FS: Red Dragon Amp-1s
Gaara
Posts: 2,415
Pair of Red Dragon Amp-1s
PRICE: SOLD on Audiocircle
Description:
You can read about these here. These are small monoblock icepower amps that put out 105wpc, with 150wpc peaks. They run cool are tiny and sound phenomenal. These are the same as the Bel Canto M300s which retail for $1990 a pair, except the M300s have nicer cases and XLR input.
Ryan Tew of Red Dragon decided to do a very limited production (I think 50 pairs) run of icepower amps at near cost. Red Dragon normally only makes the high end 500wpc Leviathans which retail for $5,995. If you ever wanted to try the icepower sound here is your chance to get a great pair for cheap.
These are in very good condition with no scratches or dings to be found. The only "issue" is some very small marks on the front of one of the amps. Around the LED on one it looks "wet", making it look a little darker in a very small area. This can only be seen in the light and I didn't notice it until snapping the pic.
Terms:
These will be double boxed and shipped insured. These will come with a pair of Volex 17604s that I just purchased. Accepting Paypal (add 1.5%), money order, or personal check. I will only sell these to a buyer with verifiable good feedback. I have a feedback on Audiogon, Club Polk, Head-Fi, and Ebay. For sale in the US only.
PRICE: SOLD on Audiocircle
Description:
You can read about these here. These are small monoblock icepower amps that put out 105wpc, with 150wpc peaks. They run cool are tiny and sound phenomenal. These are the same as the Bel Canto M300s which retail for $1990 a pair, except the M300s have nicer cases and XLR input.
Ryan Tew of Red Dragon decided to do a very limited production (I think 50 pairs) run of icepower amps at near cost. Red Dragon normally only makes the high end 500wpc Leviathans which retail for $5,995. If you ever wanted to try the icepower sound here is your chance to get a great pair for cheap.
These are in very good condition with no scratches or dings to be found. The only "issue" is some very small marks on the front of one of the amps. Around the LED on one it looks "wet", making it look a little darker in a very small area. This can only be seen in the light and I didn't notice it until snapping the pic.
Terms:
These will be double boxed and shipped insured. These will come with a pair of Volex 17604s that I just purchased. Accepting Paypal (add 1.5%), money order, or personal check. I will only sell these to a buyer with verifiable good feedback. I have a feedback on Audiogon, Club Polk, Head-Fi, and Ebay. For sale in the US only.
Post edited by Gaara on
Comments
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Red Dragon
Bel Canto - From 6Moons Review
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Is this for a pair? Your link states:
AC Member Price: $249.00 per monoblock with Free Shipping in continental USA
Accessory: Volex 14awg x 3 Shielded Power Cord (6.5ft)- add $5.25
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I am interested in these amps. Were the boards tweaked from the original specifications? Bel Canto is known for doing this.
Thanks
Mike -
SolidSqual wrote: »I am interested in these amps. Were the boards tweaked from the original specifications? Bel Canto is known for doing this.
Thanks
Mike
Mike,
Not to my knowledge, there isn't much to tweak as the module has everything needed except wiring, connectors, and a chassis. I was under the impression that the only brands that modify the icepower amps was EVS and Red Dragon (Leviathans). The warranty is voided if the modules are modified, which is why the big brands don't do it.
James -
Hmmmm . . . I spoke with a tech from Bel Canto who says modifications are made to the stock boards but the changes are proprietary.
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I would think if they modified these things they would advertise it, or maybe a reviewer would mention it. I did alot of time reading about different offerings from many different brands and never came across mention of modded bel cantos, except the ones from Underwood, and some other no name place.
I took the above pic from a 6moons review of the S300, the M300 should be identical except only one module. The last Red Dragon pic is one that I shot with the top off. I can honestly say I can't see a single difference between them, besides the little blue thing to the right of the transform, which is hidden in my pic. -
anonymouse wrote: »Man those are sweet looking. What are they like - 80% efficiency? What would you compare them to? How do they sound relative to your EVS amps?
Yeah I believe all the icepower modules with built in power supply are 79% efficient.
I have directly compared these amps to a PS Audio Trio, EVS 500Ms, and Monarchy Audio SM-70. I preferred the Amp-1s to the Trio because the mids seemed slightly better, and the highs were a little more pronounced and detailed, plus they cost less then the trio.
I preferred the EVS 500Ms because dynamics seemed to be better, there was less background noise, more deep bass and soundstage depth was a little better. My Gallos disappeared better with the 500Ms to. Of course this is comparing a $500 pair of 105wpc amps to a $2000 pair of 500wpc amps. They do have a very similar sonic signature.
The SM-70(25wpc Class A) vs. Amp-1s (105wpc Class D) was a wash as they are to different. I preferred the mids and the way the music just seemed to flow with the Monarchys, but liked the more detailed highs and devastating base with the Amp-1s. The Amp-1s seem more accurate but it was in my PC rig so I prefer a more relaxed sound. My Rothschildes were made to mate with tubes and class A, so this came as no surprise. -
Crap, I wish I would have talked to you prior to buying the M300s. This is a no brainer people. Awesome company and solid amps.
Gaara,
The pictures are truly telling that the boards look very identical. I talked to underwood hifi and they said Bel Canto messes with the onboard software of the board. That must have been what the Bel Canto rep was referring to. Or Perhaps I'm just getting hosed. Who knows. -
Now throwing in the Volex PCs.
Solid,
Didn't realize you had the M300s, how do you like them? Strange that you were told the boards were tweaked, I would think they would have been more specific as I would have expected them to be modified if I was told that. They are great little amps, especially for $500. Hopefully a polkie can snag them before I put them up elsewhere. -
Why do you think the wattage output claims are different between Bel Canto and Red Dragon despite using the same boards?
Sorry, typo on my part. I have the S300 (which is essentially two M300s in one case) and think it sounds amazing. The bass quality was quite surprising and arguably compares with my SE Extemes in terms of impact. In terms of detail in the lows the SE Extremes clearly triumph.
I use the S300 to power my tweeters as they have a 10,000 leagues under the sea blackness and great detail in the highs. -
The 200asc board outputs 100wpc RMS into a 8ohm load according to B&O. That said it looks like Red Dragon is using the RMS power, while Bel Canto quotes the max power. Not sure why Red Dragon calls the Amp-1s 105wpc. Maybe they manipulated the boards to put out 5% more power, or perhaps B&O is to conservative with their ratings.
The bass on these things is really impressive. Considering the size of the S300 compared to your Extremes it is crazy that they are of comparable heft when it comes to down low. I was surprised how much bass my Rothschildes could put out with these hooked up to them. -
The highs are where these amps really shine. They are incredibly clear and fast. The lows are quite striking but compared to the SEs the strum of a bass guitar just does not have the same texture. If I had not heard the SEs before I would be more than happy with just the Bel Cantos.
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Yep, great bang for your buck. If I didn't have my 500Ms I would be perfectly content with these. Sadly icepower is one of those things that hasn't caught on much here at Club Polk. Ohwell I gave it 4 days, these sold on Audiocircle in just shy of half an hour.
