JRDG Company Special – Continuum s2

2013-2022

Retail Prices in the Netherlands in 2013:

Continuum – 11.000 euro
Continuum with USB DAC – 11.900 euro
Continuum with Phono – 11.750 euro

At CES 2013, Jeff Rowland Design announced that during the 2nd quarter the company will be releasing the Continuum Series 2 integrated amplifier. Like the original Continuum 500, Continuum S2 operates in class D. However the new product is designed around new power conversion modules by Pascal, so no longer ICE Power manufactured by B&O. Power rating is 400W over 8 Ohms, and 800W over 4 Ohms. The preamplifier section is based on the new Rowland Capri S2. Continuum S2 has one expansion slot for an optional DAC card or an optional Phono card. The Continuum S2 was developed in cooperation with Danish company Holm Acoustics.

Jeff Rowland commenting on his collaboration with Thomas Holm:

“Thomas was involved in the Continuum S2 design. We worked together on the preamplifier circuitry, which is analog, and he developed the 4 layer circuit board layout with a lot of attention to achieving a very low noise, compact, and low distortion circuit. Thomas is one of the best for circuit board layout which is an important component of overall circuit performance, and there are not a lot of designers with his level of expertise in this and other critical design areas. He also developed the front panel control circuitry and overall microprocessor control circuitry for all of the operating functions. I do not have any experience with microprocessor design and Thomas is one of most talented with this particular skill set. We also worked with the Danish Class D company Pascal for optimum integration of their platform within the Continuum S2. The Capri S2 uses the same circuitry and circuit boards as the Continuum S2 analog and control feature set. Both products have been, and continue to be very successful and reliable over their production life-cycle of many years. In general I feel that even to this day they have yet to be discovered by much of the audio market.”

The Continuum 2 expansion slots are the same as those in the Capri 2. The DAC and older PHONO boards are therefore compatible with both products.

The second series Continuum can be recognised by the green display (the original Continuum has a blue display).

Above: topside inside, revealing a Pascal module in place of the ICE power modules that went before.

Distinguishing Continuum s1 from s2

The second series Continuum can be recognized by the green display (the original Continuum has a blue display).

Continuum s2 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 is 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 linestage circuit based on the sophisticated topology of the Capri 2 preamplifier yielding and 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 complement 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 components 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 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 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 maintain 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 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.

Continuum s2 specs

OUTPUT POWER: 400W @ 8 ohms / 800W @ 4 ohms

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 bypass (RCA)

OUTPUTS: 1 pair balanced (XLR) 1 pair unbalanced (RCA)

DAC card / Phono card: optional

POWER SUPPLY:  Switch Mode (SMPS) and universal AC input voltage

WEIGHT: 35 lb / 15.9 kg

DIMENSIONS: 5.3″ x 15.5″ x 15.0″ 135mm x 394mm x 380mm

More Jeff Rowland

Jeff Rowland Company Special Main Page
Jeff Rowland Company Special Integrated Amplifiers