Merrill Audio ELEMENT 118 on Tour


As some of you know I had to deal with a serious family medical issue which has been miraculously cured. So the new ELEMENT amplifiers are getting out to all those asking about them and the few lucky ones that have purchased them.

The ELEMENT 118 and ELEMENT 116 will be going out to reviewers and on tour to various audiophiles and dealers. So more will be showing up. I will provide a short trail and welcome questions and comments, all in good spirit.

After years of research and using OEMS, we have a proprietary design that we believe is an order of magnitude improvement over the previous amps and also sets a standard across all the classes of amps in terms on sonics. Of course taking a listen and doing a comparison is the best way to confirm this.

The new design is an open loop, zero feedback, and zero deadtime, using the Gallium Nitride Transistors - which unlike other transistors have close to zero capacitance and hence allow very fast switching. Additionally the PCB and layout is a highly advanced layout that reduces the parasitic capacitance and inductance to near zero, allow close to zero overshoot and ring, and of course the zero deadtime. The open loop, zero feedback, zero deadtime allows a spacious and precision stage with long detailed decays, very fast attack without the parasitics causing other distortions. The first 10 seconds impresses the listener with a musical tone, that is open, wide and fast. The rest is musical immersion.

I will post the systems as they are run through as best I can. Enjoy and I hope you get to listen to the ELEMENT Series of Power Amplifiers near you.
merrillaudio

Full disclosure: I am a dealer for Merrill Audio products. However, I have been a fan and supporter of Merrill’s products from my days as a reviewer, well before I began Distinctive Stereo.

When I first heard the Veritas I was so impressed I put my money where my mouth is, and purchased 2 sets of monoblocks (so I could bi-amp my speakers). The Veritas became my reference amps, and I used them to power every speaker that came through my listening room.

I recently was able to compare, in my own system, the Veritas to the Element 116’s. (I did this was a loaner pair; my own pair of Element 116’s are currently being built, and should arrive within the next few weeks.)  I concur with all that Isaac so eloquently expressed. The Element 116’s have all the terrific properties that made the Veritas so special - speed, transparency, bass control, clarity, low noise floor, etc. - but take them to dramatic new levels. A good as the Veritas are, the Element 116’s provide a far greater sense of realism, palpability, and musical flow. While not inexpensive, they will (as do all Merrill Audio products) compete with products costing far more.

The Element 116’s will work well with other high quality components; I use them with the Merrill audio Christine linestage preamp and Jens phonostage, the combination of which is nothing short of extraordinary.

Last, but most assuredly not least, I have also heard the Element 118’s, though not in my own system. As great as the Element 116’s are, the Element 118’s bring things to an entirely new level. (If the 116’s are a Porsche, the 118’s are a Ferrari). It is my belief that the Element 118’s will set a new standard for audio reproduction.

 

Regards,

 

Larry Borden

President, Distinctive Stereo LLC

River Vale, NJ

www.distinctivestereo.com

info@distinctivestereo.com

 

 

 


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
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.

Rocket fuel in a Pinto ?!?!?!?!   Heck. I wouldn't even dare put gasoline in a Pinto !!!!  :)


Cheers

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