Dan D’Agostino Momentum C2 / C2Z Preamplifier

The Momentum C2 / C2Z Preamplifier — C2 for Concept 2 — was introduced at Munich High End 2024 as the successor to the Momentum HD, and it is an entirely new architecture rather than a revision: a complementary four-circuit topology inspired by the flagship Relentless Preamplifier, built around an array of four JFETs in a complementary, differential, push-pull input arrangement that dramatically raises input impedance and lowers noise.

The two-chassis construction is executed in the copper and machined aluminum that matches the Momentum amplification it partners with. The separate power supply chassis — with individual custom toroidal transformers dedicated to analog and digital circuitry — feeds the audio chassis through a 20-amp interlocking connector, keeping the transformer's work away from the circuits doing the listening. Genuinely transparent tone-control circuitry sits entirely out of the signal path when inactive, and a dedicated headphone amplifier waits behind the sliding logo door.

The choice between the two models is a match, not a hierarchy: the C2Z carries a FET-based output stage engineered to deliver substantially greater current into the Z input stage of the Momentum Z amplifiers — a synergistic interface designed as a pair — while the C2 remains the reference for every other amplifier. Operationally the two are identical; only the output stage differs. An optional, field-upgradeable Digital Streaming Module adds coaxial, optical, USB, Ethernet, and Wi-Fi inputs with native Tidal, Qobuz, and Spotify support.

The demonstration is in Scottsdale, in the chain it was designed for: the C2/C2Z ahead of Momentum Z monoblocks on Wilson Alexia V, with a dCS Rossini APEX and Master Clock for digital and an Akurate LP12 with Klimax Radikal for vinyl. A preamplifier is judged by what it lets through, and this room is resolving enough to make that judgment honestly. Walk in or book ahead.