Dan D'Agostino Relentless Mono Power-amplifier

[andromedaaudio]

Im not talking about their ref series .
In my case i was aiming at 100 wpc , Jl2 sign.
Even a 50 watt Cat would be more then enough.
Watts are not a quality in itself.
If there is good loudspeaker control at all volumes /types of music then its enough.
More Watts dont bring more quality is all i mean to say there is a limit to that.
Lesser Watts can sound more pleasing even , more gentle

 

[shakti]

I agree, bring more Quality is the main goal!.
If I compare my CAT JL 3 Reference with the CAT JL3 Statement the more of quality is obvious, but the price tag has doubled...
some more watts are also available.
I do run 97db speakers in a 60 sqm room, the bit of more headroom with the JL3 Statement is audible. So I can understand Dan, that his new flagship provides a new level of dynamic headroom.

I compared in my former set up Krell Evo 400, 600, 900. The more headroom, the better. My speakers that time (YG) had above 90db.

 

[andromedaaudio]

Mostly its impedance that has a great effect on dynamic s, 90 db in itself says little.
Low impedance can really suck the liveliness out of music.
My 93 -94 db Ls have a high impedance Above 5 ohms in the important freq range min 3.8 ohm at 10 kHz.
Ive owned ml 431 Boulder 1060. Krell. EVO 400. Monos
So ive tried

 

[andromedaaudio]

Nice set up you have by the way , what horns exactly?
Did you prefer the Koda over the cat pre?

 

[shakti]

Currently are Zingali Client Name Evo 1.5 playing, but hORNS in Poland are just building my Universum III Hornsystem, to be delivered End May, beginning June.
Than I will have around 200w for 100db speakers, I love headroom

I prefer the Koda K10 over the CAT SL 1 Renaissance , but I have not compared to the SL1 Legend.

 

[andromedaaudio]

Nice Horn design , quit different .
Regarding solid state i wanna try levinson. Ref. Series and dartzeel , but not very keen on selling my Cat gear , because im afraid. I ll be regretting that soon.

 

[microstrip]

Sometimes it makes me wonder how does a manufacture voice his product until he himself is not a keen listener and even if he is what extra does he give in terms of SQ that he thinks a wooping price is justified
In my opinion a manufacture if he is really interested in music and not money should price his product that mass people can enjoy his achievement rather making products which are out of reach to all except the blessed ones who probably dont have the time for music.
You need not make a fancy looking product to sell, for it is meant for music not display your wealth to do that you have many other products in the world.I do not say the product should not be well built but taking it
to a level which is unaffordable for no engineering advancement in music except than a show piece is un comprehended by me
Well its my opinion yours may differ

All good points for debate - I have different views in a few of them. But in this thread the issue is that, when properly used, a good part (not all, surely) of these expensive pieces of equipment bring real improvements in music reproduction. And Dan d'Agostino is known for building SOTA great sounding equipment, so he deserves our attention.

IMHO no short demos in show conditions or reviews should make our minds. We must have significant experience with equipment to understand its capabilities and limitations.

 

[andromedaaudio]

Jasbinandra, its a dog eat dog business out there.
Take a watch manufacturer do you think he Will ever have a succesfull business without taking the utmost care design/ looks wise?

 

[DaveyF]

Jasbinandra, its a dog eat dog business out there.
Take a watch manufacturer do you think he Will ever have a succesfull business without taking the utmost care design/ looks wise?

Or, perhaps we should all say the new mantra...." A'philes buy with their eyes and not their ears". Dan knows this VERY well.

Not saying his gear doesn't sound good, because I think it does, but all of the fancy casework is probably there in order to support the asking price...and very little else.

BTW, there is new CAT gear coming to market, so I wouldn't be looking to replace any of it with other manufacturer's stuff at this time. The new gear is supposed to be a lot
more revealing ( if that is possible??)

 

[microstrip]

Or, perhaps we should all say the new mantra...." A'philes buy with their eyes and not their ears". Dan knows this VERY well.

Not saying his gear doesn't sound good, because I think it does, but all of the fancy casework is probably there in order to support the asking price...and very little else.(...)

I fail to understand why audiophiles feel the need to systematically misrepresent the hobby and denigrate other audiophiles. I know a few owners of D'Agostino equipment and they love music and this hobby. Some of them have pride in the iconic aspect of the meters of their units. What is the problem with that?

In his presentation Dan explained with detail the importance of the casework in the sonics of his designs - nothing new, the usual electromechanical interface for sound quality coupled to the desire of having units of size that most high-end consumers would consider reasonable.

 

[andromedaaudio]

Or may be and and , i usually sell after a couple months comparison , i d be better off getting room treatment anyway.
But you gotta try something different once in a while keeps it Interesting

 

[DaveyF]

I fail to understand why audiophiles feel the need to systematically misrepresent the hobby and denigrate other audiophiles. I know a few owners of D'Agostino equipment and they love music and this hobby. Some of them have pride in the iconic aspect of the meters of their units. What is the problem with that?

In his presentation Dan explained with detail the importance of the casework in the sonics of his designs - nothing new, the usual electromechanical interface for sound quality coupled to the desire of having units of size that most high-end consumers would consider reasonable.

Uhhhhmm...Ok.

Except if the shoe fits...does it Sir microstrip???

 

[microstrip]

Uhhhhmm...Ok.

Except if the shoe fits...does it Sir microstrip???

Unfortunately no, it does not fit ... The D'Agostino's Momentum's are too expensive for me. And I also like a lot the competition - the Constellation Audio's.

 

[DaveyF]

Unfortunately no, it does not fit ... The D'Agostino's Momentum's are too expensive for me. And I also like a lot the competition - the Constellation Audio's.

Here’s the thing of it microstrip, I have a VERY strong suspicion that ‘if’ the fancy casework on the Momentum’s wasn’t quite so fancy, and the pricing was adjusted accordingly, then you may be more able to budget for them! As to the ‘actual’ loss of SQ due to the reduction in bling, well you tell me, lol.

Oh, I forgot, I’m misrepresenting this aspect, right

 

[andromedaaudio]

Davey , im actually reevaluating the whole tube versus SS thing again in my new acoustics .
Downside of cat is a bit noise and SS gives Nice articulation tube smoothes things out maybe a little.
But enough about tubes its a dagostino thread after all

 

[Folsom]

The price means nothing to me other than you accept you are helping Dan nest-egg.

What is so silly is that the WAMM is 90/db efficient. I can only assume the WAMM and amp have some flaws that neither manufacturer understands, to require power like that. I would not be surprised if it simply sounded different to draw people to it.

You would really think the WAMM would have more bass drivers to garner such amp considerations, not nearly the same thing as every other Wilson big speaker.

 

[andromedaaudio]

Well Wilson does not use focal woofers anymore afaik , for reasons i dont know.
Different woofers( hard paperpulp in wamms case) may have a different efficiency which can bring the whole speaker eff.down.
Doesnt make it a bad speaker thats a ridiculous conclusion

 

[microstrip]

Here’s the thing of it microstrip, I have a VERY strong suspicion that ‘if’ the fancy casework on the Momentum’s wasn’t quite so fancy, and the pricing was adjusted accordingly, then you may be more able to budget for them! As to the ‘actual’ loss of SQ due to the reduction in bling, well you tell me, lol.

Oh, I forgot, I’m misrepresenting this aspect, right

Ok, now your suspicion is mixing two different issues - bling and expensive manufacture quality ...

Anyway, I firmly believe that the boards and power transformer of the Momentum assembled in a different case would sound different. The same way a Jadis wired point to point sounds better than the same Jadis fitted with a PCB.

 

[andromedaaudio]

I d have to agree with that

 

[Folsom]

Well Wilson does not use focal woofers anymore afaik , for reasons i dont know.
Different woofers( hard paperpulp in wamms case) may have a different efficiency which can bring the whole speaker eff.down.
Doesnt make it a bad speaker thats a ridiculous conclusion

Who said anything about a bad speaker?