D'Agostino Momentum M400

[wizard]

http://wizard-highend.blogspot.com/2...400-power.html

[db33]

well monos 300watt are available..... why a new monos 400watt?
was beter the stereo version with 300watt or so like that... (imho)

[the professor]

Any idea on price? Or if the old monos can be upgraded?

[still-one]

I understand the 300's can be upgraded. I "believe" the new price for the 400 mono's will be about $65k.

[the professor]

Cool

[Odyssey]

What is the release date of the new mono's? I'll bet they'll be at CES. It will be interesting see hear what the step up in sound is like!

Dan never stops innovating!

[Ritmo]

I wonder if the innovation will also be carried forward to the stereo amp...

[the professor]

I bet it will be.

[Mike]

One of my favorite amps by one of my favorite amp designers of all time! Go Dan Go!

[Cincy2]

I understand the 300's can be upgraded. I "believe" the new price for the 400 mono's will be about $65k.

I WANT IT!. How do I explain an upgrade to the wife when I've told her the Momentum 300's are my "end of life" amps??????

Cincy

[ct545i]

I WANT IT!. How do I explain an upgrade to the wife when I've told her the Momentum 300's are my "end of life" amps??????

Cincy

They will remain your "end of life" amps....., just "tuned up a bit....to 400 watts".... same amps.....

[Mike]

I WANT IT!. How do I explain an upgrade to the wife when I've told her the Momentum 300's are my "end of life" amps??????

Cincy

it's an upgrade she can't see!

[joeinid]

They will remain your "end of life" amps....., just "tuned up a bit....to 400 wats".... same amps.....

Welcome ct545i, thank you for joining.

[Anatta]

it's an upgrade she can't see!

Right, you don't have to tell her, she won't notice.

[jdandy]

Right, you don't have to tell her, she won't notice.

Anatta.......She probably won't notice the gaping hole in the bank account either, right?

[XV-1]

I wonder if the innovation will also be carried forward to the stereo amp...

I almost hope not :-)

[asiufy]

We're getting ours next week

[Mike]

We're getting ours next week

You tease!

[laynesaddiction]

Well at least I can now talk about these...

My wife and I were able to hear these in August after our local audio dealer said he would have a pair for a few days. At the time, we had the Momentum Stereo amplifier. We originally bought the Momentum Stereo over the Momentum Monos due to the price differential and the fact we thought the Stereo amp was slightly more to our musical taste. Indeed the original Momentum Monos were more precise/accurate than the Momentum Stereo, but we felt the Stereo was more up our alley.

To make a long story short....After listening to the new Momentum Monos, we immediately knew they (to our ears) were better than our Momentum Stereo hands down, believed they improved over the old Monos, and knew we needed to upgrade. We talked with the local dealer and D'Agostino and used their upgrade policy to upgrade our existing Stereo (needed to purchase a second Mono of course) to a pair of these new Mono versions.

The amps were delivered in early September and for the last month+ we have been burning them in and running them through a ton of music. The bottom line is that we are still thrilled and feel the upgrade was worth every penny.

The two main reasons for us to jump on these immediately (it is rare for us to be that smitten right out of the box) were:

0. The new Monos gave us a magnificent balance of musicality and accuracy. To us it was similar to having a better musical Stereo version with a better accurate original Mono version. It was, to us, the best of both Dan worlds (if that makes sense). For those Pass Labs owners I would use this analogy... The XA amps gave you the pure unadulterated glorious musical presentation as a tradeoff to pure "audiophile" accuracy. Whereas the X-series gave you more bottom-end control, drive, and accuracy as a tradeoff to the pure musicality. The Xs gave you a great balance of both.

With the new Monos, we believe they give a similar balance and bettered the strengths of the old Monos and the strengths of the Stereo version.

2. I realize that the new Monos have more power (400W vs. 300W), but man, to our ears it feels like these amps were super-charged over the old Monos (and of course over our Stereo version). When I was listening to the new Monos originally this is what came to mind immediately. For those who swim.....At the end of a workout if you are pushing hard and/or you are just getting tired you sometimes don't cut through the water with your arms with authority as you are hitting the wall to flip turn or push off and rather have the water build-up help you as you approach the end wall. If you are feeling good, you just hammer thought he wave build-up and power on. These amps made me think that they could power through any wave build-up without any restraint and laugh at the thought of being tired. For those who don't jive my analogy, let's just say to our ears it was if someone added jet-fuel to the amps (vs. our Stereo version). Frankly, we both didn't get this feeling with either the original Monos or the Stereo version even though at the time those didn't seem power-shy at all.

We will be interested in hearing others' opinions as they hear them.

I guess I will need to go change my signature now since these amps are more public knowledge. ;-)

Thanks,

[joeinid]

Great write up Anthony. Thank you for the great description.

[MDP]

Congrats Anthony! And thanks for the nice write up.

[Mike]

Anthony - that's awesome! D'Agostino M400's!! WOW!

[madfloyd]

Wow is right! They sure sound like a winner - congratulations!

[laynesaddiction]

Joe, Mark, Mike, madfloyd,

Thank you for your kind words and sentiments. My wife and I know there are many fantastic components out there to choose from all giving exceptional performance. Right now in the amp department, these significantly move us and are our preference.

We really appreciate your congratulations as no matter how old we get or what type of component we move to, it is always exciting when we make the choice to jump. Thanks for sharing in that excitement.

[Ritmo]

Anthony - Thanks for sharing. Glad you are very happy with the upgrade.

I hope they will have an upgrade path for the stereo amp.

Mike

[still-one]

What is the release date of the new mono's? I'll bet they'll be at CES. It will be interesting see hear what the step up in sound is like!

Dan never stops innovating!

As I understand they are currently taking reservations for upgrading now. I assume they will build new units as ordered.

[Cincy2]

As I understand they are currently taking reservations for upgrading now. I assume they will build new units as ordered.

I just exchanged emails with the D'Ag factory and am going to get a quote for the upgrade as soon as I give them my M300 serial numbers. More information to come as it is available.

Cincy

[Cincy2]

See attached announcement.

Cincy

[the professor]

I'll have to send my serial numbers to find out how much it is also. I didn't realize that the price had changed, last I had seen it was $15,000 to upgrade.

[still-one]

I'll have to send my serial numbers to find out how much it is also. I didn't realize that the price had changed, last I had seen it was $15,000 to upgrade.

That is what my dealer quoted me.

[Ritmo]

Any rumors on an upgrade program for the stereo amp?

[asiufy]

The word I have from the factory is that, so far, Dan couldn't cram the improvements (extra parts/components) into the stereo's case.

[Cincy2]

After hearing the benefits of the enhancements made to the Momentum monos that resulted in the Momentum M400, I felt compelled to add them to the Momentum stereo amplifier. We are excited to announce the Momentum S250 stereo amplifier." - Dan D'Agostino

As with the Momentum M400 mono, the new Momentum S250 stereo amplifier receives a power upgrade, now delivering 250 Watts/channel into 8 Ohms. This is up from the original 200 Watt/channel specification. A 20% increase in transformer size, up to 1,800VA, provides the engine for this output power increase. Connected to this larger power source is a new output stage design that includes a number of major enhancements.

The driver section underwent a major revision and now features a fully complementary signal path with individual transistors employed for the positive and negative halves of the musical signal. Current drive is nearly doubled which feeds a new output stage with an open loop gain increased by the same factor of two. The sound is more spacious, delicate, and dynamic.


The Momentum S250 employs the same chassis as the original with a small aesthetic design change to the copper feature on the faceplate sides. Additionally, the meter now displays a scale appropriate for the greater power output.


Current Momentum stereo amplifiers can be upgraded to the Momentum S250 performance level. Included in the upgrade is the new 250 Watt meter plate and all electrical component upgrades. The retail price for the upgrade is $7,500 and is performed at the Dan D'Agostino Master Audio Systems facility in Cave Creek, AZ. Customers should contact their dealer, distributor, or Dan D'Agostino Master Audio Systems for details.

[XV-1]

I would love to do the Stereo upgrade.

Freight to and from the USA to AU will be a killer thou.


Who is going to be the first in the US to do the upgrade?

[Cincy2]

Who is going to be the first in the US to do the upgrade?

Just shipped mine to D'Agostino yesterday. Probably 3-4 weeks before I see theme back.

Cincy

[XV-1]

Just shipped mine to D'Agostino yesterday. Probably 3-4 weeks before I see theme back.

Cincy

Cool. Please let us know the difference in sound once you have received it back.

Cheers

[Ritmo]

I had the opportunity to listen to the new M400s yesterday. The guys at Audio Concepts in Dallas have had them for the last several weeks. They are connected to the DAG pre and driving the Wilson Alexias.

I listened for less than 30 minutes. My impressions are very positive in that they are super quiet with a bit more detail and yet with a sweetness that would keep me glued to the system for hrs.

I've made a decision to upgrade my S200 to the S250.

[still-one]

I had the opportunity to listen to the new M400s yesterday. The guys at Audio Concepts in Dallas have had them for the last several weeks. They are connected to the DAG pre and driving the Wilson Alexias.

I listened for less than 30 minutes. My impressions are very positive in that they are super quiet with a bit more detail and yet with a sweetness that would keep me glued to the system for hrs.

I've made a decision to upgrade my S200 to the S250.

Congratulations Mike!! I just had a discussion with my dealer on upgrading mine. I think I will wait until after upgrading my 808v3 to v6.

[Elberoth]

My dealer has the M400. He is ecstatic about the sound quality improvements. I know that dealers usually are exstatic about any new gear they sell, but this time he seems to be genuinely impressed.

[Cincy2]

My dealer has the M400. He is ecstatic about the sound quality improvements. I know that dealers usually are exstatic about any new gear they sell, but this time he seems to be genuinely impressed.

Time to call and find out where my upgraded units are. It's been almost a month without music and I'm withering like a rose in winter.

Cincy

[the professor]

Being without is hard. Hopefully they are almost done.

[the professor]

I've been listening to the new M400 mono blocks from D'Agostino and I have to say that they are A LOT better than the M300s in my system.

They almost make the M300 sound broken. Obviously in the scheme of things we are talking minor differences because the M300s are fantastic amps and have many many great reviews out there. But none the less, its an obvious difference.

The coherency and the level of micro detail in the bass is mesmerizing.

As many know, for the last 6 months, I've been going back and forth between the M300s and the Ayre MXR20s. And I really couldn't decide on a winner. The MXR20s over the MXRs took a leap and got them right there with the M300s. The Ayre had tighter bass and smoother vocals, but the M300s had a more cohesive top to bottom range to them.

Well, the new M400s over the M300s imo are a bigger leap than from the MXR to MXR20 was.

Well done Dan!!

[joeinid]

Jock,

They sound so nice you had to say it twice

I'll leave the duplicate in to make a point. Congratulations, I am sure you are in heaven now.

[the professor]

LOL

Thanks Joe.

[Mike]

Congrats Jock! Great to hear how amazing the new D'Ag 400's are.

[Odyssey]

Congratulations Jock. Just when you think it can't get any better...

[the professor]

Thanks guys.

[MDP]

I'm glad you're enjoying the upgrade Jock!

[MDP]

I'm glad you're enjoying the upgrade Jock!

[Cincy2]

Mine are on their way back to me. Hopefully I'm in the sweet spot with them next Saturday.

Cincy