Any Jeff Rowland owners?

Re: JRDG system.....

musicargyle said:
I have had JRDG since the year he opened his doors (lots of Nelson Pass electronics as well) and very much enjoy my new JRDG electronics: Aeris DAC, Chorus preamp, 625 & soon to be 825.
All very musical to my ears & after 7 months "break in" sounding liquid & holographic. As it happens I have the Revel Salon's 2's & uber shotgun Cardas speaker cables JR use too. Very happy & likely my last system (give or take a few tweaks.) Enjoy all.
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Hi Musicargyle,

I would be interested to know what prompted the upgrade from the 625 to the 825? Did you need more power? What was the 625 lacking?

Thanks
 
GuidoCorona said:
That is awesome Musicargyle!

When will you be receiving M825? Are you using a Complete Loom of Cardas Clear and C. Beyond in your system?

Guido
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Hi Guido,

I notice that Jeff Rowland and Cardas often seem to be used in the same breath. Is there a known synergy between these brands? Does Jeff for example use Cardas himself or for evaluations during the design stage? I have Nordost and Ansuz cabling. Do you foresee any issue using those brands with the Jeff Rowland Continuum S2?

Cheers
Ralph
 
Hi Kiwi, Rowland uses Cardas for all internal wiring, for output terminals, and I believe also for the custom DC power cords and cpontrol cables between M825/M925 power supply chassis and audio chassis... Lately he has also used Cardas Clear / Clear beyond at shows etc... The combination seems to work extremely well for what I have been able to hear at RMAF in two different rooms, but I have not evaluated Cardas Clear/Beyond in my own system yet.

The Nordost large suite at RMAF (Blanca Peak, I believe) featured a complete loom of the new Valhalla 2 wires connecting and powering Rowland Aeris, Capri S2 (or was it Corus), M625, and a pair of Audio Physics speakers. All electronics were supported by Nordost Sort Kones, while the speakers were supported by the new Sort Footers designed for heavy speakers. The combination was absolutely wonderful.

I also am very fond of Shunyata CX and Z-tron wires, which I have used in the past on my own Capri (original), Criterion, M312, M625, and M725.

Sorry, I have never listened to Ansuz wires.

Saluti, Guido
 
JRDG cables &BIC

I was a beta tester of sorts for Audience AU24 SE IC & have all Audience AU24 SE IC/Au24 power C. loom except for the Cardas Clear shotgun speaker cable. I did get to audition Nordost V.2 and several other $$-$$$ speaker cables and found them to be too much for the Revels Salon 2 which can be a bit biting IMO. I know a few Revel/Rowland dealers & users who feel the Nordost is better in this context, but at the end of the day I like the tonal neutrality of the Cardas Clear & Clear Beyond speaker cable in the system synergy (not Cardas IC though.) It's a bit of a myth that the newest JRDG electronic are laid back: Very much the protean figure w/ endless capabilities given the chance.
As for the 825, having heard it a few times & having a very large listening space I think it would be perfect for me. I love my 625 and may well keep it just because I think it's so beautiful & organic.

Note: The Aeris DAC has taken very long time to come around/break (app. 500+ in but it has emerged after 8 months as a stellar DAC. I just upgraded to a very good Esoteric transport for redbook CD's & it has renewed my faith in the Aeris! The Aeris direct to the JRGD amp is less good to my my ears than the Aeris via the Chorus. Lots of opinions about this.
825 ASAP.
 
Re: JRDG cables &BIC

Hi Musicargyle, Audience does make good stuff.

Which Nordost wire did you try on JRDG gear? As much as I thought the original Valhalla may have been a little too slender and tippy-sounding for Rowland, the new Valhalla 2 series appears to be a very different creature.

Could you asses how many hours you had on Aeris before you experienced the breakthrough?

If you ever have the opportunity, Try to support Aeris with a trio of bronze Nordost Sort Kones salted by a single Titanium Kone placed under the middle of the bottom plate... The Aeris DAC appears to be sensitive to supporting structures... I would be very interested in finding out your experiences in this area. Let me know what you think.

Guido

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I have older JRDG gear, a model 5 power amp and Consummate preamp and phono stage. They work well with my Acoustat 2+2 speakers. I like the warmer sound of the older JRDG amps. I also use Ray Lumley M-100 tube amps so I guess I like the lusher but still detailed sound.
 
Hi Albert, my first Rowlands were a pair of Model 7 monos.... I fell in love with them and adopted them in 1998 at the end of a three year long amp quest... I found them used at American Sound in Toronto. Wanderful warm and golden sound! THey remained my reference amps for 10 years.

Undeniably, Rowland went through a transition phase during the days of M10, M12, M201, M501, M302, early M301, and the original Continuum 250 and 500, where detail ceme to be delivered to the detriment of ultimate musicality..

Since then, Rowland has returned to its musical roots... I am familiar with most of the current crop of Rowlands.... M925 (my own reference), M825, M725, M625, and Continuum S2. While the new amps are more extended than the old Rowlands of the 1980s and 1990s, the current designs deliver even more of the old classic Rowland musicality that we love, without grain and without effort.... But with lots more harmonics, resolution, and transparency that was possible back then... Worth a listen!

Guido
 
Hello,

I'm a newbie here from UK.

I use Capri S2 and think it sounds great.

JR has almost no presence in the UK at all which is a terrible shame, given the quality of their offering.
 
I used a 625 stereo amp with a aeries dac and Magicos for about a year. Lovely system. Rowland is by far my fave in solid state.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I'm using a JRDG Corus/625 driving Raidho C3's, Valhalla cabling, an XDS1 v2, and Windows 7 based music server. The JRDG gear is beautifully built, and synergist. Listening to music through my audio systems presence, timbre, dynamics, resolution, and imaging is a rewarding experience.
 
Love my Capri S2... current system is:

Cyrus CDXT Signature Transport > Auralic Vega DAC > JR Capri S2 Pre > Revel B15a Sub (x2) > (high pass out) > ATC 50 ASL.
 
Hello, I am new.
Beautiful sound with the Jeff Rowland.
Very expensive in Europe.
They replace my Proceed Amp2 and Pre.
Bye
 
Hello, I am new.
Beautiful sound with the Jeff Rowland.
Very expensive in Europe.
They replace my Proceed Amp2 and Pre.
Bye
 
3 JRDG amps at one time

Actually I am currently using a 625 V1 stereo for top freq. above 150 HZ and two bridged 525 mono amps for low below 150 HZ on the power hungry Revel Salon 2 speakers. All Cardas Clear speaker wire, Audience AU24 SE IC & Audience AU24 SE PC's. The 625 is relieved of the work of driving the LF drivers (app.360 watts in a 5 ohm load) and the bridged mono 525 are pushing 900 watts per side down below. It really lets the 625 V1 shine, it's a much better amp than I realized prior to getting the 525 twins. If I do anything else I will trade up to the 625 V2 which I suspect sounds better than the 825 even (or so I am hearing from several folks). I love my Chorus, Aeris & the three amps & feel at the price point they are all very good products & hard to best at even greater price levels. The 525's do not IMO sound delicate & as good as the 625 & I even had four 525's to play with at one point. The 625 is a lovely amp.
 
I also own the original Rowland 625 and find it to be superb. I can only imagine how good the newer version sounds but I think I'll keep mine. It effortlessly drives Magnepan 3.7i speakers with great dynamics and an inherent musicality that I find very engaging. Of course having the fine Luxman C-900u preamp driving it certainly helps!
 
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