[sas]

Hi,
I've been lurking in audio circles for a while, mainly because I have norh speakers. I've been thinking of changing my Marantz PM17 amp.... and came across the D100 monoblocks. Interesting, and I'm wondering if anyone has heard them or tried them? I'm fairly new to all this, and wonder if they would be a significant upgrade to the Marantz. I've also been looking at tubes, but seems that I'd need more efficient speakers (my norh's are 86db). I live on the other side of the world from the US so have little chance to audition anything....
The other question, just in case dusty is lurking, is whether it is possible to get one of the CIAudio passive preamps with a remote volume as a special order mod? (no flames please!)
thx, sas

[Grover]

The photo is of a new model of the Pipedreams speakers introduced at the 2005 CES in Las Vegas.  The towers and sub columns retail for $16,000.
Notice the two small amplifiers in the center of the photo?  Look familiar?
Channel Islands D-100 monoblocks.  This was one of the most impressive displays I've ever listened to at any show.  It says a lot about the D-100 monoblocks that Nearfield would use them as part of the introduction of a new model of their speakers.  It looks like another amplifier was in use as well - see background behind right sub.  I didn't catch what this one was.  The sound was dynamic and absolutely no trace of glare or grit.   The components in this system really served the music and made me very excited about the D-100s.

[sas]

Hi grover,
Thanks for the photo -- it does certainly say alot about the D100's.
this whole Class-D thing is really interesting, especially in that (correct me if I'm wrong) you can drive regular (87db or so) speakers easily and not generate heat. Tube "apartment fireplaces" (as nOrh calls them) are truly beautiful, but I think in a hot environment and with young kids they may not be ideal..... and I also find alot of the big solid state power amps plain ugly and hot...
I'd love it if Dusty could give us his impressions of the sound -- kind of like "designer notes" -- what he set out to achieve, what kind of sound they have speaker matching, compared to class A/B etc etc....
I'm still confused about the whole business. As an aside, I also came across the IRD MB100 class A/B (?) monoblocks -- much cheaper, and I'm wondering how it all compares.
....
 

sas

[CIAudio]

The D-100's were designed to be great all around performers.
They are very dynamic and detailed, but also very smooth sounding, with excellent imaging and spacial qualities.

They will drive difficult loads and still remain very cool, partly because of their high efficiency, but also because of the oversized rear heatsink plate.
Driving a typical 4 ohm load, the rear plate doesn't get much above room temperature. D-100 is also a sealed design, meaning no vent holes in the chassis for coins, paperclips, etc, to fall into...making them extremely child-proof. They also do not have the high DC voltage at the speaker binding posts like B&O and Tripath designs, which is a shock hazard.

I believe the IRD is a class A/B "chip based" amplifier, but I really don't know anything about them. If so, it is very limited in current/power output. The similar nOrh amplifier claimed "100w music power", which is actually around 50w @ 8 ohms and slightly more into 4 ohms, and won't tolerate a speaker that dips below 4 ohms.

The VPC-1 is not available with a remote option, but we are working on a universal RF remote for some upcoming products, including a full function passive preamp. We hope to have the preamp available by late summer.

[JLM]

IMO tube amps do bass poorly.  SETs lack bass while push-pull designs have poor damping (provide lots of bloated/uncontrolled) bass.
The farther down in frequency you go, the poorer their performance.

Dusty is too humble to be a straight shooter, but he's the real deal.  His stuff is well built, highly practical, and functional too.

The D-100 should be well suited for most any application and last forever.  I've heard a couple of different digital amps and they provide amazing bass control and dynamics while providing the best of tube and solid state designs.  Currently I use a 6 wpc battery powered digital amp with 90 dB/w/m speakers and could use a bit more power.