Rowland 8ti or Krell FPB600c


Own Rowland, but looking for upgrade. Any suggestions please.
128x128himiguel
Well ,certainly If you have Rowland 8Ti the Krell won't be an upgrade.If you have Rowland , I'd try Spectral and then I would go straight into Goldmund say Mimesis 28 Evolution or a big one Mimesis 29. You can e-mail me with any questions :-)
Don't get rid of your Rowland unless: (a) you are moving to a super-efficient speaker that will accept high-quality single-ended tubes; or (b) you can afford the big Boulder stereo or even bigger monos; only thing I've ever heard that blows away my JRDG Mod 8 (original low-no. built by Jeff). For god's sake, forget about Krell. They ring like bells and are outmoded every 3 months.
You have one of the best power amplifiers that money can buy. The new Jeff Rowland Model Nine’s are a consideration as well. You might consider looking for the upgrade you seek in other components in your system. Cables, Signal source D/A (if you use one). These are all places your overall sound may fall short of the full potential of your power amp. I would suggest you do a detailed evaluation of your current sound, focusing on what you hear rather than just one component. After that decide what you like or want it to sound like. Then experiment with different components other than the power amp that will effect the overall sound. Every component in the signal path will affect what you hear. You didn’t mention the other components in your system. I think after a close evaluation you will find the overall sound is the sum total of all the components. It would be all but impossible to orchestrate the overall sound by focusing on just one part of the system. Much like a symphony the conductor directs the entire orchestra not just one section. The old saying a chain is as strong as its weakest link. This is worth considering! Good Luck
Having had experience just as Sound 4 me said, I heartily agree. My system was lacking a little-changed my speaker cable and now I think I have the best amp made. Since you do have one of the best amps made, I'd look at the rest of the chain. Good luck.
My system consists of model 2 amp, Bat Vk-30Se pre amp, Wadia 860X, Transparent Super XLR int + spk wires 3 Richard G, Harmonic Tech PRO AC-11 power cords, Power Snakes Cobra on the 860X. WOW! What an upgrade for my 860X.
I had HT cable on my wadia(good),switched to Mamba(light years better). i put the HT on the amp-did'nt work! Everything got kinda dark and a little muddy. I'd try another cord on your amp. I'd also try Analysis Plus speaker cable.
Only upgrade from a Rowland 8Ti would be to either add a battery pack or go for broke and get the Model 9Ti's. The 9's will add more width and depth to the soundstage, plus a lot more slam! Go for it! I did.
I suggest you put another Cobra or Custom Power Cord Company instead of HT,then replace Transparent cables with Cardas Golden Cross or Golden Reference(Rowland uses Cardas wires,I guess),after that replace your preamp. with Rowland,and only then think about better Rowlands and battery packs.By the way,you didn't tell us what speakers you use.I envy you anyway,Rowlands are so good.Any of them.
If you can get the 8Ti upgraded to the 8Ti/HC, it is worththe upgrade. Not only does it sound better, it has a lot more power and head room. It blows away the Krell, the only thing is that it takes a while to fully burn in. I just recently purchased one after having no sound for a while which drove me buggy, but now that I have one, my goodness it sounds better every day. The new 8Ti/HC has as much power as the original 9Ti and may even sound a little better then the older 9Ti since Jeff Rowland made some enhancements to the new 8Ti/HC. The latest 9Ti/HC now is another ball game since it doubled the transister count and power from the original 9Ti. One day I will get the 9Ti/HC or a new switch mode power supply (SMPS) for the 8Ti/HC if Jeff comes out with one. This new SMPS should add more resolution, and speed as well as added punch to the existing 8Ti/HC, I can't wait!!!. This is an amp you don't want to sell once you mate it with a Coherance Series II preamp which I also just recently purchased. I don't think this combo can be beat.