Dan D'agostino Momentum Integrated amp

to Jwmazur,

I am an Electrocompaniet dealer and I am curious to the rest of the system those amps were hooked up to.

We use the Electrocompaniet AW 400 mono blocks with a Conrad Johhson ART preamp with Enklein cables on the KEF Blades and the sound is extremely good and at 400 watt per channel with one of the best preamps in the world it is a combo that sells for $34,000.00 plus one good interconnect which is still less money with tons of power for still less money!

I recently purchased Dan's integrated which replaces a Stone Age (but still very viable) Jeff Rowland 8T and BAT VK-51SE. I have heard Dan's separates, but I can't fairly make a comparison since the rooms and associated equipment were vastly different. For lovers of "industrial art" the D'Agostino products are gallery worthy. When I purchased mine, I jokingly said I would love to buy the guts of the device wrapped in Aluminum foil for half the price. But, true confession, it really is a pleasure to use such a well-machined product. Every dial, knob, button is precision crafted.

As for the SQ, I can't rank it with other topflight comps since my audition conditions/ associated equipment have been different. I will say this- no buyer's remorse! I was a self-professed tube lover. With Dan's integrated I don't miss them. I bet most blindfolded listeners would not be able to tell if it is SS or tube-based; it provides the best of both without the stereotypical features of either. Playback is effortless with my somewhat-demanding Rockport Aviors. I'll skip the reviewer-style specifics. This is a topflight machine! Are there better ones out there? Probably. But as impossible/impractical as it is for any of us to compare all of our product candidates- in our own listening room with our own associated equipment is- it's hard to imagine missing anything while enjoying this one. Gotta go, back to the music! With no vested interest- the D'Agostino is amazing.

My tastes lean towards tubes, but at RMAF this integrated driving the Wilson Duet II monitors was one of my favorite rooms of all. The sound was simply sublime.

Is a $54000 amp 54 times better sounding than a $1000 amp?

David99, we ALL know its not a linear relationship. You know this, I know this, all know this. This non-linear relationship holds true in most things we can purchase. But you know this already.