Channel Islands D-100 Amplifier


Has anyone had an opportunity to listen to this amp yet? It looks very interesting (www.ciaudio.com) but I'd grateful for any first hand impressions. I'm looking to use two of these monoblocks for the front two channels of a multi-channel system, using a Marantz SR9300 receiver as the preamp, to improve two-channel stereo performance.
Thanks.
baileyincanberra
Rx8man, I like good things in small packages and these guys do seem to be pretty special. Something I might consider fo rthe future.

Bailey, have you thought of getting the VPC•1 passive preamp to match to the D•100s? It would be cool to have a bunch of little metal CIAudio boxes all over the place!
Rx8man - it's an interesting thought. The problem is that I would like to keep my stereo and home theater kit combined, if possible. A VPC-1 with ir control would make certainly make it more attractive. I'm not sure whether the passive preamp would require a specific processor/home theater passthrough or not, though that would also be a consideration.
We're working on a RF remote controlled passive preamp with 4 inputs, a tape loop and 2 pair of output jacks. I don't believe in the pass-thru idea because if you play your hifi and forget you're in HT bypass, the volume is full blast and can cause damage. With a remote passive, just turn the volume all the way up when going into the home theater system.

D-200 is getting close to production. I'll post details and performance graphs in a day or two at our Audio Circle Forum.

I thought the idea with a HT pass-through is that when the HT input is selected the AV receiver's volume control is used - the preamp's volume dial would not need to move. Once you switched from the HT input to a different input, such as CD, the preamp's volume control would kick back in. Throughout the process they'd be no need for the preamp's volume to be on full.