Regarding Rowland Continuum 500, we do not have a completely authoritative review of this device yet. If I recall correctly, the unit was in the reviewer's possession for a very limited time the first time the review was prepared. . . one or 2 days perhaps. Unit was rereviewed later on, and some more time was allowed for the unit to settle in. Unfortunately, class D amps like the Continuum 500 are notorious bears to break in, often requiring more than 700 hours to settle down.
From a purely technical point of view, Continuum 500 is very advanced, as its power supply is front ended by an AC2DC converter that utilizes both Power Factor Correction and a capacitor bank to feed 185V DC to the system. The idea is similar to what Bel canto has recently adopted. . . the Virtual Battery. . . the idea is that if a device is compatible, DC provides much cleaner energy to the circuit than AC, and improves efficiency and linearity.
If memory serves, all inputs are transformer coupled for isolation, and te output circuits are augmented by a capacitor bank to maximize authority.
Unfortunately I have listened to C500 only for a few minutes at RMAF in a noisy room, with tracks I am not familiar with, not enough to form a personal opinion of its musical prowess.
So, in the end, I suggest that rather than C500 being a tier 3 device, its tierage should probably be unassigned. . . a question mark of some kind. Knowing the designer personally, I suspect C500 is a device worth investigating at some length.
G.
From a purely technical point of view, Continuum 500 is very advanced, as its power supply is front ended by an AC2DC converter that utilizes both Power Factor Correction and a capacitor bank to feed 185V DC to the system. The idea is similar to what Bel canto has recently adopted. . . the Virtual Battery. . . the idea is that if a device is compatible, DC provides much cleaner energy to the circuit than AC, and improves efficiency and linearity.
If memory serves, all inputs are transformer coupled for isolation, and te output circuits are augmented by a capacitor bank to maximize authority.
Unfortunately I have listened to C500 only for a few minutes at RMAF in a noisy room, with tracks I am not familiar with, not enough to form a personal opinion of its musical prowess.
So, in the end, I suggest that rather than C500 being a tier 3 device, its tierage should probably be unassigned. . . a question mark of some kind. Knowing the designer personally, I suspect C500 is a device worth investigating at some length.
G.