Jeff Rowland Design Continuum S2 Integrated Amplifier

Description

MY TAKE:

Striking beauty, stunning sound, rock-solid reliability - the total package. Few products offer the complete satisfaction and pride of ownership you’ll experience with the purchase of a Jeff Rowland component. Recommended without hesitation. – Galen Carol
 

Continuum S2 integrates the new Capri S2 preamplification circuit, input/output, and control features with an innovative 400-watt power amplification stage into a single chassis.

Featuring enhanced sonic performance and flexibility, the new Rowland Continuum Series S2 integrated amplifier delivers stunning dynamic realism and expressive refinement through advanced topologies. Continuum S2 integrates the new Capri S2 preamplification circuit, input/output, and control features with an innovative 400-watt power amplification stage into a single chassis.
 

The amplifier delivers the trademark Rowland musicality, resolution, and unfailing authority to the most refined audio environments: challenge Continuum S2 to the extreme dynamics of high-resolution digital sources and the power requirements of large bi-wired speakers. Apply it to the complex loads of electrostatic panels in analog rigs. Admire its exceptional realism driving single-wired studio monitors in a sophisticated multi-media system.

Discover the impressive complement of standard input/output interfaces. Enhance its flexibility through the optional DAC card, or its fully redesigned phono stage.
 

The elegance of Continuum S2’s ergonomic console emerges from a solid block of aircraft-grade aluminum. Watch the video showing the amazing process of machining Jeff Rowland chassis and front panels.

REVIEWS:

PartTime Audiophile: "When it comes to the overall sound of the Continuum S2, I can come at it from several different directions. One suggests, in that old audiophile way, that the Continuum is so neutral that it simply gets out of the way of the music, it sounds like nothing, just as it should, blah blah blah. Both Scot Hull and I have come to an agreement that this description is woefully inadequate and we will frown upon it. It’s sort of a cop-out for not being able to determine what the amplification is actually doing for the system. I spent many months with the Continuum S2, however, and in the beginning that’s how I felt. The Continuum was doing everything I expected from it. Operation through the remote control was fluent, and every feature worked perfectly the first time.

"After a few weeks with the Continuum S2, I came up with a description that feels closer to the truth. It isn’t that the JRDG is getting out of the way of the other components in the system and letting them shine, it’s that the Continuum provides the foundation that allows everything else to perform at its best. It elevated the performance of the system every time it was used, so isn’t that a sonic signature in its own way?" - Marc Phillips

"Beautiful to look at and beautiful to use, compact, elegant and versatile, the Continuum S2 is a genuine and highly accomplished all-rounder, as well as being a master of that one thing that really matters -- projecting a credible, involving and communicative sense of performance into your listening room. So much more than just a go-to solution for those who can’t be bothered, it could easily become that final stop on the long and winding road that many an audiophile has traveled, constantly swapping equipment in search of nirvana. The very antithesis of hobbyist tweakery, the Continuum S2 just does it -- without fuss or fanfare. For me at least it has scored something approaching an audio hat-trick: an integrated amp that establishes a new benchmark for one-box performance, an affordable amp that actually delivers on the promise of class-D amplification, and a genuinely versatile single box that actually delivers a genuine whole system solution.

The Audio Beat: "The price of owning an all-Rowland system just got a lot more affordable. It’s no coincidence that the price of genuine high-end amplification just got more affordable too." - Roy Gregory

HiFi+: "There are two contrasting forces at work in audio today, and the Jeff Rowland integrated is just about perfect for both. On one side, we have the upgrader, who is beginning to return to the audio fold after a decade and a half’s absence. They have rediscovered that music isn’t just an accompaniment to an early-morning jog, and are busy rising through the audiophile ranks. On the other, we have the downshifter, who has spent decades at the audiophile extreme and wants something that delivers the goods without the space and expense of a full-blown system. Both of these types of listener are usually dealing with smaller spaces for a listening room. This means less room, but does not mean compromise. All of which points to the Jeff Rowland Continuum S2. To say this comes highly recommended is putting it mildly – this is the kind of amplifier I could happily live with and never feel the need to upgrade ever again!" - Alan Sircom

FEATURES:
 

• Understated elegance - Integrated 400W balanced amplifier design housed inside an elegant, ultra-low resonance, structurally rigid chassis that is precision-machined from solid blocks of aircraft-grade 6061-T6 aluminum that are completely sealed for trouble-free operation and high RF and EMI isolation.
• Power supply efficiency - Regulated, high speed, vanishingly quiet switch-mode power supplies (SMPS) ensure consistent performance under all operating conditions.
• Leading preamplification - Advanced line stage circuit based on the sophisticated topology of the Capri 2 preamplifier yielding an incredibly refined musical experience from a compact and efficient system.
• Thin Film Resistors - All resistors are low noise, 0.1% thin-film type for extremely low thermal noise which complements the low-noise characteristics of the active circuitry.
• Four Layer Circuit Board - All circuitry is populated on one side of a 4 layer circuit board to allow for continuous, unbroken, low impedance ground and power supply distribution planes. Care was taken to minimize signal path lengths and component sizes.
• Green power - Twin ultra- high-efficiency power conversion modules yield 400 Watts per channel into 8 Ohms, doubling over 4 Ohms, and a peak current of 40 Amps.
• Enhanced authority - Continuum S2 balanced output stages are equipped with a unique bank of large bulk output capacitors that further enhance its transient speed, sonic authority, macro-dynamics, and presence.
• I/O flexibility - Dual line-level outputs (balanced and unbalanced), balanced and unbalanced inputs, and preamp bypass inputs allow unprecedented compatibility with audio and A/V components, while optional high-quality phono cards are available for compatibility with vinyl sources.
• Fully balanced - Balanced input and output topology, including active positive and negative leads on Cardas output terminals for optimum speaker control, yields a high common rejection ratio of 85dB over 20 to 20 kHz audio frequency band.
• Line level transformer-coupled IO - Transformer coupled input circuitry provides universal component compatibility and virtually eliminate ground loop noise and RFI/EMI. Transformer coupling ensures identical overall gain with all inputs. Other benefits include ground noise isolation and excellent common-mode noise rejection (CMRR) from all sources.
• Precision volume adjustments - Dual rate volume control allows precision level adjustments over nearly a 100 dB range. The volume control incorporates a permanently noiseless optical encoder that always maintains its tactile feel, accuracy, and channel balance at all settings. The volume can be adjusted from 0dB to 99.5dB from the volume knob on the front panel, as well as from the 9-function remote control. Rapid turns of the volume control adjust the volume by 1.5dB increments. Slow turns of the control allow for very fine adjustments by 0.5dB increments.
• Quiet power - Rocker switch on back panel coupled to timer relay, turns Continuum quietly on to full power after circuit stabilization.
• Remote control - Six-function remote control transmitter with individual input select buttons controls volume, input selection, mute, and channel balance.
• Remote trigger - Supports 12V remote ON/OFF remote trigger for power switching via 1/8” jack on the rear panel.
• Grounding - Grounding post for star-grounding and other advanced configurations is accessible on the rear panel.
• IEC - 15 Amp female IEC AC power connector.

SPECIFICATIONS:

• Output Power @ 8 ohms Continuous RMS 400 watts, both channels driven
• Output Power @ 4 ohms Continuous RMS 800 watts, both channels driven
• Frequency Response 5 Hz – 70 kHz, -3 dB @ 8 ohms
• THD & Noise < 0.05%, 20 Hz - 20 kHz
• Inputs 2 pair Balanced (XLR), 2 pair Unbalanced (RCA) / 1 pair Unbalanced (RCA), Unity Gain (Bypass)
• Outputs 1 pair Balanced (XLR), 1 pair Unbalanced (RCA) / 1 pair CE-Approved Speaker Wire Clamp
• Power Supply Switch Mode (SMPS) and universal AC input voltage
• Amplifier Weight 35 lbs / 15.9 kg
• Amplifier Dimensions (H) x (W) x (D) 5.3" x 15.5” x 15.0” (135mm x 394mm x 380mm)