To be honest, I have not directly compared the 118’s to the Burmester 911mk3’s yet. I expect each to be world class but have different strengths. So I can’t say 100% that I’m not replacing my 911’s with 118’s, but with the level of performance I have and the synergy I have with the matching Burmester 077 preamp I don’t see me making a change.
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.
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.
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- 81 posts total
@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. |
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
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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 |
- 81 posts total