Merlin VSM-M Loudspeakers

With great regret I'm thinking of selling my Merlins - some of the best speakers I've heard.
See www.merlinmusic.com for specs / reviews etc.
In good condition my pair is in the premium dark blue finish with Z-feet and Battery BAM.
Pics on request from neill dot kennedy at virgin dot net (or PM).

Collection would have to be from me (Fife, Scotland) as I do not have suitable packing to guarantee safe delivery via mail / courier of these.
Happy to demo / give no obligation listen to anyone around my area.
Price? offers around £1800 (new price $7500)

 

Info from a review by the unfortunately named Todd Warnke:
"The cabinet features brass-tuning rods on both the front and top and sports a front mounted port, tuned to 37Hz, about half way down the cabinet. Below the port the cabinet is sealed and filled with sand, resulting in a loudspeaker that weighs 85 pounds. Besides adding mass, the weight at the bottom of the cabinet creates a very stable loudspeaker for its height. Sensitivity is rated at a slightly better than normal at 89dB while impedance is an 8 ohms nominal with a very tube friendly 6.5 ohm minimum. Set up for bi-wiring, the VSM-M uses the best posts I've heard, the patented Cardas, low-stress, single-hand posts.
The Merlin VSM-M is used in recording studios as both a nearfield and a mixing monitor. It is used by reviewers to examine systems and their interactions. More importantly, it is also enjoyed by music lovers to relax, to engage the soul, and to learn. Sure, there are better loudspeakers out there. But they're not dynamic two-ways. And regardless of driver configuration they are not cheaper than the Merlin VSM-M. This does not mean the VSM-M is the "perfect" loudspeaker. Like all audio gear, it has limits. If you need to complete the bottom octave, the VSM-M is not for you. If you have a very large room and listen at above average levels, in all likelihood they will not work for you. And if you use an amplifier that puts out less than three watts, they might not work for you, though this is not set in stone as most any amplifier can drive the VSM-M, so room size and desired SPL is the limit here, not the loudspeaker per se. That is about the extent of the limits of the VSM-M.
In parting, Mr. Einstein and I share one more thing -- or rather Albert and the VSM-M share something. Einstein said, "Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted". The Merlin VSM-M has many things that can be counted and that count. It has a very flat frequency response over its range. It is moderately efficient and quite easy to drive. And it plays the audiogeek games of imaging, staging and inner resolution with consummate skill. But its most significant aspect simply cannot be counted. It is musical soul. And the completeness of that soul takes it from an excellent loudspeaker into the realm of the truly special."
Specs:

Frequency Response: 33Hz to 22 kHz (+/- 2dB, 1 meter on axis). 4dB down at 30Hz with BAM in circuit
Tweeter: 1 inch soft dome Dynaudio Esotar D330/A
Woofer: 6.5 inch scan-speak paper carbon-fiber cone with csst aluminum basket and low diffraction rubber surround
Crossover: 12dB per octave with crossover point at 2200 Hz. Proprietary inductors, aluminum foil and polypropylene capacitors by Hovland. Caddock Micronox Film resistors and Cardas Cross wire.
Impedance: 8 ohms nominal (6.5 ohms minimum)
Sensitivity: 89dB/W/m

 

How does £1650 sound for these?

 

Are these the pair previously owned by Merlin/WM ?

 

Yes - bought them from WM.