In reading the commentary concerning @guidocorona and tracking break in I offer this. I recently bought a new Jeff Rowland Continuum S2. I hooked it up and it sounded really good immediately out the box...then it didn't sound as good as it did. Gulp. I read Guido's posts about Rowland's seemingly very long break in time. I followed his advice and ran the JRCS2 all day and all night. I listened to it at intervals in between. Guido accurately forecasted my qualitative listening experience. I just passed the 500 hour break in mark and the sound quality has improved markedly. The JRCS2 now sounds fuller, more detailed, pretty close to the Rowland amp sound I heard at AXPONA in the Joseph Audio/Rowland room. Granted that was a Daemon, with an obscene amount of power (1500W/channel) compared to the Continuum S2 (400W/channel), but Guido's experience, shared on this forum, matched my own regarding Rowland amps. Whatever he's doing and however he is doing it seems to provide valuable insight regarding Rowland amps in my experience.
Class D = Trash?
So, I'm on my second class D amp. The first one, a Teac AI-301DA which claimed to use an ICE module, was unlistenable trash. I burned it in for a few weeks, it just couldn't perform, so I sent it back. Following that, I tried the new Emotiva A-300 (class A/B). It was significantly better, but lacking in too many ways for my tastes. So I changed gears, got an 845 SET from China -- and it was an immediate and massive improvement.
So, before I went further down the SET road, I wanted to try a better class D product using a modern class D module. I settled on the D-Sonic M3-800S with the Pascal module and custom input stage. I read from reviews that these things like to have big cables, so I picked up an eBay 8 gauge power cable (Maze Audio, el-cheapo Oyaide copy plugs, braided 4-wire cable) to go along with it.
Mid-range GONE.
Soundstage depth CRUSHED.
Euphonics DISAPPEARED.
Yes, resolution went up. Driver control went up, allowing me to play compressed rock/pop and orchestra with the speakers being able to render it all. But enjoyment in the sound is basically gone. Using my best power cable (LessLoss Original) improved performance, but didn't fundamentally change the amp's nature. I ran back to my headphones (Focal Utopias) to detox my ear canals.
So, how long does a class D need to burn-in? I want to give it a fair shake before writing the technology off forever.
So, before I went further down the SET road, I wanted to try a better class D product using a modern class D module. I settled on the D-Sonic M3-800S with the Pascal module and custom input stage. I read from reviews that these things like to have big cables, so I picked up an eBay 8 gauge power cable (Maze Audio, el-cheapo Oyaide copy plugs, braided 4-wire cable) to go along with it.
Mid-range GONE.
Soundstage depth CRUSHED.
Euphonics DISAPPEARED.
Yes, resolution went up. Driver control went up, allowing me to play compressed rock/pop and orchestra with the speakers being able to render it all. But enjoyment in the sound is basically gone. Using my best power cable (LessLoss Original) improved performance, but didn't fundamentally change the amp's nature. I ran back to my headphones (Focal Utopias) to detox my ear canals.
So, how long does a class D need to burn-in? I want to give it a fair shake before writing the technology off forever.
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- 236 posts total
http://www.stereo.net.au/forums/topic/123549-jeff-rowland-102s/ Jeff Rowland Class-D poweramp version going here for 1/2 price if anyone wants it, owners going back to linear tube or solid state. Being SMP power supply it will run off all mains voltages. https://www.gzhifi.com/fy/images/201701/1484868519699273857.JPG Cheers George |
Hi George, it Seems that when I try to follow the links you just posted, I end up on an image instead of a regular page.... As my screen reading software cannot decipher images, may I ask you to post links to the actual pages, or to post the model of amp you are referring to? Al, past the 500 hours mark, performance trof should be relatively minor on the Rowland Continuum S2.... Gradually, sound will continue to open up for quite a spell. Saluti, Guido |
Thank you Al, Rowland M102 is the most entry level class D amp that Rowland ever created. The model is almost 10 years old, and is today hardly representative of what can be done with class D and with SMPS. M102 has been discontinued a couple of years ago, and has been replaced by the M125, which sports a much newer ICEpower module, supports bridged mode operations via a toggle switch in the back of the chassis thus delivering 500W per chassis, and contains several other technical updates. According to all 3rd party reports I heard, M125 is an exceptional little amp... Far superior to the original M102. G. |
- 236 posts total