Merrill VERITAS monoblock amplifiers

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.

Matt - you will have to try the Lynx Hilo. I am sure a few people can attest to the qualities of it as a pure DAC. Your system will appear nice and clean. Finally if you want to, you can eliminate the preamp altogether.

You should inform Audiogon about the fraud on the Futura so they will remove the user. He is up selling the same speakers again.

Another great review on the VERITAS:

http://parttimeaudiophile.com/2014/01/12/merrill-audio-veritas-monoblock-amplifiers

Now that I have owned the Merrill VERITAS amps for close to six months now, I would like to elaborate my findings & system changes/upgrades I have done. All upgrades were purchased(except for new source) thru Merrill Audio. BTW- Any owner of the VERITAS get’s an automatic discount! First, the system:

1. Changed all my(6) receptacles to Furutech GTX-D which match the TWL 10+ power cords that came with the amps & match my Harmonic Technology Magic Reference II special edition power cords that I use on my pre/pro & source. Both products utilize Furutech plugs.
2. Changed the VERITAS feet from Stillpoints Ultra Mini’s to Ultra SS. Made everything more precise plus bass & treble is cleaner. Soundstage is even wider & deeper on my Apogee speakers now. Just amazing.
3. Changed all my interconnects(two 3.5ft pairs, 10ft pair) & speaker cables(two 4ft pairs) to Merrill’s ANAP cables. I thought my Tara Labs The One & RSC Sub I/C’s & AudioQuest Caldrea S/C’s were my final stop. Boy was I wrong once I heard/compared Merrill’s ANAP cables. Much more clean/musical, fullrange & dynamic as ever. My JL F212 subs the bass is so deep & bass waves are cleaner with much more impact! Plus they are1/4 the price of the other cables I used! What a killer deal Merrill’s ANAP cables are. I’m finally off the crazy Audiogon buy/try/sell merry-go-round!
4. Changed my Oppo-95 to the new 105 which has variable volume control so I can go direct to the VERITAS amps. Nothing better than a direct connection. Period.

So now that I have made all those changes my system has never sounded better in my 29 years of audio. That is a BIG statement for me & I couldn’t be happier. Never did I expect when I was looking for a cooler running amp than my Coda 15.0 Class-A I would find my dream amp- much cooler, smaller & better amp. Not that my Coda was bad, it’s a great amp! But the VERITAS stole my heart. The cooool running really is the clinger. BUT, if they did ran hot like Class-A, forget about it- I would have returned them without a doubt no matter how great they sounded. Does it sound like a Class-A amp, no. I did notice the VERITAS have a little lighter/faster tone than my Coda. Or you can take it as my Coda was sluggish. All I know is I haven’t not stop listening nor shut off the amps since I bought them! I’ve almost have goin’ thru my 500+ CD collection & it’s like hearing them for the first time. Yes I said it. I’m listening my old Nazareth ‘From the Vaults’ CD right now & every tune never sounded better! Man I LOVE the way my system sounds now! I’m really looking forward to high definition DSD downloads. One of my audio/music friends did let me borrow three SACD’s: Stockfish Records Sara K- Made in the Shade, Capitol Records Nat ‘King’ Cole- After Midnight, Proprius Sound Cantate Domingo. All sound so real/lifelike with the Oppo-105 to Merrill VERITAS amps with the direct connection via Merrill’s ANAP cables. It’s like Nat is right in my livingroom playing in front of me. So cool! But my fav is the Cantate Domingo, what an incredible voice & recording.

If you still think I’m crazy, check out the latest online stereomojo review. The reviewer echo’s a lot of my original thoughts I wrote about when I first bought them. Quiet, dynamic, lifelike, cool, small & Merrill’s incredible built quality, Too funny! It even won the MAXIMUM MOJO award! I every review I have read has been nothing but positive, bigtime. I look forward to reading about them in the Absolute Sound or Sterophile someday, I hope. BTW- Merrill is a first class guy all the way- nice as came be to talk too & a very sincere honest person. He could charge ALOT more for his ANAP cables, but he doesn’t & I respect that very much.

So as you can see yes, I’m totally smitten with my VERITAS amps in the six months of use & don’t plan on changing anything in my system for years to come. Great feeling content wise & money($$$$$) wise. Many thanks & great job Merrill!

Later guys!

PTheo, do you have any craving to try out the new Veritas Siamese Twins? I have not quite found their detailed technical specs yet, but my understanding is that they utilize a pair of NCore NC1200 per channel in a bridged configuration... Their drive and authority should be quite delicious. G.

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.