Merrill Audio Element 116 Power Amplifier Monoblocks

Music can give us the deepest experiences, moments that last forever.

Shostakovich’s 14th symphony begins. The bass sings ? Los cien enamorados, the first line of Lorca’s shattering poem De Profundis, against a background of pure suspense. One can scarcely believe that such a sound can issue from the human body. The entire symphony is a devastating emotional event, but that first, simple brooding theme in the deep register, will never leave.

Benjamin Britten’s third string quartet. His last completed major work. After over twenty minutes of abstract, layered, difficult, searching argument in the first four movements the last ? recitative and passacaglia, suddenly discovers a theme of such pathos and breathtaking simplicity that the sense of resolution, of homecoming leaves scarcely a dry eye in the house.

Bach’s St. Matthew’s Passion is not exactly short of wonderful arias but Erbarme dich, mein Gott weaves a solo soprano voice with a solo violin in an expression of sweet, romantic devotion and surrender that, once heard, can never be forgotten.

Element 116 was engineered to a more accessible price point, but not to a compromise. Even so, with 300 watts into 8 ohms, 600 into 4 and 1200 into 2, it has enough headroom for Mahlerians and metalheads alike.

Perhaps you would like a solution that fits into the rest of your lifestyle, that doesn’t demand a dedicated listening room, that perhaps can occupy the business end of your home theater system ? in which case it will certainly surprise and engage!

Everything we learned developing the flagship Element 118 concept went into the 116, just with different parameters. In fact it is rather nice to design and develop with imposed constraints. A certain ‘sweet spot’ can emerge, like a concentration, or essence. If Element 118 was a painting it would be a huge painting! Element 116 is on a smaller scale, but the art is the same.

As audiophiles we talk about detail and transients, edge definition, spatial cues, ‘soundstage’ and all these kinds of sound specific things a lot. They are important but, if the system doesn’t connect you to the emotional core of music, something is not right.

We think of our amplifiers as musical instruments, with an emotional sinew that is analogous in every case to the art which flows through their meticulously crafted circuits. We make them to make you cry, or dance, or sing along ? break out the air guitar! To tell your friends about them, urgently. We make them to help you discover the heart and soul of music.

Element 116 power amplifiers: crafting unforgettable experiences