DAN D’AGOSTINO PENDULUM INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER REVIEW
Dan D’Agostino needs no introduction to those interested in high-end home audio. In this review, Janine Elliot takes a listen to the (fully loaded) Dan D’Agostino Pendulum integrated amplifier, which sets the entry level for this HiFi legend’s current range of products.
There are not many manufacturers where you remember the name of the founder as much as their products. EveAnna Manley of Manley Labs is perhaps easy to remember as are the Harbeth, Spendor, and Quad’s of this world, but well-prepared audiophiles will know Dan D’Agostino. He founded Krell back in 1980, a name he took from the super-race in the 1950s sci-fi movie “Forbidden Planet”. I have always loved their solid-state power amplifiers and equally OTT design philosophy that makes them bulletproof. I own a KAV250a power amplifier and the incredible KPS20i CD player. Dan’s designs are always high-powered, high-current solid-state systems with masses of reserves in the power supplies. This gives them a generous dynamic headroom, excellent bass, and sounds that are full of grip and control, using their unique Class-A biased design to provide a clean and powerful sound. My KPS20i CD player has no less than 11 individual power supply stages!
Dan decided in 2009 to leave Krell and embark on creating equally powerful products, but with the looks that are as excessive as are the electronics inside, and usually with a VU meter as a central viewpoint on the front of the sturdy aluminium casework adorned with signature copper trim. Hence, in 2011 , products bearing his own name hit the HiFi world in the form of Dan D’Agostino Master Audio Systems (DDMAS).
Where Krell never looked like a McLaren, more like a HumVee, the D’Agostino products are as stunning as you could ever wish to see, but with a price range that echoes their build. These are the Bugatti or Pagani of the audio world. The range consists of three main series – in ascending order of price: Progression, Momentum, and Relentless, with the Pendulum now adding another side to that triplet, designed to tempt those with smaller pockets.
The Pendulum integrated amplifier is perhaps not quite so amazing in looks as the more expensive kit, but it still keeps to the D’Agostino DNA. At £19,998 for a new base model, it is still not cheap, but it now makes D’Agostino more accessible to audiophiles who don’t yet know their bank manager’s name. Before the Pendulum, the entry point to amp ownership was the Progression Integrated, which currently starts at £25K for the analogue-only base model. The Momentum MxV Integrated starts at a much higher £80K. Dan wanted to create a more compact design, and still with a range of facilities, but not sacrificing performance. The Pendulum allows for factory-fitted optional digital and phono modules and features a full-function remote control that mimics the LCD display of the amplifier, including the representation of the distinguished Breguet-inspired meter display that adorns the amplifier. Every time I visit a D’Agostino presentation at HiFi shows, I always want to look at the remote controls. Like those from Meridian, Devialet, and Krell, too, they are true works of art.
BUILD AND CONSTRUCTION OF THE DAN D’AGOSTINO PENDULUM INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER
This Pendulum might be more petite than his other creations, but there is no less thought or technology in its design. This is a heavy 15.9kg unit, particularly with the enlarged toroidal and an army of capacitors, and it is incredibly solidly built, like I have always expected from Krell and D’Agostino.
Measuring 432 x 118 x 356mm (whd) with thick aluminium front-back-and-sides, its front is sparse with just a functions knob on the left and volume/mute button on the right, both with a tasteful inset copper “ring” design. Similarly, the circular LCD display showing the DD logo, source or volume setting, is encircled by a copper ring with 8 screws holding it in, looking like the porthole of a luxury yacht. The Pendulum is available as standard in black or silver and looks very expensive, like all D’Agostino’s creations.
Whilst they are instantly recognisable both visually and sonically on the outside, inside the boxes have an equally definable pedigree with the use of copper for heat-sinks (copper’s thermal conductivity is 91% greater than that of aluminium). Every Dan D’Agostino amplifier is lovingly made in the DDMAS facility in Cave Creek, Arizona, USA. At the heart of the Pendulum Integrated Amplifier lies the ingeniously re-engineered JFET input circuit topology derived from the Momentum C2 Preamplifier. The amplifier is powered by a custom toroidal transformer rated at 750VA and complemented by nearly 25,000 micro-Farads of capacitor bank. This ensures the Pendulum delivers a powerful output within a very compact design, with stable performance and also with minimal distortion.
Krell/D’Agostino products always drive challenging loudspeakers with ease, and all my speakers here worked effortlessly in my listening sessions, with the amplifier’s minute 0.1-ohm output impedance. Even after several hours solid listening the amplifier does not get anywhere as warm as my 250W Krell does, and whilst the Pendulum offers just 120W into 8 ohms (240W/4-ohms) it isn’t quite so thirsty, either. For those eco-warriors out there, however, the amplifier gulps 35W in standby mode and there is no “Off” switch other than on your 13A wall socket. Whilst one expects Dan’s amplification to be Class A, the Pendulum is Class A/B.
The base model comes with four analogue inputs, which include a pair of RCA sockets “to accommodate” a phono source (or any other line-level player) plus 3 balanced XLR sources, one of which has a theatre pass-through provision. Selecting Theatre Mode allows integration with a multichannel home theatre system, which bypasses the Pendulum’s volume control. The balanced XLR pre-amp output also gives you the chance to connect a subwoofer to really show off the iconic bass punch you expect from Dan’s designs.
An additional optional MM/MC phono input allows you to go further with your vinyl if you don’t want to use your own separate phono stage into those RCA sockets. A separate PCB inserted inside the box has DIP switches onboard to change load impedance, accessed via a small removable panel on the top cover of the Pendulum.
Digitally, the Pendulum can be optionally equipped with a suite of connections, from Toslink, RJ45, and Wi-Fi. It is also the first D’Agostino product to include an HDMI input with eARC functionality. There is no Coax, which surprised me, as optical inputs only go as high as 96kHz, and source banks such as DAPs generally have a coax output. My only jibe, as a non-Apple audiophile (apart from owning an aged iPod), is that the D’Agostino DSM (Digital Streaming Module) app, which is designed to converse with your ethernet and also operate the Pendulum controls, is not available to Android owners, so one can only stream via Qobuz Connect, Tidal Connect and Spotify Connect, or third-party apps such as Roon, which is not the same. Digits up to 32-bit/192kHz and DSD256 are handled by an ESS ES9039Q2M-based DAC system.
There is a headphone jack at the rear for ¼” plugs, so effectively the distance you can sit away from the Pendulum is a little bit reduced, but cables these days are fairly long. I assume Dan thought a socket at the front would spoil the looks.
That optional MM/MC phonostage was somewhat confusing to me. Whilst it does have 4 dip switches to change load impedance, the 47k-ohm setting for MMs is not one of the 4 setting options in the supplied operations manual (see below). That said, the phono-stage does work exceptionally well.
What really gets me excited about this (and generally every D’Agostino product) is the remote control, and I am not to be disappointed in the Pendulum as it is quite simply stunning. Mimicking the controls on the amplifier, this 2-way BT design made from Delrin® (polyoxmethylene) is such a pleasure to use, displaying as it does the same screen as on the Pendulum. The “needle” indicates the volume setting, though it is not a VU meter. Functions are, however, fairly basic. Facilities like balance control, screen brightness and reverse phasing of sources can be operable from the remote. I particularly liked the change of colour of the meter from green to red when you altered the polarity! Finally, setting to “Dark Mode” blanks the main display after 10 seconds of any screen operation. The remote is charged via a USB-C port.
The rear of the supplied Pendulum also includes 12V trigger and phono grounding sockets, an RS232 control connector, and two antennae sockets; one for the BT remote, and the second on the digital streaming module for Wi-Fi. Sockets and layout is to a really high standard, especially the 5-way speaker binding posts.
Finally, the instruction manual is very concise and the Pendulum itself is supplied in a very sturdy plastic flight case, should you decide to take it on holiday with you.
SOUND QUALITY
I was presented with the fully-loaded Pendulum at £24,748 for review. To start my 2 weeks of listening, I played digital sources from my Bluesound Node via Toslink digital output or using analogue into the XLR audio input. For the latter, I deployed my RCA-XLR cables. I had never heard the collaborative Elton John/Leon Russell studio album ‘The Union’, so I wanted to get an unbiased, virgin listening session to see how the amplifier performed as much as the musicians, so no preconceptions. My immediate conclusion was of powerful and extended bass, especially from the percussion kick drum and tom-toms, and an energetic and positive performance with tight piano and vocals. This was no surprise for me, of course, having enjoyed my bullet-proof Krell for 20 years. That powerful percussion and fast vocals continued with Maruja’s ‘Pain to Power’ album. This album is all about art empowering, healing and uniting the world, just as is Dan’s wish to empower lower-financed audiophiles to unite into the world of American audiophile art. The music might not be my cup of tea, but it certainly gave me a chance to test the amplifier’s ability to pull disorder into order. The Pendulum really does show just how good a £20k amplifier can sound. And let’s not forget, this is an integrated, not just a power amp, which means it is even better value, achieving the sort of musical performance you would expect more in the latter. The amplifier has plenty of guts, a tight and extended bass, and a fast treble that really showed off cymbals and brass instruments. I have always loved the cymbals and piano performance from my own Krell set-up.
The first music I heard when I went to KJ West-One to listen to a Krell amplifier and my KPS20i CD player back in the nineties was Patricia Barber’s Café Blue on HDCD, played into Wilson Benesch Arc speakers. I was blown away with the speed, excitement, and extended and powerful bass on that day, so it would be good if Patricia could swing into action again this time on this Pendulum. Firstly, as a digital source, the music had good dynamic punch and transparency and speed in the higher frequencies. Playing the same album on vinyl also had that power and speed, though the lower mids were just a little less clean; though lowering the load resistance for my Ortofon Kontrapunkt b did improve things a bit. But, for a £1k phono-stage, this is an excellent product, and would be adequate for most vinyl lovers. In comparison with my Krell power amplifier, the Pendulum is more refined and controlled. The amplifier is very well behaved, but still very exciting. The cymbals in “Mourning Grace” sounded really fast and extended.
I simply had to play more Barber, so I auditioned a few more tracks from the brilliantly engineered ‘Live: A Fortnight in France’ double album. Bass depth and guts were for all to hear; that power supply ensured that none of the drive and texture was sacrificed. The tightness of cymbals and piano in “Dansons La Gigue” and “Crash” is excellent, and surprising for such a small (in Dan D’Agostino terms) 120W amplifier, and Patricia’s sexy, subdued voice is still brilliantly controlled and organic.
Similarly, Katie Melua has a smooth, relaxed voice, and the track “Golden Record” from ‘Love and Money’ showed an equally powerful amount of control and detail, as well as grunt when the moment was right. Indeed, playing this LP I could hear more detail from the groove than I expected; even some background effects in the music that I hadn’t fully appreciated before. Interestingly, inverting the phase took away some of that bass muffle I had been hearing and brought the sound forward, as I would expect as an ex-BBC sound engineer. But it was nice to have the facility there to use without having to muddle up my loudspeaker +/-’s. That phono-stage is also fairly quiet, too, with 60 dB of gain, as I discovered in the musical silences in “Crash” and “Mrs Tibbetts” from Jethro Tull.
Playing my headphones also showed me the speed and control of the music, such as the initial transients of the electric guitars in Patricia Barber. Interestingly, when you change the source on the Pendulum, the volume level goes back to zero for safety reasons, but switching between LS and headphones doesn’t change the level setting.
QUIBBLES
£25k for a complete Dan D’Agostino amplifier system is really not a lot of money, and the sound brilliantly matches what I expected to hear. The amplifier also looks great, so my quibbles are not on performance, but rather the add-ons. I really do think an Android or cross-platform App would have been a good idea so everyone could appreciate the beauty of their DSM.
CONCLUSION
To be able to experience a D’Agostino product at such a low price is quite something of a bargain, and sound-wise, this really is an excellent amplifier. With dynamic punch and rhythmic drive, but still having sensitivity when appropriate, this amplifier will set you firmly into the D’Agostino club.
AT A GLANCE
Build Quality:
Bullet-proof build with looks that just make you smile
Sound Quality:
Excellent bass power and a fast, tight top end, this is a great all-rounder
Value For Money:
From just under £20,000, this sets you firmly into the D’Agostino club
We Loved:
Fluidity and drive
Excellent resolution of music
That gorgeous remote control
We Didn’t Love So Much:
Wish the DSM worked for Android users
Would have liked to have seen a coaxial socket on the digital board
Elevator Pitch Review: I managed to join the Krell fraternity back in the last century, something that I was very proud to admit. When Dan D’Agostino left Krell and set up top-end D’Agostino I thought I would never be able to afford his talents again. A pair of his Relentless mono-block power amps are the price of a house. To see a D’Ago starting at under £20k is therefore something of a bargain, though I expected looks and performance to be sacrificed. In fact, I was in for something of a shock, the Pendulum sounding and looking like every part of the HiFi empire he has formed. And of course, the remote took centre-stage again.
Price:
Base model: £19,998
Digital board: £3,250
Phono board: £1,500
Fully loaded version £24,748. Available in black or silver.
Janine Elliot
System Used
Bluesound NODE and Qobuz Connect (digital streaming); Pre-Audio GL-1102N/Ortofon Kontrapunkt b (turntable); Wilson Benesch Arc, Graham Audio LS5/9, Wilson Benesch Torus/Townshend Supertweeter (loudspeakers); Tellurium Q and Townshend cables, Coppice Audio stand and Townshend rack
SUPPLIED SPECIFICATIONS
Frequency Response; 20 Hz to 20kHz, +-0.01 dB
Signal-to-Noise Ratio; 75 db A-weighted
Finish; Silver / Black
Total Harmonic Distortion; 0.1% @ 120W @ 8 Ω
Input Impedance; 1.0 MΩ
Output Power; 120 W @ 8 Ω / 240 W @ 4 Ω
Output Impedance; 0.1Ω
Outputs; 1 pr balanced XLR stereo; 5-way speaker binding posts; ¼-inch headphone
Dimensions; 17.0 x 4.65 x 14.0 in / 43.2 x 11.8 x 35.6 cm (w x h x d)
Weight; 35.0 lb / 15.9 kg
Analog Inputs; 3 pr balanced XLR stereo; 1 pr unbalanced RCA stereo
Digital Inputs (w/DAC Module Installed); 1 each of; optical, RJ45, Wi-Fi, HDMI with eARC
Control; RS-232
