This is a pair of Merlin 3B+ speakers made in Rochester, NY circa 1990. These were given to me by a former co-worker, whose wife was tired of looking at them, and thought they were too big. I gladly helped them solve the problem.
The original foam covering had completely disintegrated, the wood finish had some minor damage, one of the woofers had come disconnected, and the midrange and tweeter pots needed some cleanup. The bottoms are loaded with sand, and they weigh over 100# each. These were a pretty serious pair of high end speakers that retailed for close to $1000/pr, and still sound pretty amazing even by today’s standards. I owned a pair of the larger Merlin 4s years ago. I cured the performance ills, sanded and re-oiled the oak caps, and re-wrapped the tubes with 1/4” 30 ppi filter foam. ~ $45 of materials, and they’re back to looking like new.
At some point I may eventually pass these on to one my kids who would appreciate them, but for now the Merlins reside in my basement system, and sound great driven by the small Stromberg Carlson ASR-120 tube amp I refurbed last spring.
The original foam covering had completely disintegrated, the wood finish had some minor damage, one of the woofers had come disconnected, and the midrange and tweeter pots needed some cleanup. The bottoms are loaded with sand, and they weigh over 100# each. These were a pretty serious pair of high end speakers that retailed for close to $1000/pr, and still sound pretty amazing even by today’s standards. I owned a pair of the larger Merlin 4s years ago. I cured the performance ills, sanded and re-oiled the oak caps, and re-wrapped the tubes with 1/4” 30 ppi filter foam. ~ $45 of materials, and they’re back to looking like new.
At some point I may eventually pass these on to one my kids who would appreciate them, but for now the Merlins reside in my basement system, and sound great driven by the small Stromberg Carlson ASR-120 tube amp I refurbed last spring.
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In follow up to the Merlin refurb, I felt a little guilty when the donor told me he was listening to a TV soundbar for his main system now. With the left over foam, I also refurbed an older pair of Sterling ST-10s from around 1992. The wood is solid cherry, and these were a very respectable little 6-1/2" two-way speaker. I offered these as a token of my appreciation for the Merlins, and he and his wife both agreed to accept them, so at least now he has a main music system again.
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Those merlin looks great, i have never seen one dressed in foam before, only in cloth, in speakers from vandersteen, von schweikert (rip), mirage.
