Merlin Music Systems VSM-Mxe Premium Finish, BAM, Duelund

Time to sell my beloved Merlin speaker system.

These were purchased used but 'as new' from HiFi Heaven in Green Bay WI less than a year ago. They are the premium finish ruby heart red, include all of the original packaging and accessories and are in as good a condition as you'll find for a pair of used speakers.

The Ruby Heart paintwork is in fantastic condition. If you take a flashlamp and get close up you'll see some small blemishes, but nothing that I could get to show up on camera. They really are in nice condition.
The dust covers are unmarked. I have the original spiked feet (6 total) and the alignment guide that was supplied by the factory to assist with setup.
These have the premium caps - Duelund CU-Foil caps in both the BAM equalizer and the crossover. There's an interesting story with these speakers - the original owner sent them back to Bobby at the factory for the BAM and the crossovers to be cryogenically treated. I have the invoice for this work and it was just shy of $1000 - so you will own what is possibly a unique sounding speaker system, best of the best from Merlin.

The BAM is in mint condition and I've installed brand new identical to factory supplied Powerex NiMH rechargeable batteries. The BAM is the single channel single-ended design, so in a multi-source system you would generally insert the BAM into the tape loop on your preamp. Or, you can run it in series with your source component either between source and pre, or pre and power. It's very versatile and makes a noticeable difference to the sound with the BAM in circuit.

I've listed the original price as $12K, which is my understanding of what this model sold for when new. Of course that was without the $1000 cryogenic treatment.

How do these speakers sound?
I've run them successfully with a few different amps, both tube and solid state. They worked incredibly well with a Krell FBP 700cx and threw an enormously deep and wide soundstage. They worked beautifully with a friend's Jadis JA30 tube monoblocks. He's a fussy bugger when it comes to sound reproduction and he described the sound as totally musical and totally transparent. Setup properly they really do disappear in the room, and check all of the usual audiophile boxes. But they really do make beautiful music and are very faithful to what's upstream of them, with no noticeable colorations.
I've been a long time planar fan, having owned Apogees, Maggie's and Carver speakers for most of the last two decades and these are the first box speaker system I could happily live with. In my previous music room they were setup 7' out from the front wall in a 40x28' room and they worked exceptionally well, augmented with a subwoofer set around 30hz.

Presently they're setup in a much smaller 13x14' room and they work great! I actually prefer the smaller room for a more nearfield experience. You won't believe the amount of detail these speakers retrieve, but it's never forced or etched, as some speakers tend towards. If you're still reading you'll know that the owner of Merlin, Bobby Palkovic, passed away a about a year ago. Bobby had a long-standing association with Rick Brkich of Signature Sound, and it's good to know that Rick is providing ongoing support for Merlin speakers and the Merlin BAM. Rick is a good guy too, I had a question about suitable amps for the Merlins when I first bought them and he answered my email within an hour or so with a very detailed and helpful response. Here's Rick's web page, or if the link doesn't show just Google 'Rick Brkich Signature Sound' http://www.sigsound.com/FrameFiles/merlin.htm

Now to the not so fun stuff. I hate the idea of shipping these speakers. They are actually boxed very well in the original packaging with styrofoam, and the carton is in very good shape. They're not too bulky or heavy either, so shipping should be doable for around $200. But, I would prefer a somewhat local sale where I could meet the new owner or deliver within a sensible radius of my home in the Green Bay WI area.
I'd be prepared to drive these to Chicagoland or perhaps even to the eastern side of MN. So if you live further afield, perhaps we could meet. I would need to be paid in full before setting off on any road trips of course. Or, I will ship them, at your expense and your risk. To be honest, with the quality of packaging and the fairly sensible size/weight, there ought not to be too much risk, but I won't be held responsible in any way shape or form for any shipping mishaps.

If you'd like to come and hear them for yourself then I'd be happy to entertain you, I live 45 minutes north of Green Bay is Sturgeon Bay WI.

These should easily fetch $4K+, but I've priced them well below that to try and attract a buyer that won't need to have them shipped.
Ask any questions, but please don't kick my tires if you're not serious about buying.
Thanks!
Rooze