Missed a post? No idea WTF is on this site? Association with the wheel Thor, OHG Donar, Eng. Oh yes, about those LED level meters: they’re so “1980s” looking, as in right out of “Back To The Future.” Or maybe I recall some like that on KITT, the talking car from “Knight Rider.” Really. If this Taranis is something of a descendant of the Veritas, then we should expect some semblance of truth in its musical presentation. At all. And the icing on the cake is that you not only get loads of power to drive those more challenging speakers out there, but it’s refined power, the kind you want to keep listening to all day and night. I’ve enjoyed this outing because it’s a bit unusual: the quartet doesn’t employ a piano, but rather just baritone sax (Mulligan), trumpet, bass, and drums. No, you probably won’t ever mistake the Thors for any classic tube amp, but neither will you put them in the same category as some of the more forward sounding solid state amps that were popular some years ago when listeners seemed to crave detail for the sake of detail (I won’t name any names here). [citation needed], Symbolic votive wheels were offered at shrines (such as in Alesia), cast in rivers (such as the Seine), buried in tombs or worn as amulets since the Middle Bronze Age. Let’s start with Wasserman’s Duets (LP, MCA, archived digitally). My Taranis X9D is now basically the Special Edition :) I could have probably saved a fair amount of money and DIY effort if I just bought the X9D SE. With all proper connections made (I opted to use my own Tel-Wire power cable), the amp was gingerly turned on and taken out of standby, upon which I heard a slight “thump” from my speakers and noted two blue LED indicators lit per channel; these mean that the amp has self-tested and is ready to go. The BAE Systems Taranis (also nicknamed "Raptor") is a British demonstrator programme for unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) technology, under development primarily by the defence contractor BAE Systems Military Air & Information.The aircraft, which is named after the Celtic god of thunder Taranis, first flew in 2013. The Taranis let all of the emotion through, giving me a good impression of a real person singing real notes in real acoustic space. To my ears, that’s precisely what one gets provided the rest of the system is up to the task. I will tell you unequivocally that you won’t go wrong either way, as these amps most definitely share a real family resemblance, and it’s genetically strong. Male and female voices were reproduced with plenty of natural decay on the trailing side, as well as with the realistic body and purity of the real human voice. Museo arqueolóxico do castro de Santa Tegra. Taranis (Jupiter with wheel and thunderbolt), Le Chatelet, Gourzon, Haute-Marne, France You’re paying for a fancy box and cosmetics. Both are nice; now you, the listener, need to make your choice to best suit your fancy! With extended auditioning, the amp definitely improved, especially in terms of openness, but not by leaps and bounds as I have experienced with some other new gear. Caber (brother);Iarbonel (grandfather);Gaea/Danu (grandmother);The Dagba, Leir, Nuada (uncles);Badb, Macha, Morrigan (aunts);Bodb Derg/Red Lord, Bran, Gwynn, Gwythr, Lugh, Mannanan (cousins);numerous others, Taranis, Cernunnos, and Morrigan provided Kyllian with his powers.[4]. High price Class D amps are a fraud. I just heard more of the bass there than I normally do, and that’s a good thing indeed. I could choose pretty much anything as a good example, but I’ll toss in another new compact disc I picked up recently. Neither is an easy task for any amplifier due to the low sensitivities of both speaker systems, both of which like power and lots of it to really perform at peak. Keep in mind that Merrill Audio’s most expensive amp is called Veritas, which is Latin for truth. Frsky offers two versions, the basic X9D-Plus, and the special edition (SE). Both instruments sounded natural and unforced, with the baritone sax taking on an almost silky character, so smooth it sounded. The Taranis really helped to give me the kind of resolution and impact in the bass that I’ve always known the ATCs were capable of, but that I hadn’t really yet coaxed from them. Golden Celtic wheel with symbols, Balesme, Haute-Marne. Or as I like to call it, Taranisaurus Rex. Cue up a very well recorded performance of acoustic instruments or voice in natural space to see what I’m talking about. I have owned Merrill Audio’s Thor monoblocks now for about a year, and they are amazing in their build quality and attention to detail, especially for the $4800 asking price. MOON by Simaudio 40th Anniversary Edition System, Sony A7C Compact Full-Frame Mirrorless Camera, McIntosh MC830 Solid State Amplifier and C8 Vacuum Tube Preamplifier, Merrill Audio Taranis Power Amplifier | Ultra High-End Audio and Home Theater Review. The wheel, more specifically the chariot wheel with six or eight spokes, was an important symbol in historical Celtic polytheism, apparently associated with a specific god, known as the wheel-god, identified as the sky- sun- or thunder-god, whose name is attested as Taranis by Lucan. Interestingly, a bit of background investigation showed that this release never hit it big amongst the audiophile community like the first two records mentioned did. Harmonic texture, intimacy, and spaciousness are the names of the game here, and again not something I would expect a powerhouse amp such as the Taranis to handle all that well. I couldn’t get Taranis to trip itself up. If it got anywhere close to Merrill’s other amps performance-wise, Taranis could be an amazing deal indeed. As in the Wasserman “Duets” album, I got a real appreciation of the depth and texture of the string bass, no matter how Meyer chose to employ it. … Musée d’Archéologie Nationale. Conversely, the trumpet had that sense of brassy bite that such an instrument should have when played well, incorporated with that slight touch of “spittiness” trumpets are known for. It took me maybe four or five listens to finally “get” why people rave about Jennifer Warnes’ rendition of “Ballad of the Runaway Horse.” Still, I think my favorite cuts are the non-vocal ones, such as “Duet” and “Over the Rainbow” as these allow me to better focus in on Wasserman’s plucked or bowed string bass. Merrill Audio’s newest offering was nothing but a pleasure to hear, no matter what type of music I threw at it. Plus I just looked at the CIAudio website and their E.200S is $2500 as well……but not so shiny . In this sense, no one could classify the Taranis as a “dark” sounding amp, though I could possibly see some folks labeling the Thors as ever so slightly on the “dark” side thanks to that smoothness making itself known. A quick video on how to change channel assignments for those who want it set up like Futaba etc The half-wheel shown in the Gundestrup “broken wheel” panel also has eight visible spokes. In 2013 a British combat drone system developed by defence contractor BAE Systems was named Taranis in reference to the Celtic god. Moving on to Famous Blue Raincoat, (LP, Cypress, digitally archived), otherwise known as Jenny Warnes’ first audiophile hit parade, we get even more of a display of touch, texture, and inflection in Ms. Warnes’ voice. One thing I’ve always appreciated about the Merrill Thor amps is their smooth presentation, but one that doesn’t seem to cloud detail or resolution at all. And that’s good news for real-world audiophiles, good news indeed. Which is a better fit will really come down to one’s own listening preferences and accompanying gear, especially speakers. Again, the Merrill Taranis more than surprised me in a nice way in its ability to convey the delicacy and feeling of these works. Some of the cuts are really quite charming, though I still can’t get past Rickie Lee Jones’ whiny, child-like voice. I’m sure the interaction between the ultra-clean power of the Taranis and the ATC speakers’ ability to reproduce taut, fast bass deserve the full credit for reproducing this album so enjoyably. That Taranis accomplishes so much in this venue for so little money seems a wonder indeed. I won’t lie when I say that I expected great things out of Merrill Wettasinghe’s latest amplifier design. The reconstructed Proto-Celtic form of the name is *Torano- (“thunder”), ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European root *(s)tenh₂- (“thunder”). Or because “you just know”. In Celtic mythology, Taranis is the god of thunder, who was worshipped primarily in Gaul, Gallaecia, Britain, and Ireland but also in the Rhineland and Danube regions, amongst others. Taranis is super capable - I love mine, especially for my high end moulded gliders - but tbh all it's flexibility is somewhat wasted in pattern where minimal mixing is required. This disc in question is a fun one by the Gerry Mulligan Quartet highlighting two recording sessions from the late ‘50s collectively called “What Is There To Say?” (cd, Columbia Jazz Masterpieces). Take your favorite fandoms with you and never miss a beat. ), the stock Taranis stick units are somewhat low end - they start off ok but tend to go "loose" … A real monster you say? Taranis is likely associated with the Gallic Ambisagrus (likely from Proto-Celtic *ambi-sagros = “about-strength”), and in the interpretatio romana with Jupiter. The identification of the Sun with a wheel, or a chariot, has parallels in Germanic, Greek and Vedic mythology (see sun chariot). You have to cut corners somewhere if you’re going to offer this type of technology and power in a $2500 amp. Yes, the amp is a bit quirky in its user logistics and styling (that mute switch comes immediately to mind, as do the LED level meters), but I’d classify it as one of the better, or maybe even best, deals going right now in high-end audio. Powering my ATC SCM19 Version 2 monitor speakers, the amp sounded powerful, offering up a big, full, and authoritative presentation in my large listening area. For someone like myself who grew up in the traditional world dominated by the supremacy of linear power supplies, big iron, and class A/AB output devices, all of this business seems not only newfangled, but also a bit scary. Later cultural references Gone also are the Stillpoint footers, replaced by tacky (as in “slightly sticky”) hemispherical Sorbothane feet, though I see that Merrill offers Stillpoints as an upgrade option. Fandom may earn an affiliate commission on sales made from links on this page. Taranis was associated, as was the Cyclops Brontes (“thunder”) in Greek mythology, with the wheel. The songs are expertly performed using ancient instruments, percussion and voice by Jordi Savall and his ensemble Hesperion XX (cd, El Cancionero de Palacio, Astree). I wouldn’t call the Thors overly lush in any way, just smooth and pretty in presentation. and a string bass. My hopes high, I sat down and took in some initial listening impressions. Equally detailed compared to Thor, Taranis is maybe a bit more forward, bringing some extra illumination to the party. If you are hankering for a really good taste of what the really powerful (and expensive) “superamps” out there have on offer, but can’t, or won’t, pay the price of admission, give the Merrill Audio Taranis a good hard look. thunder), Skt stanati and Lat. Gundestrup cauldron, created between 200 BC and 300 AD, is thought to have a depiction of Taranis on the inner wall of cauldron on tile C Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Thousands of such wheels have been found in sanctuaries in Belgic Gaul, dating from 50 BC to 50 AD.