Merrill Audio ELEMENT 118 on Tour

@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.

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 , 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.

@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

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.