D-SONIC SOA Class-D Core Amps. The best Class-D ?

Hi AudioZen, as far as I know, Continuum S2 will be priced in mid $9K for its basic version, and will still shy below $10K for the versions that incorporate the optional DAC card or the optional Phonostage card.

I have since learned that the preamplification circuit of Continuum S2 is based on the new Capri S2 preamplifier... I Also heard that the Capri S2 circuit, as well as the DAC card, were developed in an engineering collaboration with Danish company Holm Acoustics.

There is no way for me to know how far along they are in the burn-in process because they were demos and not absolutely brand new. Mr. Deacon had loaned them out to someone for a short while. I would like to put at least 250 more hours on them before doing too much critical listening, but it's hard to resist the urges to pop up and fix something I know is wrong. Last night I listened to a Japanese reissue of Jon Faddis' 1976 "Youngblood" album where he works out with Dizzy's rhythm section. At the very end of Gershwin's Prelude # 2 there is a massive crescendo. While Jon is blowing away like the angel Gabriel, Micky Roker ends the piece with massive cymbal crashes whose transients sound all crumpled up in the in the mix with the horn. The last 5 seconds of the tune almost set me to packing up the amps for an airplane ride back to Texas. I went at it again today and figured out that my VTA was set imperfectly even though I thought I had nailed it months ago. I dialed it in again after a few hours of really hard work listening to more records and all is fine again. It seems to me that these amps are so revealing and play so cleanly at high volumes that very small changes in tonearm/cartridge geometry are easily heard. Obviously, these amps are not a drop-in replacement in my system and will require a lot of TLC to sound their best.

Guido..Its mentioned on the Rowland website that the discontinued Continuum 500 also used the Capri circuit. I checked out many interior photo's of the Continuum 500 and was amazed how extensive the mods were. Two circuit boards stacked on top of each other. The ICE amps were upside down and accessed from the bottom. The top board has a dozen large power capacitors and two filter caps. The most extensive mods I've ever seen using ICE amps. Way beyond the mods in the Bel Canto's. If the mods are just as extensive with the Pasqualle Class-D amps, and the sound quality is superior as told by Rowland, it will more than likely turn out to be the best integrated on the market due to Jeff's perfectionism.

Hi AudioZen, I readily admit that am extremely fond of the creations of both Jeff Rowland and John Stronczer of Bel Canto.... Fact is that these people are true audio electronic engineers and audio circuit designers, rather than modders. Class D power conversion modules are components... With them you can derive a very basic amplifier implementation, or a sophisticated circuit that instantiates the sonic/musical philosophy of the designer.... Rowland, Stronczer, and ARC engineers, just to name a few, are definitely in the latter camp.

On the other hand, each product can only justify itself in the music it produces... hence, until I hear a well broken-in Continuum S2, I will not know if Mr. Rowland has scored yet another bull's eye.

By the way, do you happen to know which Pasquale power conversion module has been utilized inside the new Continuum S2?

G.

Guido...for the moment, the Pasquale power module is so new that it is not available to anyone. Jeff is the first to use it and has an exclusive on the amp. I was told that a former ICE engineer is the designer. It wouldn't surprise me if Rowland is doing financial backing for this engineer. I noticed you just started a thread on the Continuum Series 2 on What's Best Forum. Look forward to see how that develops.