Rowlands vs. Levinson Amps.

That's a good question, Flg2001. I can't remember, since I tested so many systems last week. I believe there was quite an expensive solid state preamp, a midrange standalone CD player, and Wilson Watt Puppy 5.1 speakers.

I demoed the 201s a few days ago, and again today, since I desperately wanted to like them- their small size and weight are a HUGE plus factor for me. I guess I'm becoming a tube fan, and I enjoyed listening to music much more from the Quad II-45s that the dealer put on afterwards. The Rowlands seemed cold and clinical, not life-like and moving.

I heard a pair of Mark Levinson no.20 monoblock power amplifiers recently, and loved the authority, dynamics and bass resolution which they brought to Norah Jones and Alicia Keys (I didn't like these discs with the Rowlands at all). The used pair was already sold, so I'm still looking for the SS amp for me...

I demoed a Gryphon Callisto 2200 (maybe unfair comparison, as an integrated) last week, but also found it uninviting and fairly standard-sounding. It might have been the setup, but the Cello Encore 50 monoblocks sounded more refined and slightly sweeter in their place, although lacking a little bit of power. Funny, since I thought the Callisto sounded quite full a couple months ago when compared to a Rotel-1090, I think my ears may have changed since being turned on to tube amps.