D-200MkII

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OldiesButGoodies

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D-200MkII
« on: 19 Apr 2017, 04:13 am »
I live in Pittsburgh - 70 miles from Morgantown.  A few weeks back a VPI 16.5 record cleaner was posted for sale in Craigslist Morgantown.   I already owned one,  but this one looked to be newer and the price was excellent - so I agreed to buy it and so drove to Morgantown to get it.  The owner invited to his listening room,  where he had a pair of SP Technology Timepiece 3.0 monitors connected to a pair of CIaudio D-200 monoblocks, driven by a Pass Labs X1 pre. The quality of the sound was jaw dropping.  This alone made it worthwhile to drive 2 hours to Morgantown WV.

I have owned many high end amps - tube and SS.  I was not a fan of Class D topology.  I am now.  The improvement in soundstage and image definition is surprising.I bought a pair of D-200MkIIs and have been smiling since.

OBG

CIAudio

Re: D-200MkII
« Reply #1 on: 19 Apr 2017, 04:45 am »
Glad you're enjoying the D•200 MKII's  :D
Can you tell us what amplifiers they replaced?

OldiesButGoodies

  • Jr. Member
  • Posts: 27
Re: D-200MkII
« Reply #2 on: 21 Apr 2017, 03:04 am »
They replaced a pair of restored (recapped) VTL Compact 80 monoblocks with fresh Genalec Gold Lion tubes.   I had also tried Bob Carver 305 Black Beautys, and multiple vintage SS amps - Sunfire 300x2, etc.  The D-200 MkIIs are able to extract a soundstage detail that I never achieved before (the VTLs got closest to pulling that off).   Also very happy with the and the instant-on,  no-wait benefit of SS.

I have purchased expensive amps before - the Black Beauty amps were about $10K for the pair - and I was happy with the result in a "that looks cool and does not sound bad" kind of way.  With the D-200s I noticed a step-wise improvement in imaging and bass solidity that made me forget any preconceived notions I had about class D topology amps - and a level of quietness in the  background that has to be heard (or not) to be appreciated. Could be a system synergy thing,  but I don't think so.  These amps are special IMO.

 :) 

Thanks,

OBG