Merrill VERITAS monoblock amplifiers

Hello Ptheo,

I hope two things for you very much, first you got a great price on these mono blocks because I believe they are hideously over priced and secondly that you like their sonic's a lot more then your very good Coda. The Ncore modules used in these amps are much better sounding then other types of D amps, however I still do not find them as musical as some of the better and less expensive SS or tube amps. The Ncore modules themselves are relatively inexpensive, yet the retail price of the Merrill VERTTAS is 12K. I know you get a well built and fancy chassis, it seems it stocked with good parts, however I can't see how you could justify what these sell for.

Teajay, there are at least two extreme ways on how to look at the value of a piece of audio electronics....

From a purely functionalistic point of view, the value is purely based on how the device performs when compared to devices of comparable/lower/higher price. Under this criterion, based on my modest experience listening to a variety of amplifiers, including Veritas completely broken in at 1K hours of processing sound, I am confident that Veritas price is attractive. Please note that I have not had the opportunity yet of listening to other amps that have declared to be based on Ncore NC1200 technology, nor to amps based on other new class D technologies like Pascal or Abletech. So my statement above does not take into account other such new contenders.

Conversely, if we look at the value of a device based on the amount of active internal components, the relative crowdedness of the layout, the complexity of the design surrounding the fundamental power conversion modules, and the mass ratio of circuit elements vs metalwork, you may have a good point.

Needless to say, it all depends on what is important for the OP, and in what ratio.

G.

Thank for all responses guys!

The reason I’m interested in the Merrill VERITAS(or another cool running monoblocks) is because I was looking for:

Monoblocks that will fit in my rack- Cannot be taller than 8”.

Monoblocks that run cool- After spending another five hot months(May-Sep) here in Sacto(100+) with my Coda amp, I have to make a change. The reason is I cannot listen to my music whenever I want. The heat coming from the amp after a couple of hours of just idle listening make the room 80+. I have to wait until it cool off after 11PM to enjoy. Yes, even with the AC set at 72. And if I want to crank it up on my Apogees which is all the time, forget about it!

So, I bought a pair of AVM MA 3.2s monoblocks(NCore400?) from a dealer for 4K. After reading all the glowing reviews I thought what the heck, now I can get back to enjoying my music in a cool room. But no matter how much I tried(I really really tried), they just didn’t sound real to me. If I cannot feel the emotion of the music & feel it in my heart & make me want to stand up a boogie, it’s no real sounding. Coda 15.0 ate it for lunch. And this is after the dealer told me the 3.2’s would smoke it. Please.

So, my search continues. That is where the Merrill VERITAS come in. Yes expensive, but I cannot find another brand that implements the Ncore1200 module in the VERITAS the way Merrill Wettasinghe does. Parts quality is simply the best. Attention to detail is the best. I’m sure Merrill has to put may labor intensive hours to make the perfect. The only way to get better is if HYPEX comes out with a new & better module. This is not gong to happen for the next ten years I understand. You cannot do/get any better, period. Now I just hope/pray I will LOVE the way the Ncore1200 module sound. Plus Merrill is kind enough(really nice guy to talk to!) to sell me a demo pair for a reduced price I cannot pass up. But if the don’t make me wanna get up and jump around (or bring me to my knees for that matter) the way my Coda 15.0 does, much search will continue. If they do, man I’ll be one happy camper. I will enjoy them for a long, long time all year around!

Plus they draw SO much less power that class A/AB, I will save mula($20-$25 a month?) in the long run.

Timlub- Yes, once I have sometime with them I will post my findings.

Guidocorona- I have read your excellent review many times. Your review is one of the reasons I’m trying them out! I’m curios if you have them as your current reference amp?

Teajay- Thanks for your post & truth in you opinion! Yes, 12K is alot of cash & more that I can afford/care to spend.

Hifial- Glad to hear you are still enjoying them! Very reassuring since you have compared them to many amps, including my Coda 15.0! One question, I read a review they run warm? Tell me it isn’t so.

Look forward to any more replies! Thanks again! Paul

Hi Paul and great post! Let me see if I can help a little more.

1)("So, I bought a pair of AVM MA 3.2s monoblocks(NCore400?) from a dealer for 4K.")
No way is that an NCore 400 (NC400). It might be another Hypex module like the UCD 400 but it can not be an NC400 as Hypex forbids the NC400 be used by OEM. The NC400 is ONLY for the DIY market. I did a search and I can not find out what Class D tech they use so it could be another brand altogether. Heck it could be B&O Ice or the ones that Guido mentioned.

2)("One question, I read a review they run warm? Tell me it isn’t so.")
Well it is an amp so it is not "cool" to the touch. Also the way it is designed all the "hot" parts are mounted to the "roof" as that is thicker then the bottom plate and help as a heat sink and vibration control.
I can say that it is a "cool" running amp compared to how hot even the best cool running Class A/B amps are. I can say that it should not worry you at all.

3) Apogees, wow, very nice. What is your other equipment?

4)("If I cannot feel the emotion of the music & feel it in my heart & make me want to stand up a boogie, it’s no real sounding.")
I know exactly what you mean. Let me tell you about a friend. He has a VERY nice system (even a custom room) that is VERY revealing and transparent. Since he put in the Veritas the hairs on your arms stand up when you hear the music. I wish you could hear it because I think it is what you stated above.

5) Merrill. Great guy. You said it so well about what the whole story is when it comes to the Veritas amps and Merrill Audio.

Well after waking up and not being able to sleep it is now 4AM so I better stop for now and try and sleep.