Rowland 625 S2 vs Luxman M900u? What’s better?

Hi Guido, I like Jeff's gear a lot and him as a person. Ive owned quite a few legacy pieces and some from the 2000s. I asked you the same question MEP has, this was at WBF way back when. 5 posts in I thought this guy is a shill for Jeff, NO ONE likes any brand THAT much :) When I whittle down the list of worthy gear one should own at least once in their life JRDG seems to land in my top 5 more often than not.
 
mep said:
They are indistinguishable.
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I don't need a disclaimer and just treat all posts / reviews the same. If read enough from an individual, you know the bias and then consume accordingly.

IE with Guido, big Rowland fan boy and believes in LONG break-ins so I consume his post with the bias in mind. No knock on Guido or Rowland.
 
Hmmm, I'm afraid that I might be more of a fan old gent than a fanboy by now *Rolls Eyes!*

More seriously, over the years I have observed a few top flight SS power amplifier brands that IMO share musical/sonic philosophy with Rowland, although they apply different technical solutions to achieve it.

Namely Bel Canto (particularly Black and the old REF1000 MK.2), Luxman, DartZeel, and Soulution. I always enjoyed enormously listening to Bel Canto and Luxman. DarTZeel is for me astonishingly immersive, and Soulution simply stunning.

My positive bias towards these brands stems from my musical interests, which largely revolve around classical music from the middle ages to modern times, for which IMO these five brands excell for their goldielockian approach to bandwidth, harmonic exposure, dynamics, low level detail, and minimizaation of intermodulative artifacts.

Particularly Solution and DartZeel I have found to be close to the best Rowland sound I have experienced, namely M925 and Daemon. Why not M625 S2? Because I have not heard M625 S2, thus all I know about it is some details about internals, and mostly glowing third party reports about its musical behavior.

Saluti from an unrepentant music fan-geezer, Guido
 
Guido,

Thank you very much for your continued updates and thoughts on Rowland. I’m looking forward to more information on the upcoming new product announcement from Rowland. Please let me know what it will be. Maybe by the time it’s ready, I’ll be ready too.

Please stay healthy and I look forward to your future posts.
 
Hello Joe, I will let you know about the upcoming Rowland product as soon as the pre-release fogger is lifted.

Far as I know, the wait should not be too long :)

Saluti, Guido (obsessive fan-geezer)
 
ricred1 said:
I would love to try the Luxman C900u preamp with my JR 625 S2 amplifier.
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As you know I tried this combo with outstanding effect.

It was a big gap in time between the C-900u and my current Corus/PSU 625 S2 combo so it would be hard to comment on the differences.

Both excellent.
 
tdimler said:
As you know I tried this combo with outstanding effect.
Both excellent.
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I agree with your post and you know I respect your opinion. I would like to hear the C900u with my 625 S2 in my system. Usually, but not always there isn't a night and day difference between components that are considered on the same level. Will the C900u be a real game changer in my system or a lateral move? My next move for now is going from dual REL Carbon Limited subs to a REL no. 25.
 
audio.bill said:
As a former owner of the Rowland 625 (pre-S2) and currently running the Luxman M-900u I don't think there's necessarily a decisive winner in this comparison. I've also heard the 625 S2 extensively which is a significant evolutionary advance over the earlier version. Both amps are exceptional products and I think a preference is likely to come down to which is a better match to a given set of speakers as well as system synergy. I used to run Magnepan 3.7i and with them I'd give the nod to the Rowland which had greater dynamic swings and an overall effortlessness that the Luxman lacked. However I then changed to Dynaudio Contour 60 speakers and my preference shifted to the Luxman with amazing texture, harmonic integrity and overall musicality. Once you get to this level of gear I find that system matching and personal preference play a major role in determining which would be considered best.
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Hello

I have a Corus and model 625 (first version), do you think I can drive magnepan 3.7i or 20.7i with ?
Thanks

Envoyé de mon HTC 10 en utilisant Tapatalk
 
hongkong said:
Hello

I have a Corus and model 625 (first version), do you think I can drive magnepan 3.7i or 20.7i with ?
Thanks
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Hello... The answer to your question is an enthusiastic YES regarding the Magnepan 3.7i since I had that exact combo and it is exceptional! Effortless dynamics, smooth, musical, and spacious! Regarding the 20.7 I can't definitively say since I've never had them or heard them driven by the 625, but my guess would be that they'd be similarly well matched. Hope that helps.
 
audio.bill said:
Hello... The answer to your question is an enthusiastic YES regarding the Magnepan 3.7i since I had that exact combo and it is exceptional! Effortless dynamics, smooth, musical, and spacious! Regarding the 20.7 I can't definitively say since I've never had them or heard them driven by the 625, but my guess would be that they'd be similarly well matched. Hope that helps.
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Thank you.
Sorry to be late.

Envoyé de mon HTC 10 en utilisant Tapatalk
 
audio.bill said:
Hello... The answer to your question is an enthusiastic YES regarding the Magnepan 3.7i since I had that exact combo and it is exceptional! Effortless dynamics, smooth, musical, and spacious! Regarding the 20.7 I can't definitively say since I've never had them or heard them driven by the 625, but my guess would be that they'd be similarly well matched. Hope that helps.
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Thanks again.
I have listening the magnepan 1.7i.
They don't have the 3.7i.
I pass an order.
I must wait two months...

Envoyé de mon HTC 10 en utilisant Tapatalk
 
hongkong said:
Thanks again.
I have listening the magnepan 1.7i.
They don't have the 3.7i.
I pass an order.
I must wait two months...

Envoyé de mon HTC 10 en utilisant Tapatalk
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Congrats on your newly ordered Magnepans! The true ribbon tweeter of the 3.7i and 20.7i is vastly superior to the quasi-ribbon used in the 1.7i, they exhibit an effortless and airy high frequency response that is exceptional. Enjoy them in the best of health!
 
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