Rowland 625

Have anyone heared the JR 312 or 625 with Shahinian speakers, maybe with the fantastic Shahinian Diapasons? Actually i use my Diapasons with two old Bedini BA-803 in biamping, but would like to try the newer Jeff Rowland amps. In the past i owned JR Consonance, Consummate and Synergy II and liked them very much, but had never a JR amp yet!

BabyBear, Harold Camping has just announced a 5 months reprieve on the end of the world. You and I have another full 5 months to repent from our sins of audiophilic lust ... October 21st ... more/less at the end of RMAF 2011 I suspect. By that time I might even have M925in the system . Will I enjoy it more than M312 and M625? I have no idea ... Ask me in the fall.

Denon, I am much more familiar with JRDG Criterion than with Corus, although it is generally believed that Corus and Criterion are sonically very close. Corus and Criterion are significantly more refined than Capri ... They better be, at 4 and 6 times the price of Capri respectively.

On the other hand, as Capri's output impedance in balanced mode is only 80 Ohms, there will be no problem interfacing Capri with M625, which has an input impedance of 10,000 Ohms. If you enjoy the Rowland sonic signature as I do, the consideration of selecting Capri or Corus/Criterion becomes simply one of budget.

Guido

Anybody, I am about to proceed on buying Rowland 625 instead of my gamut DI-150. Gamut is great integrated but lack some bass to expose full potential of my SF Elipsas. What pre-amplifier may be a great match for Rowland 625? The Corus and Creation out of consideration for being out of my price range. How close Capri to those. With absence of any local dealers in my area, any advice for pre-amp (within $5-7k range new or used) are highly appreciated. Thank you.

Guido, how far Capri pre-amp from Corus ans Creation. I am interested in 625, but will it be great with Capri as it is with Creation? Btw ,the Gamut products are very good. I have gamut DI-150 integrated. The only think I am missing is a more controled and extended bass from my SF Elipsas. So looks like 625 may be the one that will change it. Thank you.

Oh no, Guido say it ain't so -how can there be a amplifier better than the Rowland 312, let alone the M625? Maybe it really is the end of the world - just a couple of days late!

During the last trip abroad (Zurrich, Switzerland) a few weeks ago, I had a nice opportunity to witness a shootout between Rowland Model 625 and Bladelius Ymer power amps at friend's appartment.. Line up was consisted of Krell Evo-202 preamplifier, big Avalon speakers and Wadia CDP, various cables tested, mostly Transparent and Cardas etc.

I'd say that Bladelius Ymer stole the show... Brilliant performer! Big bass, sugar coated mids, crisp highs, all-aluminum impressive appearance. Model 625 sounded a bit leaner, colder, perhaps a bit more neutral in mids, but was truly beautiful chunk of metal work. Arguably the most beautiful piece of electronics I've ever seen!

I've been told that Model 625 is significantly more expensive than Bladelius amp... Based on what I heard, the Ymer power amp emerged better purchase, pricewise and soundwise.

Krell888, the info from your singapore dealer is very close to the mark. JRDG is preparing to release a bridgeable amplifier seemingly housed in the same chassis as M625. Being bridgeable, one would be able to run the device as stereo, or as a pair of monoblock chassis. As far as I know, in stereo the power rating is similar to M625. Not sure what the rating is in mono operations. Please note that this is not at all the M925. M925 remains in development and will apparently be a 4 chassis mono product. I know very little about the new bridgeable amp, except for what I mentioned already. As soon as I receive some official info, I will post it.

I have no idea whether this new JRDG bridgeable amp would be preferable for anyone to any/all of the excellent GamuT amplifiers mentioned by Isvaldo.

To anyone interested, the information page for GamuT D200I just adopted by Isvaldo is at:
http://www.gamutaudio.com/en-GB/Products/Electronics/Amplifiers/D200i-Stereo-Power-Amplifier.aspx

G.

I had luck when my Electrocompaniet broke after 4 days. I decided to listen to the latest GamuT D200i. It was a very pleasure audiotining. The D200i is much better than my old D200 MKIII and better than my Electrocompaniet AW250R.

The combination of my GamuT with the Criterion is wonderfull.

I recommend everyone listen to the GamuT D200i before buy the M625.

Isvaldo

I was told by the dealer in Singapore that Jeff will be releasing a monoblock version of the m625. Most likely twice the price of m625 but still cheaper than m925.

Isvaldo, M625 yields 550W at 4 Ohms, 300W at 8 Ohms. Idle power consumption is 100W. Standby power consumption appears to be 1W.

G.

The Jeff 625 stereo amp is one he'll of the best amp that Jeff ever produced. If it can get any better, it can only be their monoblock 925 released to the market here in Singapore soon. To start, with, it's a notch better than my Jeff 8ti. What goodness the 8ti can do, the 625 did it significantly better and did things that was unheard of on the 8ti. 3D soundstage, with vocals so liquid velvety and yet nor discolored warm character that u expect from tube. I m trying to say, the vocal is neutral. I find that most ss amps could give the muscle to power speakers, fastness and slam but not easeness of listening to vocals which tube amps do it better. The 625 has full control over the speaker squeezing out every bit of juice from my sonus faber amati homage anniversario. It sounded so musical playing from rock pieces like Bad Company and CCR with their electric guitars growling and the voices and the percussion all can be heard with high resolution. It's a quiet amp, THD of 0.005% at 1kHZ as compared to 0.1% over the 8ti. Perhaps that is why, the voices from the 8ti sounded a little warm and slow with slight hiss at the end of each vocal note especially on female voice. I believe the older design was meant to bridge the gap between ss and tube amp in its presentation. The 625 has the best of ss and tube amps. Simple as that. Marvelous for the fact that Jeff can reduce the size significantly from it's legendary class AB amps of the past like the model 7 and 8. The matching between the Jeff Critetion Preanp and the 625 is made un heaven. When switching to fulll battery mode (without charging from AC source), it improves subtileties which render music presentation from excellent to perfect. Playing music was never so lively in my listening room. Before I purchased the 625, I auditioned the newly release Goldmund Telos 250 and it sounded great with the Jeff Critetion. Very fast and excellent control over the speakers. High rise time and high slew rate?? I find that while the speed and control matches the Jeff or slightly better, the detail lnuances of a music passage especially the decay effect of piano notes or the strike of a drum lacks the 625. Jeff 625 is truly great. Bravo Mr Jeff.

Cappuccino, you post while I was writing my prior post.

When I choose to buy the AW250R was because I did a research in Internet. For what I find out, "the AW250R is more musical", the words people use to talk about this device, than the others EC models.

And it's true, because when I went to the EC dealer, I didn't like the AW180 and the AW400 as I have like the AW250R.

IMO the AW250 is more musical as they say in Google. Wonderfull device.

But the mine has broken after only 5 days.

About the Model 312, maybe the difference for the AW250R is because the Model 312 is Class D, and it's true when people say worse things about Class D amplifiers.

I hope the M625, a Class A or Class AB, I don't remember, has the "warm stuff I'm searching for a amplifier"

Isvaldo

Well... welll.

After 5 days my Electrocompaniet AW250R had a internal problem. As I don't want to fix it for my use, I'm going to sell the amplifier together with the 4.8 preamplifier.

So I'm going, slowly, to pay attention to the M625 as I have the Criterion.

But after I heard the sound of the GamuT and AW250R I'm afraid that JRDG hasn't the "feeling" and the "finesse" to make a "sweet for the ears" amplifier.

I mean something warm, because I find out that you can spent more hours listen to the music without become tired with a little bit warm sound.

Sorry my English, but I think the opposite word for warm in audio is Analitc. IMO the Model 312 has a analitc sound and a prefer a litle bit ( not too much ) warm sound. I don't want the M625 with a analitic sound.

Anyway, If anyone knows could tell me, please, the 625's Maximum Power Consumption at 4 ohms? Because I didn't find it in its specifications.

Isvaldo

I see Electrocompaniet is discussed. They are good amps, and very good value, especially here in Norway where I live. Just a short comment on Electrocompaniet vs Rowland: A Norwegian Hifi magazine called Fidelity, now has expanded to Scandinavia, tested the Rowland 301 monos some years ago and preferred them over Electrocompaniet Nemo monos.

Personally I think my 301s are more resolved than EC and expecially after I got Odin power cables on them they really shine (Odin was a HUGE upgrade!). Electrocompaniet is warmer, but less neutral, has slam, but still less authority, and also less microdetail. Electrocompaniet has great midrange though, but are not so extended and resolved in bottom and top frequencies.

Claude, you are absolutely correct.... For example, using my standard test track of the Old Castle piece by Dvorak played by Inna Poroscina, M312 induces a piano image wider/taller than M625 ... However, M625's staging/imaging is more coherent .... staging is deeper, and the piano has more 'solidity' than on M312, for lack of a better word.

G.

M312 conversely still yields an overall larger image, which is quite understandable, given M312's higher power rating.

but in the 3D depth the 625 was clearly outperforming the 312 ...
at least in the configuration I have heard them

Hi Isvaldo, I do love GamuT products, and have in fact already have reviewed their CD3 for PFO ... I am sure I will review more GamuT products in the future.

You have just stirred my interest in ElectroCompaniet. I'll try to audition ElectroCompaniet amps at RMAF this coming October. If I like what I hear, after I receive and fully break in and evaluate the upcoming JRDG M925, I might try listening to ElectroCompaniet amps in my own system, and would contrast it with the sound of several SS amps, including M312, M625, and M925. I have simply no idea about the possible outcome.

Concerning M625, it is in my system right now, but I have not completed its evaluation. At this point M625 appears to be exceeding M312 comfortably in:

* Frequency extension;
* harmonic development;
* Mid bass linearity;
Micro detail;
* Three-dimensionality / solidity of stage and imaging.

M312 conversely still yields an overall larger image, which is quite understandable, given M312's higher power rating.

One thing extremely surprising about M625 is that bass controll is improved over M312, even though M625 damping factor is only 200, versus M312's 1,000.

Hope this helps.

G.

I don't need to have a auditioning between the AW250R and the M625 in the same system.

And I think you need to have the courage to move on and change the brand of your amplifier. Yes, the life is made of changes... or the courage of change.

I want to say if the Model 312 was, until a couple of months ago, the joy of the JRDG this treasure is not so good, because the difference to the GamuT and much more for the Electroconpaniet is HUGE.

So what you can expect from the 625?

Electrocompaniet, GamuT and few others are making real joys since many, many years ago.

Like the Navy Seals you need to have courage and move on to another brand of amplifier.

Anyway the Criterion is wonderfull, maybe the best in the world together with 2 or 3 others preamplifiers.

I.

Isvaldo, I am glad you are enjoying Electrocompaniet AW250R. Unfortunately, as I have never auditioned AW250R, I have absolutely no idea if I would enjoy it more than JRDG M625. Over the years, I have realized that my guesswork has often been disappointingly off the mark, and has been at odds with, well .... live listening results.

If you ever have the opportunity of auditioning AW250R and M625 in the same system, please let us know your live impressions.

G.

After I listen to the sound of the Electrocompaniet 4.8 preamplifier I could say that the Criterion is really a wonderfull device with his incredible transparency.

And I want to like better the 4.8, because I have bought the Electrocompaniet AW250R as well, but I couldn't.

Anyway the AW250R is amazing.

Sorry, because I don't speak a good speak English to write different words that I need for a review.

But the AW250R is much better than the GamuT D200 MkIII and hugely better than the Model 312.

For what I listen, I'm pretty shure that Electrocompaniet is much better than the M625.

I owned the Capri in a second system for a while and the Criterion replaced it in that system. I don't think the Capri is in the same league but it's good for the money and amazing for the going secondhand price.

I look forward to hearing the 625; I was not all that impressed with what heard from the C500 I owned but enjoy the MC6/Criterion pairing and have an affinity for the 2/6/8/9 generation amps. I will say that the Criterion is much more transparent than the Coherence II Mk 2 I owned and quite good overall, among the best I've heard, perhaps the best value, but surpassed in some areas by some other preamps, albeit at a much much higher cost.

You are no longer in love with your Rowlands ??? I can recommend a top device if you like ... :-)

I was supposed to get my DartZeel preamplifier yesterday, but the dealer said that the company has a delay because they got a lot of orders in Europe.

And I need to wait more 2 or 3 months.
But I could cancel my order because it was his fault.

So I cancel the order for the DartZeel.

But the main reason that I cancel the order is because I remenber that you ALL guys said that the LITTLE Capri was ALMOST as good as the Criterion. And as I'm very motivated by my order for the Electrocompaniet AW250R amplifier, I ordered the LITTLE Electrocompaniet EC 4.8 preamplifier.

Even because a review said that the 4.8 came VERY CLOSE to the MBL's top of the line 6010 preamplifier.

So I'll compare the Criterion and the EC 4.8 and I'll post the result here. And also I'll compare the GamuT D200 with the AW250R, because my old GamuT is much, but very much better than my ex-beloved Model 312.

Isvaldo

yesterday I could "i fine" find some time to compare brievly the 625 and the 312

I took the excellent Cd (very plastic and incredibly colourful) of Mahler Symphony n° 6 made by Acousense and I drove to my dealer's (his name is Peter) studio. I used only 1st and 4th movement of the symphony, the most complicated regarding the structure and instrumentation with quite a few demanding tutti for the system where even a big hammer is being used ... by the way incredible masterwork

I started hearing the system how it was built:
dCS Puccini +clock
Corus + 312
Avalon Ascendant
all cables custom made

I heard quite a bit of the fist and fourth mov. ... no surprise I know the system, I just thought one more time it's incredible what Peter is getting out of these 2 either modest loudspeakers!

He told me as we had discussed on the phone that the 625 doesn't work properly with his custom made loudspeakers cables. I asked for an example, he told me that on soprano voices at quite loud volume, it could happen that some distortion appears, I asked why, he couldn't give me an answer and just told me that he didn't have this problem either with Pass Lab, Ayre & some other brands he is selling.

So we had to take his loudspeakers cables out and to install the Cardas Clear ones ( by the way I think product of the year in TAS ... but I am not sure) ...
result ? the 3D imploded litterally, the music lost intensity, colour ...
I have been making my way trough the cables starting with XLO PR O650, going to NBS Monitor III & IV and than Active II, trying quite a few ones beside ... so that I know that Cardas Clear are quite good starting "downstairs" ... but here ... frankly ... ? ...
it was a torture to hear to Mahler's 6th !

Well it didn't take long time, we decided to install the 625 which was warm and has more than 300 hours. As he hasn't developped yet the perfectly right spikes for the 625, he installed it on an custom-made acryl platform with spikes built in.

We switched the system on ...
yes a beautiful surprise!
I was quite surprised
-immediate expansion of the 3D
-smoother and very detailed trebble
-bass with more definition

now I would have like to have more time and to install again the 312 with the custom made loudspeakers cables in order to compare them directly to the 625 with Cardas Clear ...
I thought retrospectively there were playing at a similar level with maybe a little bit more drive and energy with the 312 ... but it's so difficult to compare seriously when it's not immediately one after this other...

so that this will be a next experience ...

Claude, M625 has the same 2 sets of Cardas binding posts, just like M312. The only difference is that on M625 set "A", that is the outer set, is rotated 90 degrees, to facilitate binding from the side. Unless there is something that I am missing, If a speaker wire can be used on M312, there should be no reason why the wire should be incompatible with M625

Capuccino

I understand perfectly and personnally I have the impression that only a few people in High End scene and especially dealers are not able / don't want ?
to get all the potential out of the elements.

I have heard the 312 sounding amazingly with special spikes, with custom made power and speakers cables. Now my dealer says me that the 625 doesn't accept these cables, so that I wil have to compare the 625 to the 312 using standart Cardas Clear ... let's see and hear.

I have tweaked my 301s quite a lot to get maximum sound quality out of them. Nordost Odin power cables and a Quantum Qx4 AC purifier for each. The sound I now have is unbelievable. I have placed each one of them on a Symposium Ultra platform which also has improved the sound quality a lot.

I was very wrong.

As I'm going to receive my new preamplifier nex week, I decided to install my old Gamut D-200 MKIII, just to verify how this device would work with the cables I'm using now: Siltech IC and digital, Nordost power cord and the Stealth speaker cable.

Huge, but a very huge difference comparing with my ex-beloved Model 312. I start to listen a more 3D sound, with large and deep sounstage. The stereo sound became amazing.

I could say that now I can listen to music much more time without my mind become tired.

So, now, I've no doubt the M625 is much better than the Model 312.

But, now, I start to think if JRDG are top devices or not.

Anyway, I have ordered the Electrocompaniet AW250R. For what I read, Electrocompaniet are "tube-like" solid states devices, something less "warm" than MacIntosh.

I think that the AW250R will be a wonderfull match with my cables and my dCS sources, because they will open the dark side of the AW250R.

Something in the analogic direction.

Isvaldo.

Isvaldo, you bring up 2 very excellent points....

1. Until the M625 has gone over the initial 150 hours of breakin grundge, M312 does easily sound better than M625. After that, my impression is gradually reversed.

2. Hypnotic is perhaps a term that fits well to describe the effect of Criterion + M625 + my Vienna speakers.... Thank you for the suggestion.

Guido

Guidocorona, I think you was hypnotized by the M625.

Because you want at any cost to believe that the M625 is better than the Model 312.

But the most important thing to me is that until 100 hours the Model 312 was better than the M625, as you have said.

Anyway, what you have said to Optimos about the Model 312 was wonderfull and I start to like the 312 even more.

So, it's great that you start to like the M625 only after 150 hours. Now I love my Model 312 even more.

Isvaldo

Clavil, Yes, I am thinking about driving my Q5's with the 925. I am going to wait and see what Guido has to say about the 925 as he will probably be getting one of the first few pairs released. I want to see how warm they run among other things.

Optimus, the comparison of M312 with M625 is for me an interesting one. Until M625, M312 has been my preferred amp of record. I have commented abundantly ("ad nauseam" many would say) about my preference of M312 over most other amps -- SS, tubed, and switch mode -- without price restrictions. For my application--90% classical music, 7% jazz, and 3% other types, M312 has yielded more 'soul' and listenable musicality than other amps I have had the fortune of listening to.... I had never perceived any idiosyncratic ICEpowerness in M312. So much so that I considered it superior in all respects, except for sheer grunt-power, to my old Rowland M7 monoblocks.... after all peak current of 175A for M7 vs approximately 40A on M312 does count for something.

Having said that, M625 in my opinion has significantly more 'soul' than M312... I think it is a combination of many things.... the much sweeter treble, the better pitched and much more controlled bass, the clarity of harmonics, the sense of graceful realism that I get from enhanced instrument layering, positioning, imaging.... ambient cues that are present but also delicate and never muddy.... and a rendering of extremely low level detail such as vibrato which is where the emotional, the poetic and the 'soul' come in I suppose. I used to be extremely pleased by M312's rendering of large orchestras, but M625 lets individual instruments emerge much more than on M312..... but never in an 'etched' or strident way.... always in a manner that makes me sink into the musical event, even in sharp transients and fortissimo passages.

Guido

Hi Optimus

there is an incompatibility problem with the cables I just purchased and the 625 ... nevertheless I will try to compare the 625 to the 312 with a set of Cardas Clear.

The 312 set up properly, with the right spikes (there are huge sound differences between spikes & spikes), the right power cable and the rest of the fine tuning in combination with Corus preamp., Puccini dCS & clock, is absolutely terrific and makes wonder either on Avalon or Magnepan speakers.

Of course after the very intersting post of Guido I am very curious to discover the 625.

Husk,

If I understand correctly you want to use either 625 or 925 with Magico Q5 ?

Hi Guido -
How do you feel the 312 compares to the 625 in terms of "soul"...? The "it" factor that makes you listen to music for hours and hours...

Don't get me wrong... I still wish I could own/buy either amp, right now, if I had the cash.

One of the criticism's of the ICE based Amps (perhaps less so in the 312) was that although they are very musical, they seem to lack the "soul" of Tube Amps and Rowland's older non-ICE based Amps. It is hard to describe in words. In other words, ICE based Amps seem to present the beauty and detail of the surface of musical performances, but perhaps not as much in terms of substance/body.

Arguably, there may be an unfair criticism or bias against so called "digital amps", simply because they are digital. But an amp that has the "it" factor and can power virtually any speaker well, is very tempting...

Tks.

Clavil -
Any chance to compare the 312 to the 625 yet...? Tks!

Thank you Guido for the detailed review - your impressions at various breakin times is interesting.

Hi Husk, I usually turn M625 off once per day for a while to facilitate breakin.... This is per Rowland recommendation. . Lately I have been turning it off overnight. I have great hopes for M925, but until I hear it in my system.... it's pure guesswork. G.

Guido, Great report. Are you turning it off and on each time you use it? It certainly does sound like the 925's might indeed be very special.

Husk, nothing new on M925. On the other hand.....

For the last 2.5 weeks, I have been breaking in an M625 in my system with surprising results.... The device has now approximately 300 hours of operations.

For the first couple of hours right out of the box, M625 was very pleasing, if somewhat 'skinny' sounding, with not too much resolution, and the stage it created was no more than 60% in width and height of M312.

After that it entered a funk of about 100 hours, where it sounded closed in and not terribly resolving, with transients tending to sound harsh.... I confess that I was temporarily underwhelmed.

Between 100 and 150 hours it oscillated between darkness and peakiness. During this time, the stage proceeded to broaden and rise in hight, to about 80% of what M312 does.... Stage started to become deeper, and resolution started to creep in.

Things really get interesting after about 150 hours.... performance oscillations start to abate rather rapidly, and what I think to be the character of the device begins to emerge....

Width and height of the stage end up comparable if not larger than on 312, but stage is MUCH deeper and layered. This goes with a much more precise virtual location of various instruments/performers. As a result what I perceive now is a significantly greater sense of 'reality' of the virtual stage than on M312.... even more of the sense of the stage being recreated rather than 'depicted'. This also means that depending on the recording or the radio broadcast, I get much more a sense of the instrument being relatively close, or far from me, and surrounded by 'real' space, including audience and walls. This also means that while the performance have considerable 'presence', the sound is never forward, and the frontmost instruments hardly ever seem to emerge from positions more than a foot forward from the front of the speakers. A sideeffect of the positional accuracy is however that recordings where the engineered has fiddled with montages of sorts (like on some SACD remasters) become much more prone than usual to reveal solo orchestral instruments being suddenly shifted to the front of the stage.... (I still do not think that orchestral players are in fact encouraged or even allowed to zip about the stage on chairs with casters (grins!)).

I always thought that M312 was a champion at reproducing bass accurately and musically, but I discovered that M625 runs circles around it..... Bass is significantly more present than on M312, but in a more pitched, accurate, and harmonically rich way. This gives an impression of bass being paradoxically stronger, earthier, and lighter at the same time.

Midrange is textured and harmonically complex in the Rowland tradition, but even more so than on 312..... and the treble is extremely open, detailed, and 'feathery', without a seeming trace of brickwalling the upper harmonic series. Interestingly, M625 reabsorbs certain small treble intermodulations that were still detectable with m312 on complex passages of sostenuto multivoice treble.... rather than the typical coalescing 'jarries', what I hear is distinct instruments that play distinct melodic lines in slightly different positions in space.

The result in orchestral pieces is an unexpected sense of expansive grandness combined with a chamber-like pinpoint location accuracy. Anyone concerned about M625 transient authority? Well... dont be concerned.... I am probably getting greater authority and transient from M625 than from M312.... I suspect that this may be because, as distortions are lower on m625, much more of the correct musical signal is getting to my ears, and as a consequence higher SPL levels are possible without ill effect.

2 more issues are worth mentioning:
Heat dissipation.... Machine right out of the box operates relatively cooly for a couple of days, then gradually warms up to a hefty toastiness, just shy of feeling uncomfortable to the touch. It seems though that past the 250 hours mark, the operating temperature may have dropped a couple of degrees, to what I would consider 'pleasantly toasty'.... No problem at all keeping my hands/fingers on the unit.... and temperature appears to be the same no matter where I touch the amp.

Last but not least, the only thing I hear when I turn on the amp is a soft delayed click from internal relay switches with no audible pop from the speakers... but when I turn the amp off, a very moderate pop is produced on each speaker.

If anyone were still wondering if I thought M625 were at least 'as good' as M312, or it were shy of it, my current impression is that the new device constitutes a very significant step forward in musicality, resolution, staging, imaging, and.... yes, authority. I can only wonder at what is expecting us with M925.... whenever it shows up, that is (sighs).

I am not at all sure if M625 has completed breakin yet.... and I suspect it has not. I'll post more impressions in the next few weeks.

G.

Guido, Any 925 news?

I will have the opportunity to compare both side by side next month ...

looking forward ;-)

OK to finally put an end to this she loves me, she loves me not. If you hear both a 625 and a 312 in the same system you will know within 2 seconds that the 625 is way way better. It's not a little better Brazcole. It's a lot better. The bass is better. the treble is better. I can go on and on, but the fact is you can barely listen to the 312 after hearing the 625. It has a super magical spooky great sound quality to it. I have 600-800 hrs on mine and it still takes my breath away every time i listen to it. 300 watts is NOT a low powered amp. Look at the 4 ohm spec. It nearly doubles into 4 ohms. Very few amps in the world can do that, and it tells you a lot about the current capability of that amp also. It, along with the yet to be released 925 mono amps, are going to rock this world of audiophile amp technology and sound. The boys of at Jeff's camp know this, and are very patiently finishing the 925. Until you have heard the 625 you just don't understand that it isn't hype you are reading from those of us that have. Aloha, David.

My pleasure.

Isvaldo

Thank you Isvaldo for encouraging people to use their own ears. Unfortunately I have never heard M312 and M625 in the same system. Therefore, at this time, I do not know what I prefer between the two, nor I have any real idea if they sound the same, or different.

mmmhhh I don't have the 312 I have just heard it a lot in combination with the Corus or Criterion on diferent loudspeakers. By the way it is quite power cable sensitve. I have myself the 501 + PFC-1 and before buying I do a lot a blind tasting oups sorry that's for french wine ;-) no I wanted to say blind hearings.

I really doubt that the Model 625 will be better than the Model 312.

Everything about the 625 to be better than the 312 is merchandise for...for...young people.

Jeff Rowland said "the Model 312 is the joy of my life".

What's that, man? A couple of years later is there ANOTHER "joy of my life"?

The Model 312 and the Model 625 will be the same.

The case is if you want a amp with 500 watts or a amp with 350 watts.

I want my amp with 500 watts. I don't want a amp stronger that that as well.

I still have my 200 watts stereo GamuT amplifier, device with huge consideration. The bass of the 312 is MUCH better than the GamuT.

So if you have your 312, do not change for the 625 because Guidocorona prefers the Model 625.

I have found the site: it was Avalon Transcendent

http://www.stereophile.com/rmaf2010/avalon_transcendent/index.html

how is the trebble of the 625 ?

really better thaan the 312 ?

Dtanclim, the price of $9800 for the Aeris DAC is correct. It was used in a few systems at CES, including the Rowland suite. I have not heard the device, so I can't comment about its sound or other performance parameters directly, but third party reports have been favorable.

Hey guys, I've been informed by my dealer that Rowland will have a new DAC in its lineup. Its called Aeris and there are already press statement and picture of the DAC available on the web. As with all Rowland products they look very good! Has anyone heard the DAC in action? The price I believe is USD9800 although I stand corrected on this.

Any thoughts on how the 625 compare to the Continuum 500?

How about the Corus compared to the Synergy IIi?
As it is, I'll have to save up a long time for the 625!
Bummer... Appreciate your thoughts. Tks!