My past experience includes mono amps from Ralph Karsten, Nelson Pass, Jeff Rowland, BEL, and stereo amps from those above plus Goldmund, Audio Research, Levinson, Ayre, Boulder,Spectral and others. Preamps have included Encore, CAT,Reference Line, Krell, Threshold and some of the makers mentioned above. Eventually I downscaled to a Classe Six and a Seventy amp. So I've had a good taste of separates over the past 20 years but I have never owned anything superior to the JRDG Concentra 1 I now use.
Jeff's web site offers some of the innovations and design decisions that make him so proud of this piece.
I agree that most of the integrateds available in this country in the past were basically just a receiver without a tuner but I think a lot of the reason for that was the perception that (still prevalent) only separate components can deliver true high end sound. Jeff, among others, has most certainly put the lie to that belief.
Now that you can buy a Concentra used for $3K or less, there are strong arguments against the need for separates. That really isn't much to lay out for a preamp and amplifier of such high performance and pedigree. And considering that there is almost no wire inside my amp, I think there is a definite advantage in eliminating an interconnect.
Jeff's web site offers some of the innovations and design decisions that make him so proud of this piece.
I agree that most of the integrateds available in this country in the past were basically just a receiver without a tuner but I think a lot of the reason for that was the perception that (still prevalent) only separate components can deliver true high end sound. Jeff, among others, has most certainly put the lie to that belief.
Now that you can buy a Concentra used for $3K or less, there are strong arguments against the need for separates. That really isn't much to lay out for a preamp and amplifier of such high performance and pedigree. And considering that there is almost no wire inside my amp, I think there is a definite advantage in eliminating an interconnect.