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I heard the new D'Agostino Progression 800w monoblocks last night

Last night was the 11th Music Matters event at Seattle's Definitive Audio.

Here's a pic of Dan D'Agostino with his monoblocks, and flanked by the very new Wilson Alexx.

Facebook picture of Dan at the event

This was a true premier event. Dan Wilson and Dan D'Agostino were still doing final soldering on their respective units the weekend before this event.

The monoblocks are around 170 lbs ea (IIRC), and make 800/1600/3200/6400 watts into 8/4/2/1 ohm respectively.

This was a new experience for me--to hear audio playback with NO discernible ceiling on power. Completely unfettered dynamic range. Of course, these not only have incredible brute power, but also incredible finesse, with very natural timbres, unfailingly musical presentation, and subterranean bass extension. To my audio memory, they made the $100K Alexx's sound much like the $200K XLFs I heard a few years earlier.

They played music from digital sources and also from LPs played on an AMG turntable. All sounded great. D'Agostino also featured a phono preamp and a great line stage as well. 

johnnyb53
johnnyb53 OP
3,510 posts
 
How much are these amps for a pair of them? Did they the silver or the gold/black ones?

Believe it or not, the Progression is a somewhat cost-reduced product compared to the Momentum. They don't have all that steam punk styling and massive amounts of copper. The Momentum monoblocks are $50K/pair. On March 4 at the show I was quoted $39,950 for the pair of 300W Progression monos. 

As I said, the sense of unfettered dynamics with that much power and current on tap was amazing. But they weren't just powerhouses. They were also as sweet and subtle as you could want.

mitch4t's avatar
mitch4t
1,611 posts
 
Dan replied on his Facebook page that these are Class A/B amps.
audiolabyrinth's avatar
audiolabyrinth
4,555 posts
 
The Progression mono block amplifiers I'm referring to are 800 watts per channel,  did Dan come out with another Progression amplifier with less power?, I'm not aware of but one Progression amplifier model. 
johnnyb53 OP
3,510 posts
 
On March 4 at the show I was quoted $39,950 for the pair of 300W Progression monos.
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The Progression mono block amplifiers I'm referring to are 800 watts per channel, did Dan come out with another Progression amplifier with less power?

Nope. That first quote (from my post) was a total brain-fart mis-type on my part. I meant 800w Progression monos. And at the demo Mr. D'Agostino claimed doubling all the way down to 1 ohm (6.4KW each).


statman's avatar
statman
285 posts
 
I am really enjoying the Progression monoblocks. They have revealed tiny little details in recordings I have listened to many times before and never heard. The Progression monoblocks are extremely powerful and to my ears are voiced similar to the Momentum but perhaps slightly less "liquid" in the midrange. It is amazing to hear recordings that were dynamic before be taken to another level. Vocals and instruments are so natural and when recorded well are clearly heard on the recording. Bass is beyond description especially on my Wilson Audio Maxx 3 speakers. Every instrument occupies its own individual space on orchestral recordings. Highly recommended if you are searching for complete  control for any speaker and endless power along with sounding so natural and not "hi-fi" as some amps tend to be voiced
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