Thread: New Progression Stereo

http://www.theabsolutesound.com/arti...ession-series/


The Progression mono are the best match I heard for the Magico S5 mkII, so this one should be very nice

I reveived yesterday a Momentum Stereo (200w version) for a home demo and look forward to have some time with it

Looking forward to read your impressions. The Momentum Integrated and Momentum Stereo are two best amps I've tried with my old S5 mk 2.

A friend of mine drives his M3 with a pair of the mighty Momentum M400 monos. Superb combination.

The progression is a lovely looking amp in person. Unlike the Momentum, better looking in black imo. I think the huge size has most to do with it as the black makes it look a little sleaker. too heavy for one person to move.

Its done a few hundred at the shop, but will give it a couple more days of constant CD playing before I make any comments on sound.
Compared to the Momentum, it has different speaker terminals which you can hand tighten which is pretty good and different XLR inputs of which the Momentum seem sturdier.

One thing I will say, it does not like RCA cables with adaptors and buzzes like a cheap hooker. Every other balanced amps I have had here had no noise issues with rca cables - Pass, Krell, Gryphon, Goldmund, Mark Levinson, my own Momentum Stereo.
It is silent with balanced cables.

Originally Posted by XV-1

The progression is a lovely looking amp in person. Unlike the Momentum, better looking in black imo. I think the huge size has most to do with it as the black makes it look a little sleaker. too heavy for one person to move.

Its done a few hundred at the shop, but will give it a couple more days of constant CD playing before I make any comments on sound.
Compared to the Momentum, it has different speaker terminals which you can hand tighten which is pretty good and different XLR inputs of which the Momentum seem sturdier.

One thing I will say, it does not like RCA cables with adaptors and buzzes like a cheap hooker. Every other balanced amps I have had here had no noise issues with rca cables - Pass, Krell, Gryphon, Goldmund, Mark Levinson, my own Momentum Stereo.
It is silent with balanced cables.

I have had my Progression monoblocks since December. My advice is to give the amp a few more hours before evaluating them fully. I have also discovered that once they are settled in, the amp is extremely smooth and powerful and also revealing of the upstream equipment. I have yet to exceed 300-400 watts on the meters. I need to play them louder. Looking forward to your opinion.

Originally Posted by XV-1

Super picture! Love it.


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Originally Posted by XV-1

The progression is a lovely looking amp in person. Unlike the Momentum, better looking in black imo. I think the huge size has most to do with it as the black makes it look a little sleaker. too heavy for one person to move.

Its done a few hundred at the shop, but will give it a couple more days of constant CD playing before I make any comments on sound.
Compared to the Momentum, it has different speaker terminals which you can hand tighten which is pretty good and different XLR inputs of which the Momentum seem sturdier.

One thing I will say, it does not like RCA cables with adaptors and buzzes like a cheap hooker. Every other balanced amps I have had here had no noise issues with rca cables - Pass, Krell, Gryphon, Goldmund, Mark Levinson, my own Momentum Stereo.
It is silent with balanced cables.

As a Pass owner I am clearly biased towards meters, but that is one good looking amp.


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I tried out at home for the last 6 days another Progression Stereo amp. This time it was silent when I connected my Nordost Tyr rca ic. not sure what happened first time around, but this was a big relief.

The Progression Stereo is very quiet, barely gets hot even when driving the system LOUD - unlike the Momentum Stereo which is always hot and gets hotter. Sounds wise it's very smooth, has great bass control and seems to be coasting at most volumes - It's really pleasant to listen to, but I felt like I was missing something - played the amp on repeat for a few days - no real change in sound.

In my system it seemed to be just a little too smooth up top and it struggled to make some of my exciting music, well exciting - Playing Prince is always an adventure as his music changes speed and tempo consistently and it seems that the Progression could not quite keep up with the speed of the music. Playing jazz or blues the Progression was very capable and gave a nice large sound stage and thoroughly enjoyable.

Plugging back the warmed up Momentum S200 instantly brought improvements in the upper frequencies and upper mid's with better extension, better attack, more detail with a tube like depth. Bass perhaps did not go as deep and as controlled, but it did seem faster, however that may have been the openness of the upper frequencies more than the bass that gave that impression.

Overall I am impressed with the progression Stereo and if you love the Dag sound but can't stretch to the Momentum series, it will give you great sound. The reality in this case is the higher priced item does give better performance.

for me, I am finally going to upgrade to the S250 in July when I go on holidays, so hopefully will not miss any listening time while its away. Yes, several S250 users have said the upgrade is a no brainer, but it's quite expensive to do it from Sydney as the amp has to be shipped to the USA and back again and the value of the AU peso to US$ is crap.

Bill from D'Agostino said the S250 upgrade includes greater power and audio performance improvements, but also has a bias stabilization circuit enhancement that can help with over heating. He did recommend I upgrade to a M400 and buy another M400 as the best upgrade - Unfortunately budget will not allow for that.

cheers

Originally Posted by XV-1

I tried out at home for the last 6 days another Progression Stereo amp. This time it was silent when I connected my Nordost Tyr rca ic. not sure what happened first time around, but this was a big relief.

The Progression Stereo is very quiet, barely gets hot even when driving the system LOUD - unlike the Momentum Stereo which is always hot and gets hotter. Sounds wise it's very smooth, has great bass control and seems to be coasting at most volumes - It's really pleasant to listen to, but I felt like I was missing something - played the amp on repeat for a few days - no real change in sound.

In my system it seemed to be just a little too smooth up top and it struggled to make some of my exciting music, well exciting - Playing Prince is always an adventure as his music changes speed and tempo consistently and it seems that the Progression could not quite keep up with the speed of the music. Playing jazz or blues the Progression was very capable and gave a nice large sound stage and thoroughly enjoyable.

Plugging back the warmed up Momentum S200 instantly brought improvements in the upper frequencies and upper mid's with better extension, better attack, more detail with a tube like depth. Bass perhaps did not go as deep and as controlled, but it did seem faster, however that may have been the openness of the upper frequencies more than the bass that gave that impression.

Overall I am impressed with the progression Stereo and if you love the Dag sound but can't stretch to the Momentum series, it will give you great sound. The reality in this case is the higher priced items does give better performance.

for me, I am finally going to upgrade to the S250 in July when I go on holidays, so hopefully will not miss any listening time while its away. Yes, several S250 users have said the upgrade is a no brainer, but it's quite expensive to do it from Sydney as the amp has to be shipped to the USA and back again.

Bill from D'Agostino said the S250 upgrade includes greater power and audio performance improvements, but also has a bias stabilization circuit enhancement that can help with over heating. He did recommend I upgrade to a M400 and buy another M400 as the best upgrade - Unfortunately budget will not allow for that.

cheers

Thanks for the update. The improvements to the S200 via the S250 upgrade is very significant. If you like the S200 today, you will absolutely love the S250.

Originally Posted by Ritmo

Thanks for the update. The improvements to the S200 via the S250 upgrade is very significant. If you like the S200 today, you will absolutely love the S250.

thanks Mike. I will try and not raise my expectations too much

Originally Posted by XV-1

thanks Mike. I will try and not raise my expectations too much

What’s the upgrade cost?


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$7,500 plus shipping.

Originally Posted by Ritmo

$7,500 plus shipping.

Ouch, that’s some change and some .


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Originally Posted by Kuoppis

Ouch, that’s some change and some .


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Yes, it is. However, the improvements are quite significant on an amplifier that's already excellent. Well worth the investment if keeping the amplifier long term.

Originally Posted by Ritmo

$7,500 plus shipping.

Originally Posted by Kuoppis

Ouch, that’s some change and some .


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First up I think it is great that a manufacturer is offering the upgrade to customers and very close in price to the difference in new price of an old vs new amp. Nothing worse than buying a model for it to be replaced with a better sounding more power version. I have owned the S200 for over 6 years now, so time to upgrade.

When you look at selling/trading the S200 / M300's and buying the S250 / M400's, the cost is a lot more than the upgrade cost.

The only PITA is that the unit has top be returned to the factory as the upgrade is substantial, so can't be done by distributors.

cheers

Originally Posted by XV-1

First up I think it is great that a manufacturer is offering the upgrade to customers and very close in price to the difference in new price of an old vs new amp. Nothing worse than buying a model for it to be replaced with a better sounding more power version. I have owned the S200 for over 6 years now, so time to upgrade.

When you look at selling/trading the S200 / M300's and buying the S250 / M400's, the cost is a lot more than the upgrade cost.

The only PITA is that the unit has top be returned to the factory as the upgrade is substantial, so can't be done by distributors.

cheers

Agree, upgradeability is a great service to customers. Nothing worse than seeing the gear you own drop 50% in value when a new generation is launched, w/o being able to do anything against it.

That’s what I also liked about the Ayres when I had them. Soulution are also offering upgrades for their products.


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As well as CH Precision.

You never know. ARC might one day offer upgrades, rather than having to buy new for V2 or SE version