Room size is about 14 x 16 with a ceiling that peaks around 12' in the middle. Back opens up into dining room with an opening about 9"6" wide (essentially no back wall). I believe that the peaked ceiling, lack of back reflection and slab floor combine to make for very good acoustics, with the added benefit of providing stereo background dinner music in the dining room. The only acoustic tweak I use is a set of four of Echo Busters "Corner Busters" which are positioned on the floor (given that the ceiling slopes up from each of the four top corners). I also hung a tapestry on one of the side walls and put a sofa on the other.

The Merlins might have some trouble in a much bigger room but they sound large indeed in this room with the BEL amps.

augwest December 21, 2009 19:16

System edited: Latest kick is replacing all of the cables in my system with Grover Huffman models. This is the best bang for the buck in a long time. Grover's NEW speaker cables replaced a pair I was able to sell for more than twice the price on the USED market!

augwest July 18, 2009 06:52

Since last year I now have a pair of BEL 1001 MkV monoblocks (purchased second hand on AudiogoN) and upgraded to a Joule Electra LA-150 MkII tube preamp which was highly recommended by the designer of my speakers. The system sounds amazing and further upgrades seem superfluous.

I have ordered a couple of pairs of Grover Huffman's IC cables to compare with the BEL The Wire P1's I've had for more than three years now but it's a little hard for me to imagine the system sounding much more convincing than it already does - after three years of frenzied experimentation and tweaking I'm pretty much done.

augwest April 27, 2009 20:00

Sorry, I don't remember the brand of the wooden cabinet - it's nothing special. I screwed Adona brass cone feet into the six legs. The Symposium Ultra Platforms (and Rollerblocks for transport) on the other hand are very good things to put equipment on. Update: I have upgraded transport to Underwood HiFi T-Mod of Music Hall CD25.2, preamp to Joule Electra LA-150 MkII, and amplification to the only thing that sounded better than a BEL 1001 MkV - *two* 1001 MkV's! I was fortunate enough to find a matched pair of monoblocks on AudiogoN. This is the system of my dreams and is likely to remain stable for the foreseeable future.

augwest December 05, 2008 01:19

Based on conversations wiht Bobby at Merlin and reviews of the Audio Aero Capitole and Prima DAC I decided to try the Prima SE DAC with my trusty old HHb. I was already using the Pioneer Stable Platter transport in the HHb CDR-800 Pro Burner with the Cary 306/200. If this works out I may sell the Cary even though I have dozens of HDCD's. I'm still thinking of a second BEL but at $4k I suppose I owe it to myself to check into competitive tube amps on the used market. It would take quite a challenger to unseat the BEL, though.

augwest March 26, 2008 20:52