Merrill Audio ELEMENT 118 on Tour

@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. 

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.

What is happening with the 6moons review of the 114?  Srajan seems to be bored.  "To be continued" has been there for a month or so.

Viber7,
Thanks for your well expressed clarification, particularly how the 118 by itself keeps the guitar and related transient rich instruments sharp and clear, in contrast to the Christine which has a softening effect.  I also like your methodology of recording your own piano playing in your room as a reference point.  Actually, I have never been happy about the sound of any piano in a room.  Even a 6 foot grand piano needs a room at least the size of a small recital hall to sound its best, free of the stifling affect of nearby walls and low ceiling.  In a typical home, the piano is bass heavy in a similar way to how large speakers sound in a tiny room, but much worse.  So by doing the recording in your room, you brilliantly correct for this effect.  Even with my own listening to a piano in the home, I can still tell that the percussive effect at all freq is tight like a mallet striking an anvil, which is not at all like the woolly mush coming from many tube amps and some euphonic SS amps.  

Although I agree that terms like "cool" mean different things to different people, let me propose a simple way to describe what I mean.  Compare the sound of a flute, oboe, clarinet playing the same note A 440 Hz at the same volume level.  The flute has a "cooler" or "whiter" sound than the oboe or clarinet, possibly due to the fact that its overtone structure is skewed toward higher freq.  The 3 instruments all have most of their energy at the fundamental A 440 Hz, but the differences in complete tone are related to different proportions and phases of the higher overtones.  The oboe and clarinet sound more similar to each other than to the flute, with the oboe possibly sounding brighter due to the nasal piercing quality of its harmonics.  In my vocabulary, cool is like bright with more HF proportion, and warm is like dark with less HF proportion and more bass.  

@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

@rsf507 , I tried a variety of power cords with both the Element 118s and the Christine.  Of the 2, the 118s are more responsive to power cords.  

Yes, @bill_k is correct, the 118s use 20A IEC inlets but Merrill chose these because of their ability to more securely clamp onto the power cord rather than a need for a 20A supply.  As stated, these amps consume about 17 watts while idle and even during normal playback levels, these amps never consumed more than about 25 watts on average.  Just mind boggling for amps that can supposedly output up to 1600w each.

Having said that, these amps scaled very nicely to either the Shunyata Sigma NR (6awg) or Alpha NR (8awg) power cords I have on hand although my preferred power cord for all of my gear are High Fidelity Cables power cords.

All good points regarding vibration control and I wholeheartedly agree on its importance.  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.

@rsf507 - With all due respect I believe you're mistaken regarding the IEC jack on the Element 118, which is the 20 amp version instead of the more common 15 amp. It has no relation to the amp's required voltage, but a 20 amp IEC generally offers a more secure physical connection along with higher current capacity compared to the 15 amp IEC.

My definition of cool- neutral- warm is based on several factors, like whether the singer, hollow body guitar, cymbals, piano keys/board... sound natural

Some systems get the leading edge of the pluck, but lack the resonance inside the hollow body guitar, or vice versa

or get the strike of the cymbal but lack the shimmer or warm sound of the brass, or vice versa

or with a singer where the voice is all head and no chest,  or vice versa

or the piano where you hear the keys but not the board or the sound/size of the body,  or vice versa

Do not discount the contribution of vibration control which seems to be an afterthought in many systems 

ricevs, et al,

I too am a believer that all cables sound best when off the floor.

Years ago I demonstrated this in a friends system (all top BAT, CEC spinner with MSB dac AND several exotic TTs with multiple arms, and $5K+ cartridges). His speakers were custom frame Acoustat 4+4s with 2 servo amps per side: the offending cables were very long interconnects laying across thick carpet. The improvement was significant, better speed, better high frequencies, better everything

Recently I bought a set of cool looking speaker cable risers from an AGon seller and showed them to my friend David Salz (WireWorld). He chuckled and said they aren’t necessary when the cables are correctly designed. Well, since my speaker cables (and ICs) are WW. I removed them and noticed zero benefit. $50 down the drain.

All my components are resting on Machina Dynamic springs, which provide huge vibration isolation benefits for peanut money

What you have the equipment mounted on makes all the difference in the world.  All footers change the sound.....all platforms change the sound....all things under the platform change the sound.  Almost all stock footers can be improved by using aftermarket ones.  If I were A/Bing expensive amps like above I would have at least a half dozen different footers and platforms to play with (and of course, power cords).  Also, mass loading on top of the amp or whatever can be amazing.  You can use lead shot, damped weights, etc.  Lighter equipment generally needs more mass loading.  You must mount every amp in the same position and with the same feet to know the difference in the amps and then tweak each one for best sound with different feet/loading etc.  Yes, it takes time but is well worth it.  Just did a listening test the other day and the person who owned the system told me the difference between two different footers under the amp was "the difference between a sale or not"..........This guy had his speaker wires on the floor and when we put them up in the air the sound was incredibly better.  I hope you guys have all your cables off the floor.....otherwise you are not hearing what a real soundstage is like. 

Viber6, 

Neutral, cool, warm, grey, etc. mean different things to different people and so I don't always know what people mean when they use these terms.  Right or wrong, I define neutrality as a flat frequency response where no part of the frequency response is exaggerated in any way and so this is more of an ideal rather than something that can be realistically achieved.  I define warmth as a sound that is tilted more toward the bass frequencies where the treble, while present is quieter and more subdued.  The opposite of warm is bright.  Forced to choose, I would pick warmth over brightness.  I'm not exactly sure what "cool" or "grey" means when people use these terms.  Perhaps a U-shaped curve where both the bass and treble are rolled off?  Regardless, I find these terms useful only when compared against some known reference.

In my case, my reference is the piano in my listening room and so this is "neutral."  Since I have never heard an electronic audio system sound exactly like my piano, I have never heard anything sound completely neutral.  When I listen to a piece of audio gear, I will play a piano track and compare it against my own piano and establish tonal temperature from there.  The problem with this is that some piano tracks that I have were recorded in warm environments (i.e. Carnegie Hall) and can come across as warm while other performances can sound relatively brighter and so what I have done is I have recordings of my own piano playing in my room and so I compare these recordings to the real thing.  

Using this technique, I found each of these amplifiers to sound warm relative to my piano with the Soulution sounding warmest of all followed by the D'Agostino.  The CH Precision and Element 118 sounded the closest to neutral.  As none of these combinations sounded "bright," I found none of them to be objectionable.  

Regarding this "soft landing," while the Christine preamp sounds rounded, the Element 118s do not.  Using my DAVE DAC to directly drive the Element 118s, these amps will express sharp transients as sharp transients to the point of fatigue.  These are truly transparent amps.

As for live classical music, I agree that a full orchestra has the potential to sound too loud and fatiguing if you are seated right next to the horn section.  As a frequent patron of the Davies Hall in San Francisco, the most expensive and most desired seats do not include the front row and so the front row is often available and so my wife and I deliberately choose these seats.  The beauty of this position is that with violin concertos, for example, the full emotion of the violinist comes through from these seats in a way that cannot be gleaned from further back.  I can even hear the performers breath.  Moreover, the depth perception between the 1st and 2nd violinist is easily discernible from this position but not from further back and so I find the complexity of the sounds that I hear to be better layered and more easily discerned and it is this detail delineation and depth of field that separates the best audio systems from more mediocre ones for me.  Fortunately, the stage has enough depth where the horns aren't blaring in my ears from this position.  Even after a 2.5 hour performance, I have never experienced fatigue from these seats.  The exception to the rule might be a spectacle like Mahler's 8th where the perspective from further back might be better than the front row but given the choice, almost always I prefer the front row.  The same thing applies to my home audio system but obviously, at home, you can control the volume.

@Viber7 just curious what ac cords did you use with the Element 118’s since they require a 220 plug at the amp end even though it’s a 120v design? We all know (don’t we) that power cords can make a BIG difference.
BTW great write-up.

viber7,
I usually don't read long post, but I read your entire post/review. It's great to read thoughtful reviews that differentiate between components without the hyperbole.

viber7...  Did you buy the Merrills? Or are you moving on?

Viber7,
Many thanks for your informative review of the 118, which I found helpful because we have similar values/tastes in music and audio. Mike Fremer in a recent Stereophile found the CH Precision 1.1 to have a touch of warmth but otherwise reasonably good detail. Do you find the same? Coolness of tonality may be associated with fatigue and HF extension but is somewhat different from thinness. The new Boulder 1160 amp has been reviewed as extremely revealing. Although some people have found previous Boulders as having very cool/ruthless tonality, the 1160 and possibly the lighter lower powered 1161 may be serious competition for the Merrill 116/118 for sound quality. I wonder if the 118’s still non fatiguing nature suggests that it is warmer and not quite as revealing in upper mid/HF range as the Boulder. I don't know if the 118 amp has the same soft landing feature as the Christine preamp, but I am concerned that you found the guitar plucks rounded and not as lifelike sharp as they are in real life.  Unamplified guitar is not loud, so this is a red flag for me in that the Merrill duo may be somewhat forgiving at all volume levels.  As you know, live classical music up close can be fatiguing at high SPL, such as hearing a trumpet projecting its bell toward your ears. In fact, the conductor Benjamin Zander said that Mahler wanted the brass section to play as loud as they can at the climax in the 1st movement of the 5th Symphony. The object of high fidelity in audio systems is to play the music at a sensible volume so that maximum clarity can be heard, without the fatigue that comes mainly from blasting the volume.  Another way to say this is that an accurate amp will sound fatiguing at unnaturally loud SPL, but reveal all the detail at lower SPL while avoiding fatigue.

WOW. This is the way all reviewers should write, but not many have the access to such relative kit

Here is my first-hand experience with the Element 118 monoblocks along with the Christine preamp.  First of all, I would like to thank Merrill for sending both the Element 118s and the Christine preamp to me for evaluation.  I have had them in my home for the past few weeks.  Full disclosure, I have no financial relationship with Merrill.  Merrill was not even aware I would be posting this. 

A bit of background.  I have been in the hunt for my ideal amp for several years now, first for my Martin Logan Renaissance 15A hybrid electrostats and more recently, for my Wilson Alexia 2s.  My priorities are fairly straightforward.  Above all, I seek transparency and resolution but the presentation has to sound natural and non-fatiguing.  For those that have been at this for awhile, you know that this is a tough ask. 

While I listen to all genres, I listen predominantly to unamplified acoustical performances, especially large orchestral and chamber music.  This is the most challenging type of music for an electronic audio system to convincingly reproduce.  If my musical preferences consisted primarily of amplified studio recordings like Adele or Journey (and I do enjoy this type of music), I know I would have been content with my setup long ago.   Furthermore, my preference is not to sit in the balcony or even the stalls, but on the stage itself. I crave immediacy and vibrancy but again, it has to sound natural and non-fatiguing.   As a frequent patron of live unamplified performances up close, I can listen for hours and listening fatigue is never an issue.

Back in 2017, Merrill was kind enough to loan me a pair of his Thor monoblocks for audition.  Some time after, I was able to briefly audition a pair of Merrill's Veritas that were owned by a colleague.  I found these class D amps to not be my cup of tea.  They were neutral sounding and very dynamic with excellent bass but to my ears and in my system, they sounded flat and uninspiring.  While they did some things better than a Pass Labs X350.8 that I was also evaluating at the time, Merrill's amps did not sound as natural to my ears.  

As I have read reviews of Merrill's new Element amplifiers, it seems everyone has been raving about them in comparison to Merrill's old Veritas amps.  As someone who was never really a fan of Merrill's Veritas amps, I found these reviews to be unhelpful.  What about comparing against amplifiers from other established top tier manufacturers like Dan D'Agostino, CH Precision, and Soulution?  This is what a group of friends and I have done.

My speakers at home consist of a pair of Wilson Alexia 2s.  We used digital sources only (Chord DAVE DAC and dCS Vivaldi 2.0 DAC fronted by a Paul Hynes powered music server that I built myself).  Cabling consisted of a full loom of High Fidelity Cables Pro Series balanced interconnects and speaker cables.  At some point, the High Fidelity Cables Pro Series speaker cables were swapped out for a set of Danacables Sapphire Reference Mk2 speaker cables (4awg).  

The Element 118 monoblocks + Christine preamp were directly compared against a CH Precision M1.1 stereo amp + L1 preamp, a Dan D'Agostino Momentum Integrated, and Soulution 511 stereo amp + 520 preamp.  While we would have loved to have conducted blinded listening tests, due to time constraints, this was not possible nor was it necessary.  The sound signatures of these amps were so different that any untrained ear could discern differences easily.  As to which amp was best, as any experienced audiophile can tell you, this comes down to system synergy and personal preference and there was no unanimous consensus as to which amp (and preamp) sounded best.

Soulution 511 + 520 -- This is an exquisite pairing and is both very transparent and very resolving although not quite to the level of the Element 118.  This combo is a touch warm relative to the Element 118.  No amp was as fast as the Element 118 although I would not consider the Soulution slow by any means.  In fact, directly compared against anything from Pass Labs and a Luxman M-900u, I found the Soulution (both a 711 and 501) to easily outpace those amps.  The Soulution is every bit as explosive as the Element 118.  Where the Element 118 paints with fine lines, the Soulution paints with broad strokes and so the edges are softer and more forgiving.  The Soulution's bass has more heft but the Element 118's bass is better defined.  The Soulution's bass is better controlled although no one found the Element 118's bass control to be lacking.  The Element 118's midrange has better clarity although vocals can sound a touch thin for my tastes and so this is where the source and cabling can make a difference.  While I preferred the Soulution's midrange, I found the Element 118's treble to be superior and better resolved.  

Dan D'Agostino Momentum Integrated -- This is the artist of the group.  Also very fast and with tremendous slam but what sticks out with this amp is tone.  Beautiful, rich, luxurious, and textured tone.  For intimate vocals, I'm not sure this amp can be beat, even when compared against tubes.  It doesn't have the bass authority or control of the Soulution or the speed, definition and depth accuracy of either the CH Precision or the Element 118 but it's not a slackard in these areas either and would probably best most other amps.  It is, for sure, the least fatiguing of the group.  This was one amp that I could listen to forever.

CH Precision M1.1 + L1 -- This setup is closest to the Element 118 with regards to sound signature.  It is equally uncolored and very fast and incisive.  With the wrong source and cables, it can sound a touch thin.  With the right setup, it competes with the Element 118 as the most transparent and resolving amplifier of the group.  It is also the most expensive setup of the group but in this case, you get what you pay for.  It had the best explosiveness of the amps tested while remaining supremely controlled.  It also had the best depth accuracy of the group.  I'm not talking about the air around instruments that people equate to depth but rather true depth accuracy where an organ that is playing 30 feet away sounds as if it is 30 feet away.  With the very best orchestral recordings we played, the CH Precision M1.1 + L1 edged out all the other amp/preamp combinations although the Element 118 + Christine were not far behind.

Element 118 + Christine -- Class D or otherwise, Merrill's flagships belong in the conversation of "best of" with respect to technical performance.  I would agree with Merrill, I don't think I've heard a faster amp than the 118 and this is what is responsible for its tremendous transparency and resolution.  Couple speed with a very low noise floor, excellent clarity, explosive dynamics but also subtlety and nuance, and you have a world beater regardless of price.  Will it be everyone's cup of tea?  If you are fully enamored by the qualities of your 300B SET, then this amp may not be for you although I wouldn't automatically dismiss it without a personal audition.  You just might find its qualities too good to resist.

Are there downsides to the Element 118 + Christine?  Again, these are personal preferences and so view them as such but the Element 118's speed comes at the expense of tonal body.  Especially at low volumes, this amp can sound a touch thin.  My Chord DAVE DAC, which is the most transparent and most resolved DAC I have heard (when paired with Chord's M-Scaler) also sounds a touch thin when compared against my friend's dCS Vivaldi and so while the Chord DAVE pairs extremely well with the Soulution, the Vivaldi is a better match for the Element 118.  I would imagine that a Lampizator or Nagra would be an even better source.  Same thing with cables.  With both the Element 118 and CH Precision M1.1, the superior resolution of the High Fidelity Cables Pro speaker cables were too much of a good thing and I preferred the softer and more diffuse presentation of the Danacables Sapphire Mk2 speaker cables.  I would imagine the Element 118s would be a dream with speakers that image diffusely like electrostats or magneplanars.  

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 quality turned out to be a double-edged sword for me.  On the one hand, recordings with a hard edge were indeed much more listenable and less fatiguing, but on the other hand, I missed the sharp and crisp transient that one hears when a guitar is plucked.  To be fair, there were some in my group who found this quality very much to their liking.  I did try the Element 118 with other preamps including an Ayon Spheris III tube preamp and the Soulution 520 preamp and I found these combinations to definitely have their appeal.

There are other practical considerations worth noting.  First of all, I found both the Christine and especially the Element 118s to indeed be sensitive to power cords and line conditioning.  When I plugged either component into a non-dedicated circuit with 14awg wire in the walls using cheap 14awg power cords, SQ was good but nowhere as good as when these components were powered by my HFC Pro Series power cords and plugged into my dedicated circuits with 6awg wire in the walls.  Perhaps the biggest difference maker was when these components were plugged into my Sound Application TT7 line conditioner by Jim Weil.  This line conditioner made a tremendous difference with respect to even better transient response, clarity, smoothness, and noise floor.  To be fair to the Element 118, Dan D'Agostino also states in his manual that under no circumstances should his amplifiers be plugged into a line conditioner and yet when I plug his Momentum Integrated amp into my TT7 line conditioner, the improvement heard is once again very significant.

One final consideration worth noting.  With the Element 118 monoblocks and the Christine preamp, neither of these components consume more than about 15-20 watts each while idle.  In fact, I measured each monoblock to consume 17 watts while idle.  This is, of course, the benefit of using efficient switching power supplies and class D topology.  Even after leaving the monoblocks and preamp plugged in and turned on for days on end, they always remained cool to the touch.  In fact, these units don't have on and off switches since there's no point.  There is a standby function which, according to Merrill, serves only to "mute" these units.  This means that these components are meant to be kept on 24/7 so that they're ready to play and sound their best at any time without denting your energy bill or heating up your room.  

bill_k711

wow.

Thanks for sending me deep into yet another rabbit hole lol

Here's a few snippets from around the world on the 60 grand euro SPEC, their 100w is a mere $5999, neither the wpc nor the price work for me

2019   ‘Amplifiers SPECa compared to my reference system, i.e., preamplifier Ayon Audio Spheris III and power amplifier Soulution 710. I also used my notes and memories of the other tests, the range-topping amps:Kondo OnGaku, Phasemation MA-1000, AudioPax Maggiore l50 + m50and Thöress Dual Function Preamplifier + 845 Mono’.

Become however together with You, in front of a special challenge – that a company known for still of high quality, expensive amplifiers produced amp cost more, model RPA-MG1000 – this is one of the most expensive amplifiers on the market. It cost 60 000 euros device regular power amplifier, but in practice is an integral amplifier. We'll come back to that.

Importantly, besides the price, is that the amplifiers are SPECIAL working in class D. In the materials that I received in may 2013 during the exhibition the High End, it's the first time I met with the owners of Shirokazu Yazaki you and Tsutomu Banno – present chief engineer of the company – we find an eloquent picture, which shows the progres from tube amplifiers, known as "generation" 1.", through classic amps of the semiconductor, i.e. "generation 2.", to the new amplifiers in class D, which is 3. generation of amplifiers in General.

And we are not talking at all about what the Lord Yazaki-San and Banno-San does not like lamps, all exactly the opposite-they are the experts on lamps develop wonderful amplifiers of this type. It is just that I see the benefits that new technology brings. So they can be used for making any of this made sense to approach the project the right way and choose the right methods. For them, the key to achieving top-end sound from semiconductors is their work in class D.

In the tested amplifier was both types of capacitors. And this is because the SPEC gives the user a choice of sound character. For the first time this possibility was introduced in przedwzmacniaczu gramofonowym REQ-S1EX in 2013, but here taken to extremes. On a separate Board, after the filter in the output, we have two groups of capacitors and resistors. One of them is called "musicality", and the second "neutrality". This is not EQ color because it does not change the sensitivity characteristics (measurement frequency characteristics for both systems are identical) and changed the layoutthe character of the sound. Between these two modes selectable with a small switch on the rear panel.If for a moment to discard prejudices – because of bad amplifiers in class D is a lot – and we will focus on the basics, it may be easier to understand what it's wrote in the part dedicated to odsłuchom.

  http://highfidelity.pl/@main-3464&lang=

User comments on audition of Merrill Element 116 mono amps: https://www.whatsbestforum.com/threads/merrill-element-116-audition-in-hong-kong-a-new-era-of-classd.28526/

As a violinist, I think this latest review by Dr. Michael Bump is reasonably informative.  Many audiophiles describe sound in terms of width, depth, decay.  These are all derived characteristics, particularly width and depth which are subjective, whereas the fundamentals of music are frequency balance and extension, transient response and tone.  Dr. Bump certainly describes the amps with the educated ear of a professional musician whose training and present activity revolve around clarity and precision, as he states.  These are the most important characteristics of both live and reproduced music.  It would have been more informative if he compared the 116 and Veritas in the checklist at the conclusion.  Importantly, the 116 is given the maximum 5 notes for attack, but is the Veritas only 4 or 4.5 notes?  I didn't research any prior review of the Veritas in the same magazine which could have been done by someone else.  Maybe they rated Veritas as 5 notes for attack, but what counts is how a single reviewer rates both products in various criteria.  Dr. Bump is very articulate, but it helps to see numerical ratings as a summary at the end.

I hope the upcoming review comparison by Srajan in 6 moons of the prototype amp with Purifi module and the 116 is properly informative.  Let's keep our eyes peeled.

The " stated " signal to noise ratio on the Veritas seems to be much lower than on the 116, 128 db vs. 110 db. Is this a mistake ?

Looks as if the Veritas monos are holding their own against the E 116...And 10G less to boot...8)

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.

ricevs,
I'm with you.  I posted on your latest comment at the very bottom, page 2.

Bill.

Thanks for the link.  My local B & N no longer sells Hi-Fi+. Alas, the Merrill is not anywhere close to my budget, but it seems to be the current (npi) future of amplifiers. What will Putzy counter with? I think I read where he's totally rethinking it

Ric seems to suggest that the only basic difference is ~ $100 for GaNs. Im guessing there is way more to it than that

I’ve heard all of Merrill’s gear. It’s very very good. Worth the price. Clean. Lightning fast. Bottomless noise floor. No flavor at all. Truly transparent. I don’t doubt that it would beat or at least match a shootout with most gear out there. Try to hear them. They are something special. 

Typical no information review.  No direct comparisons to other amps in its price range.  Just a vague mention of Dartzeel.......and which Dart is he talking about?  This is what is wrong with high end audio....It is all a big infomercial.  When is a magazine going to review all the "touted best' amps in a price catagory?  Imagine getting in 10 different amps.....burning them all in for a month and then A/Bing on several systems......Now, we would have some information.  Of course, that magazine would go out of business doing that.....as all the losers would stop advertising....not to mention the crying of those who own products that just got put at the bottom of the list. 

I am sure the Merrill is a great amp......but how good we will not know until many, many people have A/Bed versus the natural competition.....and by the time they do that there will be more products out to A/B with.  Never ending story of spending big money and then having to sell it when the next thing comes out.  It is good to be wealthy and unattached to your money.....he he.  What if a company comes out with an Class D amp for $5K that is as good (which will probably happen within a couple of years).......are you going to cry?  There is no reason why a great amp should cost more than a few thousand dollars.  Class D is not expensive.  GaNs are only slightly more expensive than Mosfets.....you could raise the product $100 to compensate.  

There are reviews posted by those that owned the Merrill Veritas and compared with the new Merrills.  They think the new (twice as expensive) amps are better.  However, there is a review of the $5K Van Alstine mono balanced amps that were also A/Bed with the Veritas.......He said they were way better....in fact, his words seem more bold than the other reviews.  So, is a stock $5K Van Alstine amp in the same league with the new Merrills?   For certain, the Van Alstine amps are not classy looking at all......but you could have someone make you sexy faceplates for very little if you have to have it classy.

http://www.audiophilia.com/reviews/2018/10/13/audio-by-van-alstine-dva-set-600-mono-block-amplifier

For sure, we are in a very exciting time.  Audio has never been so good.....but how much do we need to spend?  When new technology is first put out you pay through the nose.  Remember the first basic calculator?...at $500 or whatever.....now they cost a $1.  Remember the first 1 gig memory cards for your camera?  $800!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  We don't know how many days we have left in this body.....so spend your money any way you like and enjoy the ride.  This very moment is magical....that is for sure.  "He who dies with the most toys wins".......does not bring happiness.  Happiness is embracing this very moment.  I was in ecstasy as a teenager listening to my AM radio in my 51 Chevy.

I thought the following new review of the Merrill Audio Element 118 mono amps from Hi-Fi Plus would be of interest on this thread.
http://www.hifiplus.com/articles/merrill-audio-element-118-mono-power-amplifiers/

I responded. 🤗

mattnshilp,  I sent you a message.

Thanks, Merrill.  Can any of the Element amps be used with any preamp of your own choosing?  I don't like the wideband design of Spectral which requires using a Spectral preamp.
      Does the 114 double again to 1600 watts into 1 ohm?  Put another way, what is the maximum continuous current, maximum peak current?  Live classical music from the front row has levels from 20 to 90 dB for most music with rare peaks of 100 dB.  Delicate nuances heard at 50 dB or less and even average levels of 70-80 dB require less than 1 watt in most systems.  I believe that lower powered amps have more accuracy given less chance of matching errors in multiple transistors and shorter signal paths, so how is the accuracy of the 114 compared to 116 at low power levels?  Of course, the 116 has the advantage at very large power levels, although the 114 is still a high powered amp.

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

Will these new amps have direct digital inputs?

https://parttimeaudiophile.com/2019/05/03/merrill-audio-introduces-the-114-new-gallium-nitride-amplifier/

"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."

Hi Merrill, congratulations this really is akin to "perpetual motion" stuff. Being a stickler for "trusting" bench measurements presented.
So for the third maybe lucky time I’ve asked the same questions, on these "doubling" figures presented.

Using the same frequency, are they all taken just before clipping, all at the same distortion level, single or both channels driven?
Or are the 8ohm and or 4ohm figure understated?

And while I have your attention, are you using the higher switching frequency 1.5mHz available with the GaN technology? If not what frequency?

Cheers George

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.

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.

mattnshilp--if you experience live sounds of nature like rustling of leaves, natural percussion like hammers and buzzsaws, birds and the bees, as well as live music in open air free of hall wall and carpet colorations, you realize that the euphonic sounds of tubes or comparable solid state are not the true sounds of nature.  Neither are raucous solid stage electronics with their own distortions.  Based on your descriptions of the 116, Merrill may have created the most perfect likeness to the real thing. Compared to that, or live sounds of nature, I am completely bored with euphonic subtraction of vital information.  I haven't spent so much money and time in my long audio experience to tolerate any component that subtracts information.  Believe me, if you look at the score (printed music) of most classical pieces, there is so much more information that must be revealed and heard that even the best system is still veiled.  It is like speaking the English language correctly--one should always try to be understood as clearly as possible, to the best of one's ability.

Hi Viber6. There is always a place for tube gear; a system is the sum of its parts. But there are no hifi’ish aberations with Merrill gear. 

Hey Merrill.... when is the 114 coming out? 🤔

mattnshilp--thanks for your informative comparisons between Rowland and Merrill.  As long as there are no hifi-ish frequency aberrations in the Merrill Elements, they should make obsolete electronics that sound like tubes, whether tubes or SS, if one wants truth, clarity AND a natural likeness to the real thing.  Any clue when the 114 stereo will be available?

Sksos- I also owned the Veritas and they definitely were power cord sensitive.

My comment is based on Merrill’s statement that the power supply in the 116 and 118 is immune to power cords. I have personally not tested that statement. I’m a big fan of high end PC’s and believe they can make a HUGE difference. Just passing on what Merrill said. 

@mattnshilp   "...is essentially immune to power cords..."  

I have to respectfully disagree. I've owned and loved the Veritas and THOR amps and they very much respond to after market AC cords for the better and not by a small margin. 
Now I've had here the Element 116's but since they use a 20amp IEC I can't confirm or deny that an after market AC cord will be better.

(Dealer disclaimer)

I just had someone message me through my Audiogon thread asking me to comment on the difference between a Rowland 625 S2 and the Merrill 116. Here is my response:

Wow. Totally different beasts. Opposite ends of the solid state world.

Roland is known for warm, rich, soulful sound. I think, and many agree, that the 625 S2 is one of Jeff’s greatest design. And they look gorgeous. But they lack in many areas compared to more expensive options. Speed, transparency, dynamic impact, low end extension and noice floor. Rowland is solid state that sounds like tubes. It’s great, and musical and engaging.

116’s are, in many ways opposite and in some ways half way to opposite. The 116 are neutral, in all capital letters. There is no voicing, tonal coloration, saturation, or emphasis on anything but purity and an absolute transparent window to the preamp and source. The amps are utterly clean; like looking through a window and your brain keeps saying that it knows there is a window there, but your eyes just can’t perceive any window because the glass is just so damn transparent. There is no warm and no rich. Just music. Accurate, clean, engaging music.

It also has fathomless low extension with a sense of slam and impact that makes you scratch your head. It’s not exaggerated. But that concept of clean keeps coming back. There is an impact and sense of pace and rhythm conveyed that resembles sitting close to the performers and having that visceral, palpable experience of being near the instruments. This conveys a sense of realism that needs to be experienced to appreciate. I believe all of this is subconsciously reinforced by the fact that the amps have the lowest perceived noise floor I have ever experienced. Again, it results in that word clean that I keep bringing up.

Along with that, the amps are lightning fast. This is a hard one to describe until you hear them. But the leading and trailing edges are perfectly defined both spatially and temporally. The pluck of an instrument string or snap of a snare has a sense of correct speed that only the most expensive gear seam to get right.

All of this is done without sounding overly accurate, sterile or lifeless. Your toes will tap, your fingers will snap, and you will sing out loud. They really need to be experienced. Of course, the Rowland does that as well. Forgive the anology, but having sex with a condom feels really great, but without one is SO much better! 😜

Merrill thanks for the reply, but the perpetual motion comparison is an example of the unreachable, as everything has loses.

That’s why I ask once again, does this amp REALLY double it’s wattage for each halving of impedance from 8 to 4 to 2ohms, (with 300w 600w 1200w) just before clipping, with the same % of distortion at each of the 3 x impedances? (just a yes or no answer will suffice)

Cheers George

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

Hey George.

Don’t forget it runs cool, is essentially immune to power cords or conditioners (Merrill can clarify) and has a noise floor lower then the Marianas Trench. 😇