D’Agostino’s New Integrated Amplifier Does It All Without Breaking a Sweat
Dan D’Agostino recognizes that only a handful of music lovers are prepared to dedicate a miniature skyscraper’s worth of space—and an equally towering financial outlay—to build a comprehensive multicomponent sound system. So the sonic engineer and his team at D’Agostino Master Audio Systems reworked technologies from their Relentless and Momentum Series separates to create a benchmark all-in-one solution.
While fitting a preamp, stereo amp, DAC, digital streamer, and phono stage into a solitary chassis is nothing new, it’s a tall order to have it deliver the power, performance, and aural signature virtually identical to a stack of leading-edge separates. The Momentum MxV Integrated Amplifier, priced at $80,000 with the optional digital and phono modules inside, took considerable sleight of hand to design: Packaging the same circuits and parts of the HD preamp and MxV stereo amp into a single unit means that little airspace remains within the artful copper and machined-aluminum casework. Yet the minimalist design is a luxury all its own.
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By incorporating five components in one—in the process eliminating up to five pairs of interconnects, five AC power cords, multiple cables (the only other major purchase required is for speakers), and a massive rack to support it all—what was once a complex auditory cipher has been sophisticatedly decrypted.
Elegant, but with real heft beyond the technological, the MxV Integrated measures just 18.25 inches wide, 9.5 inches tall, and 17.8 inches deep, while weighing a solid 112 pounds. The face of the upper audio chassis features controls and a quarter-inch headphone jack, while the lower section contains a massive power-supply transformer and associated electronics. The rear panel accepts three pairs of XLR and one pair of RCA phono inputs; digital inputs are via SPDIF coaxial, optical, and USB-A for legacy digital components, as well as Ethernet and Wi-Fi for network-based music.
The brand’s app provides built-in Tidal, Qobuz, and MQA decoding, plus complete management of the unit. The remote-controlled volume knob glows an alluring green and is seductively tactile when adjusted manually. D’Agostino, a watch lover, fashioned the dial’s volume indicator to emulate the hands of a Swiss timepiece.
Those familiar with other D’Agostino components will find that the Momentum MxV Integrated sounds nearly indistinguishable from the Momentum separates, at a fraction of the total cost. Delivering 250 wpc at eight ohms into the Wilson Audio Alexx V loudspeakers, which have an acknowledged appetite for power, the MxV Integrated doesn’t break a sweat, and it’s difficult to imagine any loudspeakers on which this marvel of diminution would ring of compromise.
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