynamic or as good in high frequency extension. The ProAc's also seem punchier - especially
when listening to piano as the hammers strike the strings.

Initially, I thought the TSM's were very good, but I thought the ProAc's were more exciting to listen to.
However, over time I am growing to really appreciate the virtues of the TSM's. They are so neutral, and so-o-o-o smooth. They play everything in such an even-handed fashion. I don't have any measurement tools, but I'd be willing to bet these speakers have a
very flat response curve. Now the ProAc's seem exaggerated in the treble, and though the bass is punchy, it is notchy - having boomy peaks (probably
because of the ports). I am also finding that the TSM's can be listened to for a very long time without
feeling fatigued. I don't think they can play any louder than the ProAc's, but they seem to be able to do so with less strain. The imaging and soundstage
also are improving with each hour of playing.

The bottom line is I'm growing to like the TSM's more and more. The ProAc's are terrific speakers - pound for pound and inch for inch, (11"H by 7"W I think) they are the best I've ever heard. But the Merlins have a silkiness and magic about them. It does take awhile to appreciate their virtues.

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ProAc Tablette 50 Signatures

What a fantastic speaker! I agree heartily with everything that has been said here about this speaker, it is truly exceptional. I bought my TSM-SE's used about a year ago but recently had them upgraded to the latest Millennium edition, and I must say the upgrade is a worthwhile improvement, particularly with solid state gear. The SE version was great but I had trouble getting the sound to "loosen up" a bit, it was ruthlessly revealing and tightly controlled but lacked a bit of warmth and vibrancy. The Millennium tweaks don't change the basic character of the speaker but definitely make it sound more relaxed and organic, while being even more detailed and precise - the best of both worlds!

Anyway, I could go on and on about how great this speaker is but I'll wait to write a full review after I've received the latest bi-wire jumper cables from Bobby at Merlin, right now I am using some mediocre 22 gauge OFC wire with my single set of Analysis Plus 12 cables and Bobby feels that the sound will be further improved with his jumpers. In the mean time, go out and listen to this speaker!!!

Midrange rapture, soundstaging, totally engaging sound, build quality, appearance

Hard to pay attention to wife and kids. Slight nit is the new cable connectors - need two people to hold biwire cables and Zoebel circuits in place if you're in a hurry. Otherwise count on several minutes of hookup time - but once you're hooked up you're hooked.

Simply stated, this is the best mini-monitor I've ever heard. The TSM-M is very different from the SE version. After upgrading to the Millenium version (hence the "M" designation), I noticed that the Coors had moved into my living room (I wish - minus the lad of course). Female vocals are captured from your source music and then released freely to your ears. The layering, texture, articulation, and emotion of the human voice comes through like the first concert you ever attended. Highs are natural as well (particularly with the JPS Labs Superconductor cables I'm now using), and never hard, or glaring. The bass will surprise you - solid down to 50 hz, and fast as a fox. I plan to mate these with a sub, but for most music, there is no want of low bass to distract you from the tremendous enjoyment these speakers provide.

Also very worth mentioning is the owner and people that drive this company. Bobby is the James Brown of speaker building. He truly is the hardest working man in the business. You wind up dealing with Bobby as a friend, not as an unseen, unheard (Bobby answers the phone at Merlin) primadonna pushing overpriced speakers. I can't recommend these speakers and their passionate staff enough. If you're reading these reviews you already have seen total Midas Touch syndrome - everything Bobby makes is golden.

My system consists of the following components:

Merlin TSM-M
JPS Superconductor bi-wire speaker cables
Osiris stands
Rogue Audio 99 Preamp
Rogue Audio 88 Power Amp
Sonographe CD player

Similar Products Used:

Acoustat Spectra 1100, Sound Lab Dynastat, NHT 2.9, Triangle Zays, Gershman Acoustics Avant Guarde, A/D/S L-810, B&W 302, Mirage, etc...

I am not going to labor on with details and specifics.. if you want a professional review... you can do a web search and find the Merlin TSM reviews...
I will say this though, out of the box I was immediately disappointed... I didn't realize that they were delivered on the coldest day of the year, and the drivers were still frozen from being on my porch... so, fast forward to a warmed up semi-broken pair of TSM's....

I have fallen madly in love with these speakers.... All that you read in the reviews hold true as far as my opinion is concerned...

My main system consists of Audio Research VT100 MK II... ARC LS-8 preamp (all tubed)... and a Pioneer Elite DV-09..... All powering Dunlavy SC-III's.... they all retail for 12,500.00 not including cables/power conditioners and other tweeks......well, the little Merlins have taken all of my attention (I use the Merlins in a livingroom system)..... They may not have the deep bass of a floor standing speaker (but what they do have is class A all the way)... the bass is fine... believe me.... but from mid bass up.. this speaker is class A....

Buy it... Buy it... Buy it.... especially those who listen to reference recordings.... buy all of the chesky cd's.... hook up the Merlin's and get a compfortable chair.... you will be there for a while....

Imaging, Accuracy and Build quality.

First, some history.
When I bought my TSM's I thought I was buying a pair of TSM SE's off of audiogon.com that were 4 months old. However, after I received them in the mail and listened to them, I had my doubts. They sounded awful. So, I called Merlin hoping that I could at least purchase some replacement drivers. However, Bobby slowly broke the news to me that my Merlin's were actually 2-3 years old and there was another option besides replacing the drivers alone. We then talked about the SE upgrade and after a 45 min. conversation, I decided to send my speakers out the very next day. After I got them back, I was more than happy with the improvements...for a little while. After about 6-7 months I found myself searching for new speakers because the SE's were just to harsh for my system. Well, when I was doing some research on the net, I learned of the M Upgrade. So, I sent Merlin an E-mail and sure enough, Bobby writes me back asking me how I've been and telling me to get the upgrade done because it's killer! So, I sent the speakers back to NY 2 days later =(. Well, after I finally got them back I was absolutely blown away! I could not believe these were the same speakers I sent him!
When I first set the TSM M's up, I knew something was different, but I figured I'd let my amp warm up while I fixed the image. Well, what I learned while just setting up the image blew me away! Cold amp and everything! First, the image is much more accurate with lots of air between the instruments. Second, I've always liked the way the TSM SE's throw the image back in order to give you a deeper sound stage, but, now the image went from being behind my wall and level to being behind my wall and a bit raised (I love this, it gives you a perspective shared by an audience member). I'm not sure if this is just they way I have my room set up, however, nothing has changed in my room since I sent the SE's to be upgraded. Next, the mid rage on the SE's seemed a bit harsh to me...fatiguing even. However, with the "M" upgrade, it seems as though my entire system consists of TUBES! The highs and mid range are so smooooooth it's unbelievable that this sound is coming from a mostly SS system (only tubes found in my system are in my AH!Tjoeb 00 cdp). In addition, the bottom end sounds more refined and accurate. Before, I was left wanting more. In addition, the TSM's still completely disappear like no other speaker I've heard before.
In closing, I feel that the TSM M's are among the best speaker out there today. Sure, some speakers might beat the TSM M's out in one area or another, however, comprehensively speaking, the TSM M's are firmly seated at the top as far as mini monitors are concerned.
I have had these speakers for about 4-5 months now and I'm still very happy with every thing these speakers are giving me! Give'em a listen, but be prepared to be amazed! =) THANKS BOBBY! =)

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From Sonus Faber and B&W to Aegis and Paradigm

I am in the music business. I record and mix albums and film scores for a living. If you care about what I’ve done, please visit my web site at www.chrisfogel.com. It’s a great job, but every so often I get to a point that, after listening to music for 16 hours straight in the studio, the last thing I want to do is listen to even more music at home. As a result, I have a huge book collection and a pretty killer home theater system.

I recently decided that one of the reasons behind my disdain for casual listening was that I didn’t like the monitors I was using in the studio. After a number of hours, my ears would become tired and close up. I listen at moderate levels; never more than 100dB SPL and usually at about 85dB SPL, which is the level at which my studio monitors are tuned. For reference, normal speech is about 60dB SPL, so obviously I don’t listen all that loud. Still, at the end of a long day, my ears would close up, and in order for me to hear anything when I got home, I had to turn the volume way up. When I’m working on a film, I usually don’t get home until about midnight, so my girlfriend obviously wouldn’t be too pleased if I busted out Radiohead at 110dB while she was in the middle of a dream about Bora Bora.

During a recent break between projects, I decided to start experimenting with different bookshelf-sized monitors, also known as near-field monitors. I tried them all: Dynaudio, PMC, Joseph, Spendor, B&W and Genelec, just to name a few. I wanted to see if mixing on these monitors was less fatiguing over many hours, thus increasing the likelihood that I would listen to more music at home. To my surprise, almost all of them greatly reduced ear fatigue, so my hunch was correct. This was in January, so I happily jumped in my car and drove to Las Vegas to check out even more speakers at CES. My hope was to find a speaker that I could audition at home for a few weeks and then, if all went well, take that speaker into the studio and run it through its paces. I was all set on going with one of the Spendor monitors until a friend told me to check out the Merlin booth. I did, and was knocked out at what I heard.

The Merlin TSM-M is a bookshelf-sized monitor consisting of a 6.25" pulp-cone woofer and a 1" silk-dome tweeter. The speaker is a sealed enclosure and utilizes internal wiring from Cardas. Merlin shared a booth with Joule-Electra at CES, so the system I initially heard was powered by tube amplification, of which I am not a fan. However, the TSM’s depth and timing were extraordinary, even in the hotel room where I first heard them. I went home and immediately sent Bobby Palkovic, president and founder of Merlin Music Systems, an email. Since this review has already run way over budget, I’ll just tell you that about two weeks later I took delivery of a pair of Merlin TSM-M’s that were hand-made by Bobby himself.

I’ve had my TSM’s for about two weeks now, and I love them more and more every day. Since my next project was pushed back another two weeks (lawyers!), I still have the Merlin’s set up at home powered by a Simaudio I-5 integrated amplifier fed from a Rega Planet 2000 CD player. Cabling is Audioquest throughout, and power is conditioned by a Monster PowerCenter HTS3500.

The Merlin’s imaging is absolutely perfect, and while the speakers are only rated down to 55hz, the 10dB down point is 35hz, so they seem to go much deeper. On Radiohead’s "Kid A", the relationship between synths and voice on the first two tracks is excellent – the best I’ve heard. The analog synthesizers on "Kid A" sound like they are coming from a church behind the speakers and the percussion sounds like it was played in my lap. On "Idioteque", I feel like I can reach out and touch the ring-modulated keyboard in the intro. The drums have a great snap and are punchy enough that I can actually hear the compression used on them in the mix. And on "Morning Bell", Thom Yorke’s vocal sounds like he’s sitting in the room with me. On a similar record, Massive Attack’s "Mezzanine", I’m hearing so many sounds and effects that I never heard before that I feel like I’m experiencing the record for the first time. These speakers are great on this kind of music.

Next, I listened to the Beethoven String Quartets as recorded by the Emerson String Quartet. My cousin is one of the violinist’s in this 6-time Grammy-winning ensemble (two of those coming last night!), so I have become intimate with this excellent CD set. To me, the hardest thing for a speaker to get right on this kind of music is the relationship between the violins and viola, but the Merlin pulls it off flawlessly. Granted, this also has a lot to do with the Rega CD player, but a speaker can very easily cloud the middle, thus making it difficult to pick out the subtle nuances of each instrument. I have yet to hear a so-called "professional" monitor get this relationship right, but the Merlin TSM-M does it effortlessly.

Finally, I listened to some of my own recordings on the TSM’s. Sadly, I realized that I wasn’t a very good engineer when I listened to Alanis Morissette’s "Jagged Little Pill". Where’s the bass? Where’s the depth? Where’s the width? Oh well, at least it sold a boatload of copies. I guess the lesson to be learned here is that the Merlin’s will make a bad recording sound worse. Next, I listened to Robbie Robertson’s "Contact from the Underworld of Redboy" (for which I received a Grammy nomination in 1998). That’s better! The presentation was exactly as I remember it in the studio, and the vocal even sounds better to me on the TSM than it did on my $6000 Genelecs! Excellent! Now I know that, thankfully, I’ve become a better engineer over the years. Lastly, a quick listen to my reference CD from the "Charlie’s Angels" score proved that the TSM’s are one of the most dynamic speakers I have ever heard.

In conclusion, the Merlin TSM-M is one of the most detailed and balanced speakers that I have ever heard, regardless of size. It’s soundstage is enormous, and paired with the right amplifier, has a depth that must be heard to be believed for a speaker of this size. I will say that I don’t think I could have done any better than choosing the Simaudio I-5 for amplification. It’s a wonderful amplifier and is almost a perfect match for the Merlin, in my opinion. Thanks go to Bobby for making me enjoy listening to music at home again. Now if the lawyers will just work out their wrangling, I can get the TSM’s into the studio.

soundstage expansion, bass presence and weight, instrumental individuation (can you say "air"), attack

Maybe a bit too crisp in upper midrange, maybe not

Just received my TSM/SE upgrade to Millenium status from Merlin today (01/04/01). Had a small chip on the top front of the cabinet and Bobby Palkovic, Merlin's president/owner refinished both cabinets free of charge. Don't take this as a recommendation to send him a dinged speaker enclosure (his paint jobs are immaculate, time consuming and costly), but rather as a testament to how he runs his business. Like those before me, Bobby told me to expect to be impressed. Like those before me I didn't expect to hear what emerged from these sweet little boxes after the upgrade. I chose not to represent myself as an audiophile because I doubt my ability to accurately assess the performance of these or any speakers. I do know what I like, though, and if it helps the reader, I chose my Merlins over similarly priced ($2000-2500) Proac, B&W, Joseph Audio, revel and Paradigm mini-monitor auditions. My equipment is good, but hardly high-end by serious audiophile standards: Solid state Roksan (UK) integrated amp and CD player, old Denon DP30L turntable, Nakamichi Cassette Two tape deck, Analysis Plus Oval 12 speaker wire and BL interconnects. Typical listening session for me might include the Coleman Hawkins/Ben Webster duets, Steely Dan's Two Against Nature, and Paul Gailbraith's Haydn violin concertos (for 8 string classical guitar). SACD is out of my pocketbook league for now. So are most fine tube amps or 3 grand bi-amp speaker wire runs. OK, so what did I think? What follows is presented as it occured listening to (1) Steely Dan, (2) Diana Krall, (3) Brooks Williams acoustic guitar, and (4) Jesse Winchester:

Jesus, this is scary. Where did that air around each instrument come from. What is Donald Fagen doing standing 8 feet to the left of my left speaker. The sounstage was never this wide or well defined front to back. Actually, I'm not sure I believe this. Is it for real, or am I projecting onto the speakers what everyone says about them. Without my old Merlins to compare against, how can I be sure I'm hearing what I think I'm hearing. Those snare shots were almost too crisp before, now... well... God, what spaciousness and...Fagen's a bit less out front, but everything else is now so...right. But is it a tad harsh? Some of the reviewers (and Bobby P.) said to expect greater liquidity and smoothness... don't think I perceive that... in some ways the sound is harder(?), no, that's not it... maybe more emphatic at the high end (yeah, but balanced out by all that space and dimensionality), and, holy cow, I think I can FEEL the air being displaced as those high hats compress... on to Diana Krall... the old Merlins were perfect on this CD, but this is maybe too much...the sibilance and super clarity in her voice when she says "let's face the music and danCE" used to be something I asked listeners in my house to notice (quiet, check this track out)...now its over the top...or is it? You know, I thought it was a pretty quiet CD in terms of background noise but now some background "hiss" is plainly audible...not distracting, just audible. I think I must be getting a lot more information out of these speakers and... yikes, listen to that acoustic bass. The old Merlins NEVER sounded like this. They were representationally perfect, but now I can almost hear the callouses on his fingers setting up little mini-vibrations on the strings up on the fretboard... it is so well defined and present and, well, meaty. God this is amazing. It's a new album.

Suffice it to say that I did this little dance between too much high-end clarity and so much more info, spaciousness, tranparency, emotion, and low-end presence and weight) through my remaining album choices (the instrumental acoustic guitar cuts were phenomenally pure and alive) and blew back to work, late, but elated about the prospect of listening again tonight and getting some feedback from my wife and son (both of whom loved the old Merlins, finding them only a little constrained emotionally and lacking in the sub-50hz department). I'll write a follow-up after I've had a chance to settle into them. Wherever I land, ultimately, on this assessment, I think can safely say that this upgrade is a must have. It may, in my case, require investigating some other amplification options, but even if I can't pull that off for a while, I say "vive le difference." Great job, Bobby. I think I'm in love again.

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Chose Merlin over ProAc, B&W, Joseph Audio, Paradigm, Revel at similar price points

How about a few words from an audio fan who did NOT purchase these speakers...
I was not in the market for new speakers, but if I had, the Merlin's would be tough to resist. In a word, awesome! Probably the best mini monitor I've ever heard.

Wonderfully detailed, amazingly transparent, incredible imaging, nice soundstage...blah, blah, blah. It offers up everything you could expect in such a diminuitive speaker.

Potential negatives. Well, they are rather revealing, which can make some of my favorite recordings unlistenable. Then again, we audio nuts are always in search of the truth...must be one of those double edge swords. It's stupid to mention a lack of deep bass. They're minimonitors for Pete's sake, they aren't designed for that. I will say the sound stage seemed a bit small compared to other mini's like Platinum Audio Solo, but more than makes up for it in detail, transparency and imaging.

This speaker does so many things right. I've heard the VSM SEs with the BAM enhancement too. Damn, that is one fine speaker. Maybe if I try to sell a kidney...