Jeff Rowland S2 Continuum in the house!

Oh, I like those speakers. Nice. Heard them at CES with ARC gear and they sounded great. I would try the McIntosh 8000 integrated if I was you. Not sure it would be better than ARC on SF. The new VAC i160 SE would be worth a try too.


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Thanks. Those speakers are really pushing the right hifi buttons for me. I have had the MA8000 on my short list as well. The "new" McIntosh sound would fit the speakers and my ears perfect I think. The size however is one downsize. I'd have to rearrange my cabinet and open up a hole in the rear wall in order to make room for it. The compact size in combination with 800 W is one of the things that intrigues me with the Continuum S2.
 
You know another one I would look at is the Vitus RI-100.


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I would love to hear ANYTHING Vitus as well.:audiophile:

Mike, the Ayre Integrated received some great reviews. Here's Art Dudley's take.

Here's a snippet:

"On the plus side, it's one of the three best, most musical, most human-sounding solid-state amps I've ever heard, in which regards it rivals the DNM PA3-S and the darTZeel NHB-108. Heck, it's one of the finest amps I've lived with, period. As such—and as something that takes the place of both preamp and power amp, and to which one need add only a good phono preamp—the AX-5 is a respectably good value. I can imagine this product becoming something of a standard, and deservedly so."​
 
Also...guys don't forget Constellation Audio's new Inspiration line. The first three that came out are the Pre 1.0 ($9K), Stereo 1.0 ($10K) and Monos 1.0 ($20K) but I believe they said, an integrated amp, phono amp, DAC and media player are coming out later this year. And from what I remember, the integrated will be 200wpc into 8ohms and double that into 4ohms. If I had to guess the integrated will be in the $10-12K range putting it in similar territory to the new ML 585 and the Vitus RI-100.

Constellation Audio Introduces Inspiration Series of Preamplifiers and Amplifiers | Ultra High-End Audio and Home Theater Review

http://audiofi.net/2014/05/three-new-1s-from-constellation-audio/
 
You're right Cyril. Good point.


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Any updates on the review? Looking forward to this.

Looking for Integrated Amp for my Harbeth SHL5, it might be JR S2.

jhameeh
 
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I had the pleasure of a Continuum S2 home loan over the summer to evaluate the amp and to see how it performed against my Audio Research DSI200. I now own a Jeff Rowland integrated :). It is unbelievably good. I really loved the DSI but the JR was better in all respects (except price...). You have way more bass information. The timbre evolving from the lower frequencies is mindblowing. And, it also plays the smaller, more delicate notes just as well. The soundstage is the same size as the Audio Research but without the "signature" you get from the DSI200. Everything simply sounds more natural, true and "live".
 
Congrats

It's i really nice amp

bigblue said:
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I had the pleasure of a Continuum S2 home loan over the summer to evaluate the amp and to see how it performed against my Audio Research DSI200. I now own a Jeff Rowland integrated :). It is unbelievably good. I really loved the DSI but the JR was better in all respects (except price...). You have way more bass information. The timbre evolving from the lower frequencies is mindblowing. And, it also plays the smaller, more delicate notes just as well. The soundstage is the same size as the Audio Research but without the "signature" you get from the DSI200. Everything simply sounds more natural, true and "live".
Click to expand...
 
bigblue...congrats on the S2 :thumbsup: What is the rest of your rig?
 
Thank you! I have the Sonus Faber Olympica 3 speakers a full loom of Wireworld cables and an Oppo 105 who will act as a transport when the DAC arrives :).
 
I see this thread stopped pretty abruptly. Mike, what happened? Do you still have the S2? Did you go for Hegel as I see in your signature? Tell us (me) more! If so, can you compare the two, side by side? I'm planning an upgrade soon and S2, Model 525 or Hegel H20/30 would be targeted. The Ayre integrated sounds interesting too. :)
 
johndoe21ro said:
I see this thread stopped pretty abruptly. Mike, what happened? Do you still have the S2? Did you go for Hegel as I see in your signature? Tell us (me) more! If so, can you compare the two, side by side? I'm planning an upgrade soon and S2, Model 525 or Hegel H20/30 would be targeted. The Ayre integrated sounds interesting too. :)
Click to expand...

It all depends on your speakers and what you are trying to achieve. I thought the S2 after 1000 hours started to sound nice, but it always retained that Class D sonic signature. If your goal is an integrated for a pair of Raidho speakers, it's hard to beat the S2. It leaned out the bass and had the speed to keep up with the fast Raidho woofers. Just don't expect anything from the built in phonostage. I never tried the DAC.

I found the Hegel H300 much more musical, but a bass nightmare with my Raidho D3's. The H300 has loads of bass and even at RMAF on a pair of Magico S3's it was boomy as hell.

So first, what speakers will you be using with your new integrated?


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Mike said:
It all depends on your speakers and what you are trying to achieve. I thought the S2 after 1000 hours started to sound nice, but it always retained that Class D sonic signature. If your goal is an integrated for a pair of Raidho speakers, it's hard to beat the S2. It leaned out the bass and had the speed to keep up with the fast Raidho woofers. Just don't expect anything from the built in phonostage. I never tried the DAC.

I found the Hegel H300 much more musical, but a bass nightmare with my Raidho D3's. The H300 has loads of bass and even at RMAF on a pair of Magico S3's it was boomy as hell.

So first, what speakers will you be using with your new integrated?
Click to expand...

My Raidho's of course. I'm more of a computer audiophile so I'm not interested in the phono stage or the DAC for the S2. In fact I wonder if S2 is not too much - I can use the exaSound's pre with great success and use a Model 525 very well. My budget is pretty limited anyway.
What about that boomy bass? How did you solve it? For me a fast and punchy bass is a must. It's a sonic trait of all Raidho's that I very much like.
 
It decreased the bass to listenable levels. If you want lots of bass - go for the Hegel H300!


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Mike said:
It decreased the bass to listenable levels. If you want lots of bass - go for the Hegel H300!


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Click to expand...

I'm not sure I understand... You said you've sticked to Hegel. You also said that Hegel has lots of bass - 'nightmare bass with the Raidho's' was your saying. How did you solve the problem 'cause I see you still have the Hegel H30 at your signature but no Jeff Rowland?
I don't want lots of bass, Mike. I like controlled, fast and detailed bottom end. My Raidho's don't go down too much, but for my room, my taste and especially my money they're very ok at least for the time being.
 
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