Long gone are the Virgo's and Merlin's (Bobby P. made some great speakers R.I.P.) Sold them to raise $$$ for home purchase. Since then acquired a pair of Snell's. Refoamed my JBL's that I purchased from Hifi Buys in 1979! I prefer these to the Snell's perhaps due to system synergy or perhaps sentiment. I believe the Snell's have deeper base while the L-19's have better imaging and soundstage.
Bought a second pair of JBL crossovers on Ebay to do experiments with while also having the ability to keep my speakers mostly original.
I am wondering what the next upgrade should be... I am thinking a more up to date CJ preamp may give me a deeper sound stage. Any opinions on a premier 17ls? Speakers on my shortlist: Merlin VSM, Quad 2805, Penaudio Cenya. I also like PSB Synchrony 1, Acoustat
I just got the basis/audiomods table up and running. However, I may need to invest in a USB microscope to properly set VTA. Also on my todo list is to buy another cartridge for the AR TT so I can A/B the two tables.
BTW- I believe your Merlins are TSM-MXe's which are the same vintage as my MMe's but in an upgraded finish. I also drove the Merlins with tubes. (CJ MV-60 in my case) Both the Merlins and Virgo's sound great with tubes at the listing level that I am accustomed to.
I loved the Merlins! I just don't like the looks of stand mounts. Perhaps if I had a custom stand made that would integrate well with the aesthetics of the Merlins I would have kept them. Within their frequency response they are great speakers. The Virgo's go a little deeper. However, they absolutely need plenty of room around them. Perhaps my next speaker will be VSM's!
What did you not like about the Merlins? I am about to send Bobby my TSMXE speaker to him for Magic Mod upgrade. I like what I have now, but he says the upgrades will greatly improve the speakers. Guess I will hear if it's better or different. I use tubes with the Merlins . Thanks for any info.
BTW- for anyone wondering if the Virgo's bettered the Merlins in my system? Yes and no. I would say the Merlins have a sweeter tweeter and are much easier to place. I was very happy with the Merlins and would like to get VSM's at some point. However the Virgo's are soundstaging/imaging champs. (the Merlins are very good in this department as well) They go a little deeper than the Merlins, which is not to say the bass was more accurate. IMO, I like the looks of the Virgo's better. I just don't like the looks of standmounts. If I did I probably would have kept the TSM's longer.
System edited: Switched out home made stand with slightly modified Maria Yee stand that I had laying around. I tinted the windows and removed one of the non adjustable shelves so I could store vinyl in one compartment.
The ikea BESTÅ TOFTA skins the exterior and the doors are wrapped around a Salamander Synergy frame. The top and some other pieces were made in my own workshop. I was going for a mid century modern look and plenty of sliding panels and doors.
