The new Dan D'Agostino amplifier is priced very aggressively to make the brand available to new customers. UK prices start at £18,000.
There are two things I know about legendary audio system maker Dan D'Agostino. One: he makes beautiful audiophile products. And two: I'll never, ever be able to afford any of them. But while the new and predictably gorgeous Pendulum Integrated Amplifier is still reassuringly expensive, it's the most affordable Dan D'Agostino amplifier yet.
Let's start with the price tag. Many Dan D'Agostino products are in the Rolls-Royce-esque "if you have to ask, you can't afford it" category, and the ones with listed prices range from around £29,000 to just shy of £55,000.
So by comparison the Pendulum is a bargain: its UK price starts at just £18,000 (about AU$37,390), slightly more than the US price of $15,000. That's still way beyond my budget but it makes D'Agostino's latest amp available to many more music fans.
This is quite possibly the best-looking remote control of any audio product
D'Agostino Pendulum Integrated Amplifier: key features
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The Pendulum is a new product line for D'Agostino, sitting outside its three main product ranges. According to D'Agostino it's "designed to take D’Agostino’s revered technologies and design principles to a broader high-end audience", and "clever design choices" mean a lower price without compromising on performance or desirability.
The central, circular LCD display echoes the analogue meters of D'Agostino's best-known amps, and it's surrounded by sturdy aluminium casework with copper trim. And the design is echoed in what I'm sure is the best-looking remote control that's ever shipped with an audio product.
The Pendulum’s base model has four line-level analogue inputs (three balanced stereo XLR, plus one stereo RCA). You can add a factory fitted MC phono stage for £1,150, and there's also a £2,850 digital module that adds a hi-res streaming DAC with HDMI, optical, Ethernet and Wi-Fi connectivity.
Power is rated at 120W per channel into 8 ohms and 240W per channel into 4. And the firm promises that "sonically, the Pendulum is every bit a D’Agostino – full-scale, wide-bandwidth power and poise, maintaining an unerring grip on the music whilst delivering its emotional impact in full effect."
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The Dan D'Agostino Pendulum Integrated Amplifier is available to order now.