Jeff Rowland Continuum Series 2 Integrated Amplifier

GuidoCorona

Well-Known Member
Apr 23, 2010
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Summerville (SC)
Jeff Rowland Design released the Continuum S2 integrated during 3Q 2013. Continuum S2 operates its output stage in class D. The new product is designed around new Pascal power conversion modules. Power rating is 400W over 8 Ohms, and 800W over 4 Ohms. The preamplifier section is based on the new Rowland Capri S2. Continuum S2 has one expansion slot for either an optional DAC card or an optional Phono card. Here is some initial technical info:

• CONTINUUM S2: Integrated amplifier
• OUTPUT POWER: 400W @ 8 ohms / 800W @ 4 ohms
• FREQUENCY RESPONSE: 5 Hz - 70 kHz, -3 dB @ 8 ohms
• THD + NOISE: 0.05%, 20 Hz - 20 kHz
• INPUTS: 2 pair balanced (XLR) 2 pair unbalanced (RCA) 1 pair unbalanced bypass (RCA)
• OUTPUTS: 1 pair balanced (XLR) 1 pair unbalanced (RCA)
• DAC card: optional
• Phono card: optional
• WEIGHT: 35 lb / 15.9 kg
• DIMENSIONS: 5.3" x 15.5" x 15.0" 135mm x 394mm x 380mm
• Status: Released Q3 2013
• Price: $9500.00

Regiews:

An unconditional thumbs-up by Roy Gregory on AudioBeat:
http://www.theaudiobeat.com/equipment/jeff_rowland_continuum_s2.htm

I will update with further information as I find out more.
 
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GuidoCorona

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Apr 23, 2010
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All, I have received the list of RMAF suites where we will be able to listen to Rowland amps coming Friday 11th through Sunday 13. In particular...

The Continuum S2 integrated will be making music in public for the first time in Tower 2001 (the Rowland suite), together with Aeris… If I remember things correctly, they may be using Cardas Clear and Clear Beyond wires, and Raidho speakers.

Saluti, Guido
 
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GuidoCorona

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Apr 23, 2010
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Summerville (SC)

mep

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Apr 20, 2010
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$9500 for a Class D integrated amp. I bet they sell tons of them.
 

GuidoCorona

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Apr 23, 2010
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Summerville (SC)
Thank you MEP, in answer to your conjecture... Yes, Continuum S2 has been selling briskly since its release.... Given what my ears have let me grock this far of what the device delivers, I am not surprised by its success.

G.
 

KeithR

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May 7, 2010
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if Jeff is now back to Class AB, not sure who is buying his Class D stuff. He is basically tellin you it isnt that good. I owned the Concentra 2 in 2002 which retailed for 6k as I recall with much higher build quality. Unfortunately the 2 was kinda dry- should have bought the used Concentra 1 instead.
 

butler

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Mar 26, 2013
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While visiting Jeff's room at the recent RMAF, he indicated to me that Class D is `it', the best technology he has found to achieve his vision. He also said he still makes Class AB only because some folks insist on it. Build quality looks pretty darn good to me, though from the Audio Beat review, which contains a lot of verbiage, I still cannot conclude whether it has the sound that I'm looking for. Looking forward to some user reviews and hopefully an audition to see if maybe it is truly something special.
 

GuidoCorona

Well-Known Member
Apr 23, 2010
327
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Summerville (SC)
Hi Keith, Rowland introduced the class A/B M625 and M725 when he withdrew the M3xx ICEpower series to serve the mid-high market between $14K and $29K, which is higher than the $9.5K of Continuum S2. Yes, I concur that class A/B M625 and M725 outperform the older M300 ICEpower-based series, which targeted the same price range.

Later, in 2013 the company introduced M825 and M925 to serve the market above $30K. After experimenting with a variety of topologies, The amps achieved by far highest performance by incorporating Ncore NC1200 in their output stage.

I have owned and fully broken-in M7, M312, M625, M725, and now M925. I have adopted each of them for a simple reason... their music making. It has been a progressive journey of fresh musical and sonic delights since M7, through M725... As for M925, these monos deliver music on an entirely different sonic plane.

Admittedly, if I were to select amps by their P3R (Price Per Pound Ratio), the winner would doubtless be M7.... I paid $4K in 1998 for for two used 140Lbs chassis... That is a spectacular 3PR of only $14.29. Unfortunately, 3PR is not a particularly useful criterion for selecting audio gear... I much prefer to rely on my ears again and again... They eventually caused me to adopt the Class D M925 as a "here to stay" solution.

G.
 

mep

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Apr 20, 2010
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a 35lb, $9500 int at that (or $271/lb). im a Rowland fan but its hard not to get cynical.

Agreed. Class D amps are as common as flies on dog sh*t on a hot summer day and almost as cheap as day old bread unless it comes in fancy sheet metal that keeps out the flies. A SS Class D integrated amp with a basic line stage which has no phono section or built in DAC and sells for $9500 is just crazy.
 

samgar

Well-Known Member
Jun 3, 2013
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Midlothian, VA
I agree with you Guido. The 925's are in a world of their own. Let your ears be the judge.
 

GuidoCorona

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Apr 23, 2010
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Hi Sam, I'll drink to that!

Meantime, please join me in congratulating MEP for his masterful use of purple prose... He successfully simulated earthy imagery, facile snobbery, and a disconcerting disconnection from reality, all seamlessly integrated into a pithily tasteless post... Bravo MEP... You have outMEPped yourself *grins!*

G.
 

puroagave

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Sep 29, 2011
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Hi Sam, I'll drink to that!

Meantime, please join me in congratulating MEP for his masterful use of purple prose... He successfully simulated earthy imagery, facile snobbery, and a disconcerting disconnection from reality, all seamlessly integrated into a pithily tasteless post... Bravo MEP... You have outMEPped yourself *grins!*

G.

Guido, don't take this the wrong way because I appreciate your timely postings on Rowland products but what's your affiliation with the co other than being a user and reviewer?

MEPs sardonic wit I can handle (it has caused me to laugh out loud now and again) it keeps the board lively and is a reminder that some take this hobby way too seriously.
 

GuidoCorona

Well-Known Member
Apr 23, 2010
327
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Hi Agave, over the last 15 years, since I purchased a used M7, my fondness of Rowland products has grown steadily, and gradually I have become a personal friend of Jeff and the rest of the Rowland gang. while I write for PFO, I do not review Rowland products, although working on some rather dry technical articles may be a future possibility. On WTB pages, I attempt to be as factual as possible... If my Italian sould has occasionally caused me to slide into more emotional enthusisms, I apologize.

Besides enjoying talking and writing about Rowland online, offline, and on the phone with other nutty people as I m, I advocate the yet largely unrecognized musical potential of recent developments in class D amplification, be it Ncore, Pascal, or otherwise. I have written a detailed review of the Ncore-based Merrill Veritas monos on PFO in 2013, and am planning to continue the series by writing on other high-performing class D devices, from a variety of manufacturers, in the not so distant future, ranging from quasi-entry level up to statement amps.

Rowland is not alone... there are already a handful of renowned engineers and manufacturers who are starting to leverage the sonic and musical potential of recent class D modules, targeting a wide range of price points and performance goals... Mola-Mola, Merrill, Audience, Bel Canto, Acoustic Imagery, Mark Levinson, Esoteric, Marten, and TRL, are just some of the ones that come to mind.

I have heard only a few of them this far, yet my general impression is that -- if I were permitted a momentary slip into the vernacular ... These ain't your grandma's class D no more!

Hence, while I do appreciate MEP's demystifying dry wit, the habitual use of sarcasm and purple prose, be it his or my own, is not serving our community of lovers of music and sound. What we need is a fresh and inclusive open mind, and a lot more listening to what is new out there.

G.
 
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mep

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Apr 20, 2010
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Guido-For some reason your last post duplicated itself. I didn't mean to ruffle your feathers or anyone else who loves Rowland Class D amps or anyone else's Class D amps. I guess I could have picked another descriptor to describe how Class D amps in the marketplace are multiplying like weeds on a bad lawn and the prices continue to increase. There is also a subset of people who are "building" their own Class D amps due to the N-Core modules and power supplies being readily available to the D.I.Y crowd. Building a Class D amp using the available modules and power supplies is less difficult than building a PC from scratch.

The original purpose of Class D amps I believe was for use in subs. The power in watts was cheap and the SQ didn't matter quite so much for a sub. Power is still cheap when using Class D amp modules, but some manufacturers have found a way to improve the sound of Class D and charge higher prices than what we would pay for an equivalent Class A/B amp or integrated amp with a linear power supply.

For better or worse, I do believe the future of amplification will be with Class D modules due to their power efficiency. Once the green police latch on to how much fun we have listening to Class A and Class A/B amps and they find out how much power they suck out of the wall, we will be shamed and taxed into submission. We might even have to register our Class A and Class A/B amps with the green police and eventually they will come for them in the dead of the night.
 

GuidoCorona

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Apr 23, 2010
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Oops, thank you MEP, I nuked my dupe... But now I better go back and do some real work... I will post more thoughts tonight.
 

es347

VIP/Donor & WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
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I'm with mep in that we may have to register our beloved amps and perhaps even have carry permits. And if I have to carry an amp around make mine a Class D for obvious non-sonic reasons... :cool:
 

GuidoCorona

Well-Known Member
Apr 23, 2010
327
38
413
Summerville (SC)
Hi MEP,

you are right. Until recently, class D modules, in their native form, tended to exhibit audible artifacts, particularly in the upper frequencies. As such, while their high functional degree of integration did lend to a plethora of basic amplifier implementations targeting the entry level to moderate price market. As a result, with a relative small number of exceptions, general purpose class D amps delivered a degree of musical refinement that did not qualify for upper tier appeal... Hence their relatively wide-spread use in sub-woofer amps, where their lower frequency prowess are maximized while their higher frequency oddities remain largely irrelevant.

Admittedly, with older class D modules, less than a handful of manufacturers harvested high musical refinement.. and only on a few select amps at that. Moreover, class D amps did, and still do, even for high achievers amongst them, require very long break-in... 1200 hours or more are common for switch mode amps to stabilize into optimum behavior. This may have led to a number of premature conclusions by busy reviewers and customers alike.

The good news is that the bad old days are starting to be behind us... At least some of the new class D modules are inherently musical from the get go. This means that even a simple amplifier implementation, like the Ncore-based Veritas mono, after appropriate break-in until stabilization, is free of audible artifacts, and has the ability of delivering a high degree of musical enjoyment... I state this by personal experience... I exercised this amp for 3 months for over 1200 hours during my review project.

Like everything else, OEM amplification modules are component parts... It is up to the amplifier designer to decide what to do with them... Create a bare-bone amp with almost assured good results, or integrate them into a more sophisticated device, whose audible performance inevitably depends more and more on the designer decisions, as complexity increases.

I am delighted by what I have experienced this far from at least Merrill and Rowland... Hold high hopes, but no certainty on those with which I have had little or no experience this far. Future will tell.

One thing for sure... While my choice was purely for audible reasons, the M925 let me enjoy music in Austin during the dead of Summer without turning the music room into a sauna... And, while the amps remain active 24/7, my wife has never noticed an impact on our AC bill.

G.
 

ricjor1

Well-Known Member
Oct 13, 2012
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I had the opportunity to hear the Continuum S2 in my own system over the past couple of days. It was being compared to the JR M525. Without getting into details, the Continuum S2 has been one of the best components that I've had in my system. The Bricasti M1 DAC and years ago Artemis EOS speakers are the other two components that made me say "wow". All I can say, if you're looking for a Integrated amp you owe it to yourself to listen to the JR Continuum S2.
 

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