Merrill VERITAS monoblock amplifiers

Hi Paul,
Just reading your response,
"Tim, I know several very competent OEM who have done many mods to the NC400 and even though it made it sound better they all felt it still was not as good as an NC1200. There is more to it then you think. I have heard both and it is easy to hear the difference in a very good system"
Good to know others have already tried this, it saves others a lot of time... as far as there is more to it than I think, nope, circuit design is key, parts transform a good amp to a great amp, but you can't mod a poor design into much better than a poor design.
As far as "the Abletec's being half the price is meaningless if their not better" Meaningless is strong. Very high quality and inexpensive mono blocks at this price won't be found out there, I guarantee most people on this forum don't have unlimited funds to go out and buy or try
the best, much less as you suggested, to buy all 3. Someone forced into a 20 year old amp or could only afford something like a new Parasound or equivalent can obtain a true option at a great price. Of course many can't build their own but none the less a viable argument why competitive with the best means a lot without necessarily squeaking out that last bit of performance.
With that, I can only say that the Abletec modules are very
good, can't really say how they compete with the best. Although I am very anxious to hear how the Coda 15 compares with Merrill. The Coda is a great amplifier.

Theo, there seems to exist an old wives' tale that class D amp suffer from some arcane form of pernicious system dependencies... The answer is both yes and no....

In olden days, a number of entry level class D amps suffered of relatively high amounts of the shrillies, as they seemed to leak persistent hash from everywhere... They did need some kindly filtering somewhere in the system, lest they could drive you batty. Furthermore, some class D amps had relatively low input impedance, limiting successful coupling to preamplifiers.

With newer generation power conversion modules, such as NCore technology for example, the above is definitely no longer a problem. The Veritas in particular, have an input impedance of 90K Ohms... You will have a hard time finding a preamp that is not compatible. On the output side, unless you try to drive absurdly sensitive speakers, the 1K damping factor will serve you well.

Merrill Veritas are extremely sweet sounding, and do not appear to be feeding perceivable hash into the AC line. having said that, while the amps are shipped with fine power cords, you may want to experiment with PC alternatives. I have experienced excellent results with Aural Symphonics on Veritas, as explained in my scribbling. In older days, with ICEpower class D amps like Rowland M312, Bel Canto Ref1000M Mk.2, and REF500M, I had the opportunity of testing with the Shunyata Z-tron series, which controlled treble intermodulation artifacts to a superior degree... I have it from reliable sources that the Cardas Clear family may also be consistent with this behavior.

Best, Guido

It would be nice if AudioOracle would let everyone know that he is a dealer and not a dealer of Merrill. Not a problem with AO's comments, it is just good to know when someone is a dealer so that folks can take that into consideration when reading their comments.

Btw, I am a dealer.

Dude, there is hype and there is reality, I have been doing this for 25 years professionally and most peoples system's sound poor, I don't care how much you've spent.

Look at how many people's system don't use power conditioning, room tuning or proper vibration control.

I had a direct comparison to my reference amps and there was no contest Merrills amps are very good, would I trade in a CJ, or a Chord or an Electrocompaniet, or an ARC, or a Coda, my answer is no, they are lovely and practical amplifiers.

You have an opinion, but I can guarantee that in my 25 years of going to shows, setting up systems and selling and installing thousands of components in hundreds of systems, I think I can claim title to knowing what I am doing.

The problem with Ncore as with the Hypex before it is the claims made do not justify reality, I have in my shop right now a very highly rated Hypex amp which six moons said was fantastic I think the amps are very good, but are not magical.

When Ncore came out the hype was the Mola Mola was being compared to Solution and wow they had some similar qualities for 1/5 the price, hey all I can tell you after hearing them at shows, in my shop and in another location I came away with the impression these amps are good, but not a game changer.

You want an example of a game changer? Auralic Vega dac $3,500 compares with dacs at $7K and above very favorably.

Janszen's new ZA 2.1 electrocstatic hybrid, in many ways absolutely like $15-20k speakers at current price of $7,500.

Those are game changers. So far Hypex amps good, Ncore good game changer no.

What is the difference between good amps and great? It is the sense of presence, it is their dynamics, it is there ability to create a realistic soundstage and lastly bass control and dynamics. The Ncore amps just slightly miss the mark, which makes them competent high power amplifiers, and a good value for the price and performance. Call me not yet convinced.

I've only heard the Merrill VERITAS at a show (Capital Audio Fest) so it wasn't under the best of conditions. Having said that, I think there are at least two more choices for slim-proportioned class D monoblocks that you might want to consider:

Anthem Statement M1 ($6998 / pair)
http://www.stereophile.com/content/anthem-statement-m1-monoblock-power-amplifier

Bel Canto Ref1000M ($5990 / pair)
http://www.stereophile.com/solidpoweramps/bel_canto_ref1000m_monoblock_power_amplifier/index.html

Both are on Stereophile's Recommended Components list, if that matters.