Just wanted to check in on the SOUND of these amps, as I currently have the Channel Islands 100 wpc monoblocks in my wife's system. No, it's not a permanent thing, just letting a friend demo his stuff at my home.
First, the obvious. Yes, they do run cool. Despite leaving them on 24/7, I presume they are impacting my electric bill in quite a benign way. Build quality looks better than good, they are quite solid. For those who care, while certainly not glamorous, they are not unattractive. I'll say my wife has not even noticed them; that can appeal to many of us.
In terms of the stuff most of us here actually care about, I find them to be fine sounding amplifiers. They seem to be capable of delivering the kind of power a demanding loudspeaker, which is currently a part of the setup, require. These speakers look to be a tough impedance load, one my Jadis DA30 was certainly not up to the task of handling - the result of which was really dead sound. With the Channel Islands monos, things really sprung to life.
Like most solid state, in my opinion - which is the polar opposite of the conventional wisdom, they present a rich, robust, and relaxed sound. They have no issue in sounding stout in the bass - where I do agree with most in terms of solid state. The amps are dead quiet, but I should add that seems to be a gift of the new room I'm in, as everything I've tried in there has also been dead quiet - do I dare tempt fate by installing dedicated lines??? Clarity and channel separation also seem fine. I don't hear them really doing anything wrong, and that in itself makes them worthy of an audition by anyone interested.
The only area of complaint I could level at them is the lack of the sweetness of my Jadis, but I could aim that at most amplifiers, solid state specifically. I can't disagree that a good tube amp brings out the emotion in music.
In the end, at $1600 for a pair, they certainly win my recommendation in spades. Were I in the market for this type of amplifier, I'd buy them, though it's probably apparent that I like them more with my head than my heart.
