Inputs/; 4 XLR (2 Constellation Direct), 2 RCA
Power output, 8Ω (1 kHz @ 1% THD+N) 550 W
Power output, 4Ω (1 kHz @ 1% THD+N) 750 W
Power output, 2Ω (1 kHz @ 1% THD+N) 1 kW
Outputs metal binding posts
Frequency response 10 Hz to 100 kHz, +1/-0.5 dB
THD+N (1 kHz @ rated power) <0.05%
Output impedance 0.05Ω
Damping factor (8Ω load) 150
Input impedance 10KΩ unbalanced, 20KΩ balanced
Output noise <500 µV, -100 dB @ 250 watts
Weight 220 lbs / 100 kg
Dimensions 13" / 330.2mm x 19" / 482.6mm x 32" / 812.8mm (hwd)
When one of America’s best-known audio reviewers described our original Hercules amplifier, along with our Altair preamp, as “the most transparent, detailed, and cleanest electronics I’ve heard,” we knew our “dream team” of top audio engineers and industrial designers had achieved its goal: to create the world’s best amplifier.
The Hercules II Mono employs a revolutionary twist on the concept of a fully balanced amplifier. In all balanced amplifiers, mirror-imaged amplifier circuits are used, with one part amplifying the positive half of an audio signal, and the other part amplifying the negative half. Yet in other balanced amps, the two halves are not quite equal, because one uses N-type transistors and the other uses P-type transistors. Hercules II achieves an essentially perfect balance by combining two matched single-ended amplifiers using only N-type output transistors. Every element of the musical signal passes through exactly the same types of circuit components, maintaining all the musicality of the original single-ended module.Of course, if the incoming audio signal is not perfectly balanced, it does little good for the amplifier to be perfectly balanced. To ensure a pristine incoming signal, we equip Hercules II Mono with our Line Stage Gain Module, the same circuit used in our Altair II line stage.
Our Constellation Direct interface allows this gain stage to be bypassed if a Constellation Audio preamp is used. As with its predecessor, the performance of the Hercules II Mono is not affected by the speaker, nor by the program material, nor by the listening volume. It delivers the same musical intimacy and emotion with any speaker, with any music, at any volume.
