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How far have ss amps really come in the last twenty years?

I have owned and enjoyed my Jeff Rowland model 8 ( recently modded and upgraded by Jeff to the last version) for many years. I recently had the opportunity of comparing it ( after mods) to a few of the current ss models from Gamut, D'Agostino, YBA, Parasound, Sim audio, CH precision, Constellation,PS audio,Pass Labs  and Musical Fidelity. The results were very interesting, because to my ears and in the systems that we did the comparison, the Rowland held its own against all but the most expensive D'Ag and CH amps. Even those were only very slightly outclassing the Rowland in the areas of top end resolution...and a tad in the bottom end resolution. Now the thing is that the last revision to the Rowland 8 was designed by Jeff over ten years ago! 
So, my question for those more technically inclined than myself is...how far has the design of ss amps come in the last ten...or even twenty years? 
128x128daveyf

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hifiman5
1,823 posts
 
@stringreen +1  Within the last year I sent my Steve McCormack modified DNA-1 back to him for a 20th anniversary upgrade.  Steve and the guys at SMc Audio really did an extensive refit on the amp.  Steve explained that he has had some deep pocket customers asking him to build them ne-plus ultra amps with absolutely first rate parts and circuit layout schemes.  He has taken much of what he learned from those experiences and trickled it down to his more monetarily modest upgrades.
As @stringreen mentioned, much of the improvements have been in improved parts quality.  I hope to listen to my current amp till time ends my listening altogether.
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