Capital Audio Fest 2017 - Merrill Audio new amplifier

"Merrill Audio will be Introducing a New Ultra High End Amplifier with the BestSound yet Using Bleeding Edge Technologies."

Merrill Audio gave a preview of the prototype to a few lucky listeners from the New Jersey Audio Society at the recent Capital Audio Fest.

Here are Their Comments:

"I spent two days at the Capital Audio Show. This gave me time to actually listen to lots of exhibits. The Merrill Audio room, with the Veritas amps and German Physiks Borderland speakers, was clearly among the best sounding rooms at the show. But even better, I was lucky enough to be included in a small group, just before the show opening on Sunday, to audition a new Merrill prototype amp, aimed at even higher performance. And the new amp delivered. It was almost immediately obvious that the new design was superior to the reference Veritas amps that performed so well during the show. It was more open, more dynamic and smoother, etc. Was it a big difference? Yes, in the sense that the improvements were the kind that every real audiophile would kick himself if he couldn't afford a product after comparing it to an excellent reference. I look forward to experiencing the production product." Allen E. "I was looking forward to my first visit to the Capitol Audio Fest in Maryland. With many potential good sounding rooms there, I decided that it would take 2 days to hear all the rooms and spend additional time in those rooms that sounded good to me. I brought a few reference LPs with me that I am familiar with that would provide a good test for each system that had a turntable and my companions had some good sounding digital recordings. Hearing the same recordings in each room really allowed me to evaluate each system in a more controlled way. One of the best sounding rooms at the show was the room with Merrill Audio components, a VPI Turntable and German Physics speakers. Merrillasked us to come by early Sunday morning to audition the prototypes for his new Amplifier and Phono Stage. We listened to the same recordings on both the old and new components to do our comparisons. Both new components did not disappoint. The differences were not subtle. What stood out most was the level of detail heard, greatly improved sonics and much better imaging. While these comments may sound like a checklist of audio clichés, my ears hear what they hear. I can confidently say that the new line of Merrill Audio components are an order of magnitude better than what was already great sounding equipment, easily bettering systems in other rooms at much higher price points." Paul P. "I have had the privilege to know Merrill Wettasinghe of Merrill Audio for several years and have come to know that when he offers me an opportunity to hear something he has been working on I can count on something special. So when Merrill asked me if I could listen to a prototype of an amplifier of his own design I wasn’t going to say I was too busy. I just asked when and where. Sunday morning before Capital Audio Fest opened I first listened to the outstanding Veritas Amps that are the current top of the line. No fault could be found. The few of us that had been invited were all in agreement. And then Merrill put in his new design. I expected that there might be a slight improvement here and there in the audio band. But no, there was not a slight improvement at all. Oh my gosh, I have to start saving my money because I want, no, I need this new Merrill Audio Amp. Mind you I am very happy with my Veritas Amps and have had no intention of changing, till now. What did I hear? More dynamics, speed, weight. They are also quieter, except how do you make something that already produces virtually no noise make even less noise? ! The noise of the Veritas is well beyond human hearing but yet you can easily hear the improvement in noise, or lack there of, that the new design provides. I heard gravitas, presence and a more natural tonal quality to the instruments. Mind you it is not like the Veritas was lacking before this. But the instruments sounded more like they would if you were listening to them live. Not only in tonal quality but also in the weight that instruments can produce live. So here are a few words that describe the new design. Lifelike. Natural. Speed. Dynamic. Weight. Quiet. In a word, they ROCK."