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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
sksos
162 posts
 
@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)

mattnshilp
917 posts
 
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. 
viber6
2,454 posts
 
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?
mattnshilp
917 posts
 
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? 🤔
viber6
2,454 posts
 
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.
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