srosenberg
New member
- Joined
- Jun 30, 2014
- Messages
- 20
- Thread Author
- #1
Hey guys,
I recently picked up a pair of Merrill Audio Thor amps, and while I’ve been waiting for them to fully break in before posting anything here, they are sounding so good I wanted to post anyhow. I was told the Thors have a fairly lengthy break in period, perhaps as much as 500 or more hours, and I’m not close to that yet, but they sound so incredible right now I figured there wasn’t much reason to wait to share my impressions.
I’ve owned amps from Pass Labs, Atma-Sphere, VAC, Levinson, Spectron, Job (Goldmund), McCormack, CounterPoint and probably a few others that escape me presently, and I can say unequivocally that the Thors are the finest sounding amps I’ve ever had in my listening room. Calling these amps great for class d topology would be doing them an enormous disservice, as while they are indeed that, they are simply amazing amplifiers regardless of their circuit design - they are truly world class and offer SOTA performance.
So, how do they sound? Across the board, to my ears and in the context of what I value in musical reproduction, stunningly good. In fact, I consider them reference-level components. My Raidho D1’s are some of the fastest, most detailed and extended speakers available today – their tweeter is simply a revelation – and so will quickly demonstrate if an amplifier is slowing them down or constricting their dynamics or range in any way. With the Thors I’ve never heard them sound better. As a hallmark of the design, I expected the Thors to have excellent bass and woofer control, and I was not disappointed. In fact they far exceeded my expectations here. The D1’s have surprising low end extension for their size, but moreso, they are capable of extremely detailed and fast bass when the amplification driving them is capable of really controlling the woofers. With the Thors I’m getting such prodigious and detailed bass I actually contacted Raidho about port plugs for the D1’s. The mid-range and treble are equally as impressive, again surpassing my expectations. The Thors sound crystal clear with a level of clarity and resolution I hadn’t heard from any of my prior amplifiers. And they are quiet. No, silent. Absolutely no noise, none whatsoever, from the speakers – no hash, no hiss, no noise at all. The only way to know the Thors are powered up when music is not playing is the red LED’s that subtly illuminate the undersides of each chassis. The overall effect of the absolute silence of these amps at first takes some getting used to, as the blackness of the background permits such clarity and detail that the performance simply happens in your room rather than from your speakers. Soundstaging, image height and depth, textural cues, dynamics and instrumental decays are also all spectacular, and with 400 WPC on tap into 4 ohms, and able to drive 1 ohm loads, the Thors can effortless drive pretty much any speaker you’d want to listen to. I never would have though it possible to realize this level of refinement and performance from amps in this price range - or from enclosures that don’t require three large men and a dolly to move for that matter!
I generally wouldn’t mention the build quality or overall aesthetics of an amp, as it’s just not that important to me, but in the case of the Thor’s I’d be remiss if I didn’t. They are spectacular – constructed from a solid block of aircraft-grade aluminum and flawlessly finished in gloss black, with Cardas XLRs, Furutech IECs and Stillpoint footers – they can sit proudly next to any other amp on the market. Their overall appearance simply exudes quality and craftsmanship, something that the photos you see online simply fail to adequately portrait. Merrill Wettasinghe clearly considered every detail of their design and took absolutely no shortcuts with the Thors.
Am I impressed with the Thors? Absolutely, unequivocally, without hesitation, YES! While $4800 may not be insignificant, the level of performance and build quality make the Merrill Thors an absolute bargain.
I recently picked up a pair of Merrill Audio Thor amps, and while I’ve been waiting for them to fully break in before posting anything here, they are sounding so good I wanted to post anyhow. I was told the Thors have a fairly lengthy break in period, perhaps as much as 500 or more hours, and I’m not close to that yet, but they sound so incredible right now I figured there wasn’t much reason to wait to share my impressions.
I’ve owned amps from Pass Labs, Atma-Sphere, VAC, Levinson, Spectron, Job (Goldmund), McCormack, CounterPoint and probably a few others that escape me presently, and I can say unequivocally that the Thors are the finest sounding amps I’ve ever had in my listening room. Calling these amps great for class d topology would be doing them an enormous disservice, as while they are indeed that, they are simply amazing amplifiers regardless of their circuit design - they are truly world class and offer SOTA performance.
So, how do they sound? Across the board, to my ears and in the context of what I value in musical reproduction, stunningly good. In fact, I consider them reference-level components. My Raidho D1’s are some of the fastest, most detailed and extended speakers available today – their tweeter is simply a revelation – and so will quickly demonstrate if an amplifier is slowing them down or constricting their dynamics or range in any way. With the Thors I’ve never heard them sound better. As a hallmark of the design, I expected the Thors to have excellent bass and woofer control, and I was not disappointed. In fact they far exceeded my expectations here. The D1’s have surprising low end extension for their size, but moreso, they are capable of extremely detailed and fast bass when the amplification driving them is capable of really controlling the woofers. With the Thors I’m getting such prodigious and detailed bass I actually contacted Raidho about port plugs for the D1’s. The mid-range and treble are equally as impressive, again surpassing my expectations. The Thors sound crystal clear with a level of clarity and resolution I hadn’t heard from any of my prior amplifiers. And they are quiet. No, silent. Absolutely no noise, none whatsoever, from the speakers – no hash, no hiss, no noise at all. The only way to know the Thors are powered up when music is not playing is the red LED’s that subtly illuminate the undersides of each chassis. The overall effect of the absolute silence of these amps at first takes some getting used to, as the blackness of the background permits such clarity and detail that the performance simply happens in your room rather than from your speakers. Soundstaging, image height and depth, textural cues, dynamics and instrumental decays are also all spectacular, and with 400 WPC on tap into 4 ohms, and able to drive 1 ohm loads, the Thors can effortless drive pretty much any speaker you’d want to listen to. I never would have though it possible to realize this level of refinement and performance from amps in this price range - or from enclosures that don’t require three large men and a dolly to move for that matter!
I generally wouldn’t mention the build quality or overall aesthetics of an amp, as it’s just not that important to me, but in the case of the Thor’s I’d be remiss if I didn’t. They are spectacular – constructed from a solid block of aircraft-grade aluminum and flawlessly finished in gloss black, with Cardas XLRs, Furutech IECs and Stillpoint footers – they can sit proudly next to any other amp on the market. Their overall appearance simply exudes quality and craftsmanship, something that the photos you see online simply fail to adequately portrait. Merrill Wettasinghe clearly considered every detail of their design and took absolutely no shortcuts with the Thors.
Am I impressed with the Thors? Absolutely, unequivocally, without hesitation, YES! While $4800 may not be insignificant, the level of performance and build quality make the Merrill Thors an absolute bargain.
