Speaker Asylum: REVIEW: Merlin Music Inc. TSM-M Speakers by TomP

This post is a slightly modified version from my audioreview.com post. As my TSM has recently been upgraded to the Millennium version. After spending a considerable amount of time listening to its so-called 'new' sound I felt somewhat obligated to post this review on line in order to spread the words how the Millennium really sounds like as compared to the previous SE version, especially to other TSM Non-Millennium fellow users out there.
The auditioned music materials I used in this review are mostly acoustic instruments such as piano and flamenco guitar plus some jazz vocals and some SACD material as well. First, I'd like to make a note that I must be one of the few Merlin users out there that use solid state instead of tube to drive the Merlin lines of speakers but I do not think I've missed out much. My first listening impression after setting it up, as Bobby had warned me prior to the upgrade that be prepared to be impressed. Well, not only was I impressed, I was completely in shock. He was absolutely right! These are not the same speakers I used to listen to. Just about everything I could think of (from the previous SE version) was improved sonically by the Millenniums. How was it possible? You've got to ask the man. Somehow the overall music representation's pace feels more relaxed or may I add, more 'liquid' than ever with both stunning transparency and immediacy that rival electrostatic/planar sound, IMHO. During playback of the newly released Jesse Cook's Freefall CD or the Gino D'Auri's Flamenco Mystico (Gold CD). The acoustic guitars from both CDs never sounded this good not even with my reference Gershman GAP speakers, so lifelike that I could not help but thinking whether I was in the same room with these artists. Both guitar and piano string vibration and ambience or air around the strings seems fully flushed out with chilling accuracy. When playing back the XRCD Audiophile Reference III, the piano in track #4, Misty sounded so real that my wife who was in another room asking whether our daughter Amy was practicing her piano. As for the soundstage besides the TSM usual disappearance act it feels like a bit more extended but also slightly deeper than before, it often feels like it does go beyond the front wall and this must be contributed by a more silent TSM-M, I think? Fuller body sound along with deeper bass extension plus the TSM being more efficient as I do not have to turn up the volume on my preamp like I used to, are among the other major improvements over the SE version as I've too discovered this time. In the nitpicking department, I have one very small complaint to say the new speaker termination posts that came with the upgrade, while it accepts no banana plugs. During the hook-up, it took two people, to terminate all the speaker cable spade, the cardas bi-wired jumpers and the RC zobel network into their respective polarity posts. However, the new termination speakers posts should pose no problem to those of you who connect the speaker cable in bi-wire mode or in 'shotgun' configuration.
The small fee I paid for the upgrade is no doubt by far the best dollars I've ever spent in my audiophile life so needless to say I'd very highly recommend this Millennium upgrade to other TSM users out there. My hat is off once more time to Bobby and his folks at Merlin Music.

REVIEW: Merlin Music Inc. TSM-M Speakers Review by TomP at Audio Asylum