Ye Olde Editor in action at RMAF 2015 (photograph by Jeff Day)
Three things for you…
As AXPONA 2019 is looming next week, I have three items that I need to write about briefly before I hit that trail to Chicago. These will be short and to the point…not everything needs to be War and Peace, you see…but they do round out some of my reflections and empty my notebook of them. Note that the price range of the three stretches from $36,000 all the way down to $129. May you find one or more of my observations to be helpful to you on your audio journey….
Merrill Audio Element 118 Monoblock Amplifiers
At the upper end of the price scale, I'm moved to add some final comments on the Merrill Audio Element 118 monoblocks.
Moved? Hell, I'm compelled.
You can check the specs here. Pretty bloody amazing.
Specifications
- S/N: 110dB
- Gain: 26db
- Power rating: 400watts into 8ohms, 800 watts into 4 ohms, 1600 watts into 2 ohms
- Speaker Terminals: Dual pairs of posts for bi-wiring, Dual pairs of posts for bi-wiring, WBT – 0710 CuMc, Accepts Bananas, spades or wire.
- Input: XLR Balanced input, Cardas XLR
- Power AC: 20A AC inlet, Furutech Rhodium-Plated inlet
- Remote: 12V trigger, 3.5m, 20mA
- Footers: Stainless Steel Outrigger, GAiA III from Isoacoustics
- Size: 350mm (13.7") W x 220mm (8.7") H x 495 (20.4") D without outriggers, 460mm (18.1") W x 275mm (10.8") H x 495mm (20.4") D with outriggers
- Shipping size: 610mm (24") W x 355mm (14") H x 610mm (24") D
- Weight: 30kg (65lbs)
But specs alone don't spell out the magic that can happen with superlative high-end kit…and the 118s are exactly that.
I spent months with the Element 118 monoblocks, in tandem with the exceptional Evolution Acoustics MM2 Loudspeakers and their Exact external crossovers.
The result? My Brutus Award for the Element 118 was announced in Issue 100 HERE. Go back and look over my comments there…clearly I was gobsmacked, flummoxed, and befusticated by this most extraordinary Class D amplifier.
By God! Class D!
Another audio stereotype slain completely.
I had been thinking about doing a follow-up review, but as I've thought about it, there's no reason to go on and on about the 118s, and follow my more usual format.
No, it's not necessary.
I've shipped them back now, and I'm already missing them powerfully. Their sonic signature…which was a lack of a sonic signature…has left me with a strong sense of loss. Really. And in the longer term, as I sit here and reflect on the impression the 118 made on me, regardless of the source, I've looked to boil it down to the…well…Elemental.
Photograph courtesy of Merrill Audio
The Element 118's are spookily, nearly supernaturally transparent, clean, and clear. In fact, I'm not sure that I've ever heard better than this for these critical audio virtues in any amplifier. I've heard a few that are in this range…Audionet comes to mind, of course, and darTZeel…but the 118s are so very nearly not there in their transparency that it must join the very best of the very best in my audio pantheon.
And SPEED. Did I mention SPEED?
("Look! Mercury just ran past!")
The usual price that you pay for exceptional clarity, transparency, and speed, is a tendency towards the analytical, the colder side of things, even a sort of disembodied aloofness from the richness of our recorded music. I've heard some components that leave me cold, and feeling indifferent to what I should passionately love.
Photograph courtesy of Merrill Audio
That never happened with the Element 118. No, never. Not once as I listened did I ever think of those great high-end terrors that analytical gear dooms you to: visions of razor blades, iceboxes, frigid seas, and failed romance.
Smashing clarity with fantastic quickness and parsecs of transparency…and yet a sense of organic presence and rightness. Month in and month out, with LPs, DSD, and SACDs, I was struck by the effortless crystal-clearness of what I was hearing.
Image courtesy of Merrill Audio
And now that the Element 118s are gone, the sense of real loss is there.
Yes, I'll get over it.
But I won't forget it.
Neither will you, should you ever hear them.
For more information, go to the Merrill Audio Element 118 page HERE.
Photograph courtesy of Merrill Audio
Merrill Audio Element 118 Monoblock Amplifier
Retail price: USD $36,000 per pair
Merrill Audio
80 Morristown Road, Unit 3B, # 275
Bernardsville, NJ 07924
415.5MA.HiFi (562-4434)
Pneuance Audio Pneupod Isolation Devices
This is a brief note, by way of follow-up to my 2018 Brutus Award to Pneuance Audio for their very promising Pneupod Isolation Devices.
My initial impressions on the Pneuance Audio Pneupods were very favorable; thus, the Brutus Award. Since then, I've been employing them here continuously under our reference office system's Playback Designs IPS-3 Integrated Amplifier with Quad DSD DAC. With an inflatable device like the Pneupods, the question will always be just how stable and reliable it is over time.
The good news is that, unlike some other inflatable isolation devices that I've dealt with in the mists of time, the Pneupods have stood up nicely to the test. The IPS-3 Integrated weighs in at a not inconsiderable 42 lbs, with much of that weight on the front end of the unit. The Pneupods have held up nicely. Properly set up, the Pneupod NP-1 that we have here have been quite useful and easy to deal with. Not everything in high-end audio is…
The quality of the improvement to the sound I've already commented on in my Brutus Award at the link above…check it out for my praise for the good work from the folks at Pneuance Audio.
The great news is that Pneuance Audio plans to have a new version of the Pneupods on demo at AXPONA 2019, with improved weight-bearing capabilities…up to 40 lbs. per unit. According to Pneuance Audio, they will introduce a "Heavy Duty Pneumatic Isolation Device, the Pneupod NP-2. A new Pneupad series of component isolation platforms that can incorporate the Pneupod feet, will also be unveiled." This looks like good stuff.
If you're going to attend AXPONA this year, make sure that you stop by Room 340 on the third floor of the Schaumberg to catch these new products. I know that I will!
BTW, prices on the Pneupod line are available at their website right HERE.
Focal Sphear Wireless Earphones
Kick-Hindmost Parts News Flash at the other end of the price spectrum!
The good folks at Focal have released a new product: the Sphear Wireless Earphones.
Trim, light, easy to use, available in assorted very cool colors, and attractively priced, starting at only USD $129, the Sphears hold promise to be a seductive product for younger music lovers and audiophiles-to-be.
Specifications
- Type: In-ear headphones
- Bluetooth® wireless technology
- 4.1 Frequency band 2402 MHz - 2480 MHz
- Bluetooth® Audio Codecs SBC/aptX®
- Range: 10m
- Battery: Up to 8h
- Frequency response: 15 Hz - 22 kHz
- THD @ 1kHz / 100dB SPL <0.3%
- Driver: Electrodynamic Sandwich Diaphragm
- Microphone: Omnidirectional
- Net Weight: 15 grams (0.04lb)
Photograph courtesy of Focal
The design of the Sphear Wireless Earphones is intelligently done. There are the earphones, which come with a multi-size (small, medium, and large) pack of attachable in-ear silicon or memory foam cushions. There is a light cable between the earphones, with a volume/function control unit and mini-USB recharge port, and the wireless receiver with battery and power on/Bluetooth wireless link indicator. Focal claim up to 8 hours of listening on a full charge, which squares with my experience. (Make sure that you give it a full charge before listening the first time…SOP for me.)
The volume/function control unit allows for on/off, volume up/down, track forward/back, and a flat response/loudness toggle. Once you get used to the ergonomics of the multi-function buttons, as listed in the rather sparse docs, it really works well. I got the hang of it in just a few minutes.
Big plus: The Sphear Bluetooth connected with my iPhone X readily, I'm pleased to say. I have had some devices over the years that were definitely not smooth in their ability to handshake with iPhones. Enough said. The Sphear was silk.
The biggest challenge was the usual with generic earphones: getting the right size of earphones picked for your ears. Once I had picked the right pair, I did what I usually had to do with them: Knead them ‘twixt thumb and forefinger, warm them up and get them more pliable, and then mount them and get them pressed into place. In a few minutes, I was able to get them right…didn't have to use a hammer, either.
As to the sound: I used my iPhone X exclusively for the Sphears. Having checked out both the flat response and loudness function setting, I defaulted to the loudness setting…it was much fuller and richer sounding, and much more satisfying to listen to for extended periods. You'd absolutely have to go to the loudness mode if there's any background noise, or if you're listening at low levels. (Me, I almost always listen with the volume up. For sure.) I checked out my Apple Music files on the phone first…baseline there. They sound good on the Sphears, compressed and all. (You make allowances, eh?) Then I progressed to my Tidal HiFi account, streaming 44.1kHz/16-bit CD quality music in .FLAC format. Yes…much better, this…the Sphears really do make it easy to hear the difference between lossy compressed and lossless formats, along with the lower sampling rates of Apple files.
So, I'd really recommend that you use high-quality sources like Tidal HiFi to get the most out of the Sphears…you'll be glad that you did.
I do a lot of listening with headphones of various types, in-ear monitors, and earphones (wired and wireless), but this is the first time that I've listened to wireless earphones in this price range with a genuine claim to entry-level high-end status. Did the Sphears measure up?
Photograph courtesy of Focal
Absolutely. Once you have the pads properly adjusted, have 10-20 hours on them, and go to loudness mode, you'll find that the Sphear is good…surprisingly good! If you're using standard iPhone earbuds, then you should step up, amigos. $129 is killer pricing…who can't afford that who's hit puberty, eh?!
No doubt about it. The Focal Sphears are an extremely affordable and entry-level portal to portable and convenient high-end listening, and are recommended by me as such.
For more information: https://www.focal.com/en/headphones-0/headphones/for-mobility/sphear-wireless.
Note that the Focal Sphears are easily available at Amazon, and other online sources.
Photographs and image processing by David W. Robinson, unless otherwise noted.
