Merrill VERITAS monoblock amplifiers

May I ask what the current thoughts are amongst Veritas owners as to what pre-amps work well with your mono-blocks, and what speakers are being drive ?

Hi all,

For those with the Veritas amps, can you please provide what pre-amp and speakers you are using with the amps?

Thanks!!

I'm 42 and have been an enthusiast since my first system when I was 14; Kef C-80's, Carver 900 Receiver and Carver CD player with Sonic Hologram technology.

Years ago (about 10, pre-kids) I had a killer top tier system. Talon Firebirds, Tenor Audio 150hp amps, Vac Ren Sig mk II with phono, MF Trivista CD, Teres Table with Graham arm, Ricks Rack Rack. I listened almost every day and it made my soul happy and content. Then I had kids, moved, and my practice got crazy busy and I lost my free time and sold my entire system except for my table/arm combo.

It's been way too long now and I am finally building a whole new system. I have been speaking with Guido and several other great guy/audio resources to help me re-start my search. I started doing a lot of listening.

I purchased the Veritas amps and 2 pre-amps to compare; a Levinson 326s (with phono stage) and a Rowland Capri S2 with PL1 external power supply. The amps and pre-amps are sitting on my floor and on amp stands. Lonely. Not connected. Sigh.

I auditioned a number of speakers (TAD Evo 1/Ref 1, Kef 207/2, Revel Salon 2, Vienna The Muzik, Sonus Faber Ellipsa SE) and decided on The Muzik's. Guido was rather happy with that choice. Happy to add thoughts on the other speakers if anyone asks. The Muzik's are arriving Friday. Yay!!!

FYI - Stay away from European sellers. I got snubbed and lost a boatload of money on an attempted purchase of Faber Amati Futura's. Buy from Europe only through PayPal. NO wires!!! He had good feedback and solid references.

I also just purchased an Adona SR4 (4 shelf) rack with oversized top shelf for my turntable, a Teres Audio with Graham 2.2 arm and Denon MC cartridge. Currently using an Electrocompaniet ECP1 phono stage. Rack will be here in 2 weeks. Yay again!! Great people at Adona by-the-way.

Source is a PS Audio Perfectwave 2 DAC being fed by a Core Audio modified Mac Mini running iTunes and Amarra via a Wireworld Platinum Starlight USB cable.

Cables are Shunyata Z-tron Anaconda XLR from DAC to pre and pre to amps, Audience AU-24SE bi-wire 1.5m speaker cables and a Shunyata Z-tron Alpha digital power cord for the DAC and the high level stock PC's that came with the Veritas amps.

Still need a better PC for the pre-amp, and deciding on power conditioning. Currently running an old PS Audio Duet with the pre, DAC, phono and table power. It's actually a great conditioner performer for what it is.

And with ALL of that, I haven't heard it all together! Sigh. But in 2 weeks, music will flow.... Then I can start rejoicing and commenting on the gear and what, if anything, needs to be changed. But I needed to start somewhere and I think I'm starting off pretty darn nicely. :)

Thank you for the great review PTHEO!

My amps are now playing at around 1300 hours and have proven to me that I can settle in and enjoy the fact that I no longer need to think, ever again, about replacing my amps for better performance. The combo of Vienna Acoustics The Music with the Veritas amps has taken my system to a place it's never been before. I have to admit that I found the amps to sound even better with Shunyata ZiTron Cobra PC's.

I'm still playing around with the front end. My sources are set (Mac mini and turntable feeding my trusted (and simple) Electrocompaniet phono stage. I just compared using a Levinson 326s pre and a Rowland Capri S2 pre, and although the Levinson gave me more accuracy and resolution, the Capri S2 gave me music and emotion. It was as if the Capri S2 had been made for the Veritas amps (system synergy). I guess it sort of has been, considering that Rowland uses the same heart to power it's top end amps....

My next step will be to try the DAC straight to the amps vs through the pre. More and more seam to lean in this direction. A listening test will tell for me. Then I will try out the HiLo, and a few other DAC's.

I can honestly say that if I had to use my current system exactly as is, I would be ecstatically happy for the rest of my life! To know that it will only get even better from here is awe inspiring! These amps do exactly what amps are supposed to do - they make the signal louder to feed the speakers. Pick every audiophile quality that is of value to us (imaging, accuracy, dynamics, spacial depth, soundstage, emotion, involving, etc) and the Veritas just does it right.

Tune to your tastes with speakers, cables and front end gear; but the Veritas is a pure window, or should I say optically flawless magnifying glass. Merrill is an audio genius and I sincerely hope his masterpiece creation will give him the success and recognition he deserves!

For those of you on the fence, keep in mind that the raves for these amps seam to keep coming from seasoned audiophiles who have had a dozen or more amps in their system over the years. I have personally owned more solid state, tube and hybrid amps then I can even remember. All had their strong points. But the only amps I have ever owned that equalled this level of performance were my Tenor Audio HP 300 mono blocks, which retailed for $55K. Seriously.

I'm very happy with my system right now. I'm focusing on my DAC/Pre-amp combo. Deciding if I should run DAC straight into amps or keep the Rowland Pre-amp which I have fallen in love with.

I just traded in my PerfectWave 2 for the new PS Audio Hotness DirectStream DAC. It arrives in May. I want to also try the Rowland Aeris, Meitner and Esoteric DAC's, although my gut is telling me that for my tastes, it will be between the new DirectStream and the Rowland.

Once that's done I can decide direct or keep the pre.

Once I'm there, I'm happy.

I'm picking up the Ultra SS footers today to swap out my mini's. Looking forward to that. I'm lucky to live about 2 miles from Merrill, so maybe I can borrow a pair of twins when the opportunity arises. But I'm not interested right now as the music my system is currently making is beyond words!

First off, the Ultra SS footers are an absolute must! They significantly improve an already SOTA amplifier!

Second, I'm in enough time now to have reconsidered, and the Veritas mono blocks are still in my system and will stay there long term. I upgraded my preamp to an absolute top tier unit, the Rowland Criterion (in fact, it was the very same Criterion that Guido Corona used to review the Veritas amps with). The amps absolutely sing with the combo!

I just borrowed 2 pair of Merril's interconnects (single ended and balanced) to compare with my balanced Shunyata ZiTron Anacondas. This will take a while to really compare, but I have high hopes for Merril's electron conduits.

I will keep you posted.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. If you are considering NCore amps and/or Merril's specifically, you are owe it to yourself to take the next step. I am SO glad I did!