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equipment report and single-ended or balanced inputs. Typically, Class D amplifiers are light, but the D-200s weigh in at a comparatively chunky 15 pounds apiece— heft that reflects both a beefy chassis on the outside and an even beefier powersupply on the inside. Early on, I discovered the CIAudio amps, in contrast to the NuForce Reference 9s, were utterly quirk-free. There were no power-on “pops,” no subtle increases in background noise with muted inputs, and— says CIAudio—no sensitivities to noload or dead-short conditions. Vawter has zero tolerance for finicky products. The D-200s also offer a feature I came to love: a play/mute switch in lieu of a traditional power switch. This feature enables users to keep the amplifiers warmed up and ready to play, while allowing output muting when switching associated preamps on or off. At Vawter’s suggestion, I gave the D-200s about 100 hours of burn-in before listening critically, and during burn-in observed small, gradual improvements in bass solidity, midrange smoothness, and treble resolution. When I review components, I try to identify their dominant sonic characteristics, and what first struck me about the D-200s was the sweetness and delicacy of their midrange, the warmth and quickness of their midbass, and an overall presentation that, paradoxically, sounded at once detailed yet very smooth—almost to the point of sonic politeness. To zoom in: The midrange sweetness is the sort that makes both male and female voices sound graceful and rich, even if some rough edges are ever so slightly smoothed out in the process. A good example is Dave Alvin’s voice on “California Snow” from Blackjack David [MFSL SACD]; Alvin’s dark, smoky, storyteller’s voice comes through vividly, but with its typical gritty and gravelly textures planed down just a bit. Similarly, the D-200’s midrange makes strings in general and solo violins in particular sound achingly beautiful, albeit with their uppermost harmonics and the inner textures of bowing and finger changes diffused just a little. Listen to the Heifetz performance of the Sibelius Violin Concerto [RCA Living Stereo, SACD] through the D-200s, and see if you aren’t flat bowled over by the glory of Heifetz’s string tone. Still, the question of the D-200s’ handling of high-frequency details and textures remains. My observation was that the amps reproduce low-level details well up to a point, and that their high-frequency response is not rolled off. However, as high-frequency details WWW.THEABSOLUTESOUND.COM 113
equipment report SPECIFICATIONS Power output: 200 watts @ 8 ohms, 325 watts @ 4 ohms Inputs: One single-ended, or alternatively (at buyer’s option) one balanced Dimensions: 6.25" x 5.5" x 8" Weight: 15 lbs. ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT Kuzma Stabi S/Stogi S turntable/arm; Clearaudio Discovery cartridge; Supex SDT-722 transformer; Musical Surroundings Phonomena phonostage; Musical Fidelity kW500 integrated amplifier and Tri-Vista SACD player; Rogue Audio Metis preamplifier; NuForce Reference 9 and Audio Research 300.2 power amplifiers; Magnepan MG1.6/QR and Wilson- Benesch Curve loudspeakers; PNF Audio and Cardas interconnects and speaker cables; RGPC 1200S power conditioner become progressively finer and subtler, the D-200s eventually allow their contours to melt into a soft diffuseness—the sonic equivalent of a cinematic dissolve to white. In fairness, I should say this blurring affects only the very-lowestlevel details, but when it occurs, key ingredients of transparency and of great soundstaging are, to some degree, lost. This leaves me of two minds. On the one hand, the D-200s are never guilty of the sort of overwrought transient excesses that drive many of us nuts, which is a very good thing. On the other, they fall short of the profound transparency and three-dimensionality that amplifiers such as the NuForce Reference 9s offer. The D-200s’ midbass is pleasingly warm and weighty, with a good measure of transient snap that helps make basses (acoustic, electric, and human) and low percussion instruments sound articulate and expressive. Listeners will particularly appreciate these qualities on recordings such as bassist Charlie Haden’s Nocturnes [Verve], where the ever-tasteful Haden makes his musical points not through flashy pyrotechnics, but through delicate variations in the attack, sustain, and voicing of his well-chosen notes. Overall, I found the D-200s offered midbass clarity on a par with that of the considerably more powerful and expensive Audio Research 300.2 power amplifier and Musical Fidelity kW500 integrated that I had on hand for comparison. Alongside the NuForce Reference 9s, the D-200s delivered slightly warmer and more prominent midbass, while the Reference 9s offered more potent and extended low bass and an even greater degree of overall bass control and definition. Finally, the D-200s sound unfailingly smooth, even on complicated, densely layered material such as 114 THE ABSOLUTE SOUND ■ APRIL/MAY 2006
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IN THIS ISSUE ISSUE 161 ■ APRIL/M
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L E T T E R S Best Article Ever As
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