Merrill Audio Veritas Monoblock Amplifier Review

Listening Sessions

During the next several weeks I allowed myself to simply listen to and enjoy my system now being powered by the Merrill Audio Veritas monoblock amplifiers.  My notes cover a lot of territory.  For instance, listening to Peter Gabriel’s concept album Ovo, I could not help but marvel at the sheer holographic imagery on the song “Growing Up.” The ample low bass of this album was tight and nicely defined with just a tad bit of roundness, and very slightly shy in the depths when compared to the Pass Labs X350.5.  In the song “Signal to Noise,” the bass was ample and firm and the denser the song got, the more I marveled at the resolving power that the Veritas was displaying.  In fact, I must say that the Veritas handled the intermodulation of choir and piano on this song as good as any amp I had yet heard in my current system.  This pair of diminutive amplifiers was making an impression!

It’s important to note that the Enklein Taurus power cords contributed greatly to these amplifier’s spatial imaging and high frequency detail, but this came at the expense of having a slightly forward perspective in the midrange.  A trade off that I was more than happy to make.

On the song “The Painter,” from Neil Young’s Prairie Wind, the acoustic guitar was nicely defined and richly conveyed with just a tad bit of added warmth.  The harmonica on “Bury Me Out on the Prairie” had just the right amount of bite without any strain or metallic quality that is common on lesser systems.

Moving on to Peter Gabriel’s New Blood, the sheer space and effervescence of the live orchestral environment on the song “Rhythm of the Heat” elicited goosebumps, so too did Ana Brun’s vibrato-laced voice.  The auditory pallet was warm, inviting and tonally rich.  A real treat to the ears and certainly not at all something I would have expected from an amplifier of this type.

On the Live LP by the Civil Wars, the vocal duo singing on the cut “Poison and Wine” accompanied by guitar and piano was some of the most engaging live audio I have heard in my system.  The Merrill Veritas were indeed stealing the show.

The listening notes are endless and replete with praise.  On one last and final impression right before packing them up, I gravitated to the self-titled first album by the Roches which was recorded by avant-garde guitarist Robert Fripp in a technique he calls “Audio Veritéé.”  There were other times during the course of this review process where I got very excited by what I was hearing.  However, this time the session elicited a loud wow! The imagery of the voices and acoustic guitar seemed to fully develop holographically in front of the speakers in a way that I had not heard before.  The Roches’ three individual voices were richly reproduced and portrayed beautifully within the recorded space.  I heard the walls of the recording studio for the first time and even heard one of them let out a sigh at the end of the song “Damned old Dog” that I had never even noticed before.  My notes go on and on and superlatives abound.  In fact, I nearly filled a steno pad with excited scribbling as I tried desperately to stay in reviewer mode during the many listening sessions.

In Summary

The sonic attributes of the Merrill Audio Veritas amplifier are plentiful.  The fact that the final sonic signature of the amplifier can be surgically tailored to fit individual tastes via use of different power cords is a bonus.  Writing this review was more of a chore than any in recent memory.  I found myself challenged not only to stay focused, but also checking and rechecking myself in terms of what I thought I was hearing.  (Impeccable reviewership! – Pub.) Indeed, I desperately did not want to believe that a Class D amplifier such as the Merrill Audio Veritas has come along that fully dispels the notion that its topology dictate a set of predisposed sonic shortcomings.  The fact is that this is indeed a new frontier.

In the past, Class D was synonymous with cheap, clean, purpose-built, limited bandwidth amplification for subwoofers and audio receivers.  One thing is certain, the Merrill Audio Veritas was designed and built with a much greater purpose in mind.  Its ability of delivering things like subtle dynamic shadings, expression, and emotion are skills and talents that are not in the vernacular of such amplifiers; and so too is its price.  The Merrill Audio Veritas challenges audiophiles on many fronts.  It is a high-end, high performance power amplifier with an MSRP of $12,000/pr. and it must be judged in these absolute terms without the crutch or footnote of its topology.  It is only then, that the real value of what is being offered here can be fully appreciated. The Merrill Audio Veritas is a sonic delight that is not only engaging but rises to the status of a guilty pleasure.  A hearty congratulations to Merrill Wettasinghe for an outstanding product execution.  The Veritas is not only a beautifully crafted amplifier to the eyes but also to the ears.  Highly recommended.

Comments by Laurence Borden

Over the past few years a number of Class D amps have come into my listening room, often with the promise that they would change my views on Class D’s.  While in most cases it was clear that Class D amps had in fact come a long way, in each case I politely retuned the amps to their respective manufacturers.  But then I heard the Veritas amps, courtesy of Al Mirabella, to whom I am indebted.  Here were amps that were not just “good for Class D,” but good in their own right.  In fact, not just good, but very good, enough so that I purchased not one, but two set of monoblocks for use with my biamped Sander Sound electrostats.  I concur with Ray’s sonic impressions, and also with his observation that the Veritas are sensitive to the accompanying power cord.  The amps are power-houses, but they are much more than that.  They are also delicate and textured, relatively grain-free, with a harmonically nuanced midrange, and extended highs that are never brittle.  Though highly revealing, they are not at all “analytical.”

The Hypex N-Core is undoubtedly a great advance in Class D technology, but the Veritas would not be what they are without Merrill’s meticulous attention to detail.  I echo Ray’s sentiment: highly recommended.

Manufacturer’s Comment

“Thank you very much for putting so much effort into the review and providing so much detail of the VERITAS Monoblocks review, especially with the power cords and the footers. I can see why it took close to 5 months. You are a thorough reviewer.”

Merrill Wettasinghe
Merrill Audio Advanced Technology Labs, LLC