Merrill Audio Element 114 Stereo amplifier

To deal with this demanding level of speed requires stable circuitry with accurate reproduction capability during extreme speed occurrences. Since overshoot and ringing are the most significant obstacles of speed, the Element 114 Stereo Power Amplifier is carefully crafted to maintain this high speed and are engineered to eliminate the anomalies that cause overshoot.

Using the most advanced and newest Gallium Nitride (GaN) transistors available, the Element 114 Stereo Power Amplifier is capable of delivering speeds into the Gigahertz range. Incorporating highly developed techniques, the Printed Circuit Board (PCB) parasitic inductance and capacitance have been reduced to near zero. Since the development of specialized fabrication and manufacturing procedures came with a host of new challenges, implementing the advanced transistors and sophisticated PCBs placed significant time demands on Merrill Audio.

An additional significant design requirement was the capability to faithfully reproduce every musically significant detail available. This is already a unique characteristic of the Christine Reference Preamplifier and the Jens Reference Phono Stage, two stellar Merrill Audio achievements that shine as singularly significant state of the art achievements in amplifier technology.

To accomplish this notable level of performance, innovative circuit techniques were implemented. One is Merrill Audio’s ZXOL design featuring a completely open loop design that has no feedback whatsoever!

Eliminating feedback has two distinct advantages. The speed capability is increased significantly and a remarkable gain in the clarity of musical information is achieved. Since there is no signal loop-back, all the feedback loop distortions as well as the attendant time delays are eliminated.

All these taxing issues have been resolved successfully and the resulting newly developed technology is now part of Merrill Audio’s arsenal of expertise.

Although expensive, challenging, and very time consuming to accomplish, Merrill Audio has achieved a truly transformative result with their Element 114 Stereo Power Amplifier using the trickle down technology from the Merrill Audio ELEMENT 118 Monoblocks.

You will instantly notice the ultra low noise flow and pure sound of the Element 114 Stereo Power Amplifier the moment you hear it. The ELEMENT 114 Stereo amplifier have been designed to deliver spacious, airy sound, abundant in vivid detail. Articulated, deep, tight, and powerful bass is an additional strong suit of Merrill Audio’s ZXOL design.

The bottom line is that the Element 114 Stereo Power Amplifier is exceptionally fast, uncommonly clean, and exceedingly musical, and will, with the greatest of ease, transport you to the 5th row at Carnegie Hall

The Element 114 Stereo Power Amplifier following the engineering of the ELEMENT 118 Monoblocks are engineered with 360 degree integration in mind. This process involved evaluating all factors that contribute to the maximization of sonic performance and then selecting those aspects that will accomplish that goal most effectively, without losing sight of unnecessary cost considerations.

Only the highest quality components were selected regardless of the application.

Along with the Gaia III platform isolation, the chassis is designed to minimize external sound vibration disturbances using midpoint diffusers and stabilizers. The Chassis is executed in a very tasteful nickel and Rose Gold. It is plated rather than anodized since plating is a softer, more absorbent material.

The Element 114 Stereo Power amplifier uses the top of the line Speaker Binding Posts from WBT featuring direct copper posts that will conveniently accommodate spades, bananas and bare wire. These components are the latest designs from WBT and been engineered for the best sound.

It has been firmly established that the quality of AC power connections is a very important consideration. With that priority in mind, the highly regarded Furutech Rhodium Plated 20A IEC AC power inlets were selected for the Element 114 Stereo Power Amplifier since the tightest connection is achieved by the more robust 20 AMP IEC connector. This heavy duty connector will grip a weighty AC power cord more firmly to establish an electrically solid connection, and is available as an industry standard.

Internally the Element 114 Stereo Power Amplifier PCB boards are manufactured to the highest excellence available and further engineered for sustaining a most stable temperature distribution. Using 8 pounds of pure copper channel, the highly refined heat distribution system maintains a steady temperature environment on the PCB boards, a condition absolutely essential for linear operation.

The element 114 Stereo Power Amplifier only use stranded wire that is OFC, silver plated and sleeved in Teflon and was selected for its low parasitic impedance and dielectric characteristics. High Gauge wire is the norm throughout and every audio signal path is hand soldered to provide the purest possible connection.

The deigns is load invariant and will handle speaker impedances down to 1 ohm with the same high quality of sound. Rather than clipping, the ELEMENT 114 will rapidly reduce the signal to eliminate any harsh and harmful clipping.

S/N:110dB

Gain:26db

Power rating:200W/8, 400/4, 800/2 ohms

Speaker Terminals:WBT – 0710 CuMc binding posts, Accepts Bananas, spades or wire.

Input:XLR Balanced input, Merrill audio Custom Teflon, rhodium plated XLR

Power AC:20A AC inlet, Furutech

Footers:GAiA III from Isoacoustics

Size:430mm (16.9”) W x 110mm (4.3”) H x 418mm (16.5”) D

Shipping size:559mm (22”) W x 254mm (10”) H x 559mm (22”) D

Weight:20kg (44lbs)