Merrill Audio ELEMENT 118 on Tour

Here are the photos shot by Lee Shelly Photography. He does a great job with photography. He has done a number of Audio company products. Not to mention he is such a nice guy. These pictures are all propritary to Lee.
http://https//leeshellyphoto.com/ 

Here are the pictures.
http://bit.ly/LeeShelly

Comparision of Merrill Audio ELEMENT 116 Power Amplifiers to VERITAS Monoblocks based on Hypex NC1200.

This comparison was done by a Merrill Audio dealer in Brooklyn, NY. You can bring your there amps to compare to the ELEMENT 116 at anytime.

Hey Merrill,
Thank you for lending them to me for a few days. I had the opportunity of spending the better part of 2 days listening to them and switching back and forth with the Veritas.
I took notes, I am planning to write a review… My general impression is WOA! Honestly, they leave the Veritas in the dust. I wont say that in the review of course. The Veritas are great amps and these cost 2ice as much. But there really is no comparison other than the ELEMENT 116 take all of the good qualities of the Veritas and run with them. The metaphor that comes to to mind is this: Imagine the sound image is a relief sculpture. With the Veritas, the image is chiseled with delicacy and finesse. You “see" (hear) all of the details and perceive all of the textures and tones, specially if you focus your attention on any of these qualities. With the ELEMENT 116 Power Amplifiers, the image, its details, textures and tones are even more fine and clear, but, more pointedly, the background from where the images emerge is farther back, more recessed and thus the figures and their contour and placement in the scene is way more evident without effort. So if with the Veritas YOU COULD PERCEIVE THNGS IF YOU PLACED YOU ATTENTION ON THEM, with the ELEMENT 116 Power Amplifiers, it is almost impossible to miss them. They are self-revealing and evident. They jump into space as the music unfolds with natural force and they recede into nothingness with such momentum that you can’t miss them. It is quite something. This was evident in ALL recordings. Dull records sounded alive, great records sounded as vivo performances right there on the space between the system and I. Specially one record, https://www.bauerstudios.de/de/data/shop/6560/ was so vivid and real that Mar, who was in a separate room and with earbuds on listening to a talk, yelled “WAO!!!” when the first track concluded and came to join me to listen to the rest of the LP. I did not tell her which amps were playing and asked her to close her eyes when finished and switched to the Veritas. She got up after a minute: "This sounds great, but it’s uninteresting by comparison.”
In short, these are quite an achievement. Seriously the best amplification I have ever heard. I am sure the ELEMENT 118 Power Amplifiers are even better, specially under stress, but these ELEMENT 116 Power Amplifiers are something achievable and to cherish.
Best,Isaac Rivera
livingacoustics.com
111 Montague StreetBrooklyn, New York 11201

Link to Picture of the setup
http://bit.ly/LivingAcousticsELEMENT116

LOL! Ladder DAC has many complicated issues. Using the the GaN transistors would be like putting rocket fuel in a Ford Pinto - for those that remember the Pinto.

The ELEMENT 118's driving very low efficiency PipeDreams. This is the original pipe dream speakers, never sold. A new design based on this coming soon.

Click on the link to see all the pictures.
bit.ly/RossPipedreams

@ricevs 

Thank you for looking. The ELEMENT 114 has not been priced yet. It is expected to be between $9k and $12k. We are trying to bring it in as low as possible. The ELEMENT 114 will be a stereo unit which results in a little less stage. The ELEMENT 114 will also have less power. Both of these are difficult to hear unless you have a very resolving system and listen to the ELEMENT 116/ELEMENT 118 side by side. By itself the ELEMENT 114 sounds excellent with all the charateristics fo the ELEMENT 116/ELEMENT 118 - speed,detail, transparency,stage, control, musical and very easy to listen to.  The ELEMENT 114 will be released towards the end of the year. All the prototyping has been done. We just have to take it to production and will do so once we clear the backlog of the ELEMENT 118, and the ELEMENT 116 - which has not been announced yet! 

Input impedance 100k, output 2mohms. As always, listening is the best gauge of the control and sound.

An afterthought, per the other posts on VERITAS versus the new Merrill Audio proprietary designed ELEMENT 118 Power amplifiers, the new ELEMENT 118 is, IMHO, about an order of improvement over the VERITAS Monoblocks. The ELEMENT 118 has the delicacy and fineness that simply engages.
Hopefully you can get listen to a location close to you and do the comparisons for yourself.

The ELEMENT 118 against the VERITAS Monoblocks and another set of Pipedream speakers. This time the Christine Reference Preamp and Jens Reference Phono stage was in place. 


Here is a link to the picture.
bit.ly/MikePipeDreams

The ELEMENT 116 power amplifier show here driving horn speakers with a built in passive woofer. There are the Sunny Speakers, very nice sounding. http://www.lauferteknik.com/ was testing out the ELEMENT 116 with very positive results.

To see the Horn speakers, click on the link below.

These speakers weigh 600 pounds each! 

bit.ly/Laufernik

Turns out I have not been entering these links correctly.

So here is the consolidation of links to pictures of the ELEMENT 118 with various speakers and systems.

600 pound Horn speakers from Lauferteknik
http://bit.ly/Laufernik

Pipedreams speakers that are line array speakers with separate subs.
http://bit.ly/MikePipeDreams

The original bare pipedreams. One of the early prototypes.
http://bit.ly/RossPipedreams



More to come. We have another set of horns from a customer in France, system in Netherlands and Electrostatic speakers from Sanders sound.

Also look out for a review from the Kansas Orchestra percussionist. Coming in October.

Enjoy the pictures.

Here are the ELEMENT 118 power amplifiers with the Sanders Sound Electrostatic speakers. 

The Sanders Electrostats are one of the best electrostats that can take any power, and has a lifetime warranty. The combination is spectacular.

Click on this URL to see the system with the Omega E Mat also.

http://http//bit.ly/SteveSanders

Audio show in the Netherlands, call XFI has the ELEMENT 118 Power Amplifiers on show, by the distributor. Here are some pictures and the link for the show.
https://x-fi-audioshow.nl/nieuws/snel-sneller-merrill-118-mono-blocks/

French Horns cozy up to the ELEMENT 116 Power Amplifier Monoblocks. Daniel the new owner heard the ELEMENT 118 at Munich and decided to be the very first customer in Europe with the ELEMENT 116 which have not been announced yet.
Daniel claims that his system has never sounded so good.

Pictures here.
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/10rzHpkT0VnrARgJun-XiGjc1T56qc3Rw?usp=sharing

Here is a review of the ELEMENT 1116 versus the VERITAS Monoblocks as posted on Audiogon.
This was done by Dr. Michael Bump, Percussionist at Kansas Symphony and Profession of Percussion at the Truman State University. A very good write up and enjoyable read.

https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/comparative-thoughts-merrill-audio-element-116-vs-veritas-cla...

So far the ELEMENTs have been to Munich, Hague, Kansas, NJ, CT, WA, NH, France with a few locations in each place. More places to go. They are currently in Netherlands, France, Washington, NJ. Any one looking to compare their amps can take them into listen side by side.

Merrill Audio Introduces Lower Priced Gallium Nitride Monoblock Power Amplifiers, The ELEMENT 116.
For Immediate Release:
9th November 2018
Merrill Audio Advanced Technology Labs, LLC
Bernardsville, New Jersey, USA.
Following the enormous success of the ELEMENT 118, Merrill Audio is introducing the ELEMENT 116 Monoblocks, with the same Galliium Nitiride Transistos, ZXOL design which has zero feedback and zero dead time. This innovation gives a music reproduction that is full of air, emotion and detail, simply superbly presented with a wider, deeper stage at a lower price point. Using Merrill Audio’s proprietary ZXOL design, the new ELEMENT series of Power Amplifiers are an order of Magnitude better in every sonic characteristic than their previous amplifier range.
A great many new technologies are used in the new ELEMENT series, code name Project Oganesson. This is named after the Oganesson element – the latest Atomic element added to the periodic table, OG with atomic number 118. The ELEMENT series of Amplifiers start with the ELEMENT 118, as with Og 118, and continue with ELEMENT 116, ELEMENT 114 which will inherits this technology and advances in audio reproduction.
Using a zero feedback, open loop proprietary design which Merrill Audio has code named ZXOL, the ELEMENT 116 Monoblock Power amplifiers give you amazing detail like never before and yet with an immediacy found only in live music. The open loop, zero feedback design takes every advantage of the very latest, fastest transistor material technology using Gallium Nitride. A highly advanced, custom PCB removes almost all of the parasitic inductance and capacitance enabling a superbly fast response with a smooth, controlled sound that capilizes on the full capabilities of the Gallium nitride transistors. Using expertise developed over a decade, the extra special Circuit boards were designed with unique pure copper onboard heatsink for ultra fast thermal transfer and stability, giving large power handling with very low parasitic impedances. 16 pounds of pure copper are used for heatsinks. Only the finest 0.1% tolerance components were used. All wire is silverplated OFC copper, with PTFE sleeving for the best signal transfer and lowest dielectric.
The ELEMENT 116 Power Amplifier Monoblocks are package in beautifully engineered chassis that is accented with Rose Gold Acoustical Dampers and faceplate, making it a work as an art piece as well, befitting enjoyment for your ears and your eyes.
The ELEMENT 116 Power Amplifier Monoblocks have a huge reserve of power for extended transients, and the power expands linearly with the load - 300 watts into 8 ohms, 600 watts into 4 ohms and 1,200 watts into 2 ohms, for powerful, uncompressed music. Dual, top of the line WBT speaker binding posts provide easy bi-wiring. A 20A IEC AC inlet is used for a tight, excellent connection with heavy power cords. The ELEMENT 116 Monoblock Power Amplifiers includes GAIA III footers from Isoacoustics. All details have been provided for excellent music reproduction.
Hear them at the World premiere introduction at the New York Audio Show, room 117 presented by Distinctive Stereo. The ELEMENT 116 Monoblocks are priced at $22,000 a pair.
About Merrill Audio Advanced Technology Labs, LLC
Merrill Audio Advanced Technology Labs, LLC designs ultra-high end equipment that has been the forefront of technology since its inception in 2011. Merrill Audio based in New Jersey, USA, is known for their excellence in Audio reproduction, using advanced techniques and technologies.
To Learn more please contact: Merrill Wettasinghe T.415.562.4434. ELEMENT118@MerrillAudio.net www.MerrillAudio.net
Facebook: merrillaudio
Twitter @Merrill_Audio

 
 

Award from Positive Feedback Editor David Robinson.

https://positive-feedback.com/audio-discourse/robinsons-positive-feedback-brutus-awards-2018-part-the-first/

David was so impressed he gave us the award before the review. Read on, and look for the review in 2019.

Have a very Merry Christmas and Happy new year everyone.

cheers

Good detailed review of Class D and the ELEMENT 118 in the March issue of HiFi+ Magazine, on your newstands now. Alan Sircom, editor and a very good, succient writer dives into both. Take a read.

This review was done in the UK. 

The ELEMENT 116 is touring Texas right now. Soon to be back in NJ. Any one looking for a listen, there are ELEMENT 116 in Northern NJ and soon to be in NYC also. 

Hi George,

Perpetual motion would be creation of energy. This is simple ohms law principals. Voltage = Current x Resistance. If the power supply can deliver, then the voltage and current will act in proportion, hence power in proportion. Power = Vsquared/R or I squared x R. Distortion quoted at full power. Note there is no feedback loop. So distortion in this design is not dependent on feedback or power. The Transistors are capable of over 4,000 watts however it will shutdown based on current, which generates heat and the heat cannot be dissapated as fast for 4,000 watts. Hence the limitations. The power supply is quite capable of 2,000 watts and adjusts to load unlike others that drop voltage with a higher current, for example a transformer based linear supply.

cheers

Merrill

The Merrill Audio ELEMENT 114 Stereo Power Amplifiers are out.
Press Release
https://www.pr.com/press-release/784207

Webpage.
https://merrillaudio.net/element-114-power-amplifier-monoblocks/

Enjoy!

ELEMENT 118 Monoblocks are in Canada now - Toronoto and Vancover, both coasts. 

ELEMENT 116 is in New York, New Jersey, California, France and Netherlands.

Here is the full text of the press release.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 3rd May 2019

Worlds ultra-fast power transistor Gallium Nitride (GaN) used again on 3rd Power Amplifier from Merrill Audio Advanced Technology Labs, LLC

BERNARDSVILLE, New Jersey, USA - Zero Feedback, Zero Dead time and bottomless noise floor using Gallium Nitride (GaN) transistors on the ELEMENT 114 Stereo Power Amplifiers from Merrill Audio make it simply one of the best amplifiers available. Merrill Audio is very excited to release this new advanced technology at a lower price point. Utilizing trickle down technology from the award winning ELEMENT 118 and ELEMENT 116 Monoblock Power Amplifiers released last year. The Merrill Audio ELEMENT 114 ZXOL proprietary design technology leaps ahead of all other Class D implementations and provides more detail and immediacy almost than almost any amplifier in any amplifier class. The Musical detail, experience and immediacy along with the immediately noticeable ultra-low noise floor takes music reproduction to a whole new experience. It only takes an instant to realize your listening to something quite special.

Using advanced Gallium Nitride (GaN) transistors and advanced PCB design techniques, the dead time is reduced to zero, which removes any distortion. Dead time is the time the MOSFET transistor takes to discharge or charge when changing states. Since there is no dead time distortion, the ZXOL proprietary design also has Zero feedback. With Zero feedback there is much more detail, more information and much greater immediacy all with a sense of ease and openness. The combination is what we refer to as the Merrill Audio proprietary ZXOL, which stands for zero crossing, open loop design. With zero dead time, there is little heat loss and lower temperatures which allows for more precise operation of the amplifier and longer lasting, more stable components.

The Merrill Audio ELEMENT 114 Stereo Amplifier, just like the ELEMENT 116 and ELEMENT 118 utilizes a custom LLC resonant power supply with a custom transformer as an inductor. This ultra-low noise power supply gives the ELEMENT 114 amplifiers its seemingly limitless supply of power and ultra-low noise floor while in operation at full power.

The Merrill Audio ELEMENT 114 Stereo Amplifier, like its higher end amplifiers are load invariant, with the Merrill Audio ELEMENT 114 delivering power across all complex loads that doubles 200 watts into 8 ohms, 400 watts into 4 ohms and 800 watts into 2 ohms. Full protection circuity is built in, with no clipping using a fast signal reduction design to avoid clipping on the outputs.

The Merrill Audio ELEMENT 114 Stereo Amplifier comes in a gorgeous Stereo package, with Polished Black Nickel and Rose Gold Face plate and accents. A 20Amp AC inlet is use for tighter connection. The XLR input has a full Teflon body with rhodium plated silver pins. The speaker binding posts are Pure copper speaker. Gain is 26 dB, 400 watts into 4 ohms at 0.08% distortion. Early listeners were startled with the most realistic reproduction of music they have heard from any amplifier. The Merrill Audio ELEMENT 114 Stereo Amplifier is priced at USD$15,000. This carries forward the award winning ELEMENT series of Amplifiers from Merrill Audio and is the latest of all the award winning audio components.

All the Merrill Audio ELEMENT series amplifiers have Fully Balanced analog inputs.
See here.  https://merrillaudio.net/element-114-power-amplifier-monoblocks/

EnjoyTheMusic.com puts out a review on the Merrill Audio ELEMENT 116 Monoblocks and surprisingly covers the VERITAS, and other Hypex Ncore NC1200 Implementations.

http://www.enjoythemusic.com/superioraudio/equipment/0619/Merrill_Audio_Element_116_Veritas_Review.h...

Other news - Merrill Audio ELEMENT 116 Monoblocks now available for listening in Hong Kong. Send me PM for listening info. Driving the MBLS's.

@viber7
Just to set the record straight for those reading, I did not design or invent the term, "Soft landing" as stated in the paragraph, 

As for the Christine preamp, this is an excellent preamp with tremendous speed, dynamics, and an ultra low noise floor and not surprisingly, is an ideal complement to the Element 118. It incorporates a unique feature that Merrill calls a "soft landing." This means that transients never have a hard edge and this feature, according to Merrill, is responsible for the Christine's fatigue-free presentation.

This was from Marshall Nack so I would like to give him the credit for this. You can read more in his review here.
https://positive-feedback.com/reviews/hardware-reviews/christine-preamplifier-merrill-audio/

Many thanks viber7 for providing such a detailed, thorough and investigative report, not to mention the amount of gear put together to make this happen. It has always been a pleasure having this candid exchange with you over the years.  You provide a good contribution to the audio world.

@mattnshilp  a shout out to him also for helping with the original design challenges of form and function. The outriggers were his idea and he also did the final design tweaks.

Regarding the Element 118s, Merrill incorporated a very novel means of controlling for vibration via a combination of a pair of stainless steel outriggers and Isoacoustics GAIA II footers. The way these amps are constructed, with these outriggers in place, it's impossible to apply aftermarket footers such as the Stillpoints Ultra 5s or HRS Vortex that I own and so it's hard to know if I would prefer something other than the stock footers but at the very least, Merrill definitely put thought into this. Furthermore, it's implemented very tastefully.

@guidocorona  provided the insight to use 20A connectors for better connections. I agree and believe everyone should uses this, especially if they are upgrading the power lines and power outlets.

As with all my equipment, many, many audiophiles are engaged for listening, feedback on form and function in the design phase. Many thanks to them all for their time and for use of their systems for listening to ensure broad working function. 
The best compliment is when some say it is a bit arm and others say it is a bit cold. The middle is reached!

Back to  @viber7 , thank you again for the honest reporting.

cheers

Merrill

Hot off the Press from Dr. David Robinson, and his final impressions on the ELEMENT 118. Along with a good sampling of his albums and pictures. I am most impressed with his Stowkowski, although no the original pressing.
https://positive-feedback.com/audio-discourse/impressions-final-thoughts-on-the-merrill-audio-element-118/

If anyone would like to do a bake off, bring your amps to the VPI house in Matawan, NJ Sept 28th and 29th. Or arrange with any of the dealers in NJ who have the ELEMENT 116 and ELEMENT 118 each.

@viber6  Regarding 6 Moons and the ELEMENT 114 - that is enroute to 6moons. see their front page on updates from Srajan. 

Also many thanks for your violin recital and comparisons. that was certainly a very informative and entertaining recital and discussion. I which I could post pictures here but I will do that on my facebook page. 

Look forward to more listening on your speakers especially.