Dan D’Agostino Master Audio Systems has a new addition to its lineup: the Pendulum Integrated Amplifier. At $15,000, it's the most affordable amp the company has ever released. That might not scream “budget-friendly” to most people, but for a brand where prices usually start around $30,000 and go way up (and I mean waaaaay up) from there, it’s a notable shift.
The Pendulum doesn’t belong to the brand’s usual categories—Momentum, Progression, or Relentless—but that’s part of the point. It’s designed to give a wider audience a taste of what D’Agostino is known for, with a sleeker design and a more compact form factor.
If you’re familiar with D’Agostino gear, you’ll recognize the Pendulum right away. It has that same high-end look, with a copper-trimmed aluminum chassis and a round LCD screen in the center. What’s different is that the screen now replaces the analog meters used in the more expensive models. It still gives you important info like volume, inputs, and music metadata—just in a digital format.
The remote control gets a bit of attention too. It’s Bluetooth-enabled, rechargeable via USB, and made of Delrin (a tough, lightweight plastic). It mirrors the display on the amp itself, so you can keep tabs on what’s going on from your seat. It's a nice touch, especially for those who appreciate thoughtful design details.
You can get the Pendulum in silver or black, and if you’re the custom type, special paint finishes are available on request.
Despite being the most affordable model in the D’Agostino catalog, the Pendulum still packs serious specs. It puts out 120 watts per channel into 8 ohms, and that doubles to 240 watts into 4 ohms—plenty of power for most high-performance speaker setups.
The power comes from a 750VA toroidal transformer and a 25,000 μF capacitor bank. That setup helps the amp deliver clean, stable power, while built-in filtering keeps unwanted electrical noise at bay. It's also designed to handle power issues like asymmetric waveforms and DC offset, which can affect performance.
The internal signal path sticks to a fully balanced, direct-coupled layout. That’s a common approach in high-end audio for preserving signal integrity. The Pendulum also uses a revised version of the JFET input stage found in the brand’s Momentum C2 preamp, which is designed to handle the signal cleanly right from the start.
Out of the box, the Pendulum comes with four analog inputs—three balanced XLRs and one RCA. One of the XLRs supports home theater bypass, so you can slot it into a surround sound setup without hassle. There are also balanced preamp outputs if you want to connect a subwoofer or run external amplification.
Want to do more with it? There are two optional modules:
The HDMI input is a first for D’Agostino and helps make the Pendulum more useful in modern AV systems, especially for users who want high-quality sound from their TV setup.
Technical Specifications:
Even though it’s a scaled-down version of the brand’s flagship models, the Pendulum keeps many of the core design ideas intact. It’s still a high-end amp, no doubt about that, but it’s one that’s aiming to fit into more homes and more systems.
The Pendulum is available now and ships worldwide from D’Agostino’s facility in Cave Creek, Arizona.
