Jeff Rowland or Mark Levinson???

This thread is very old and I think, ML is out of race anyway. IMO, it was never a sonic competition to 'Rowland, listening to ML was for me always like having a shower with thousands of little ice cubes and I agree with Davey, the Model 8 was a outstanding unit and still is.

I've listened to both and owned both. both provided great sound and both had reliability issues from time to time. Rowland gear looks stupendous compared to almost anything except for Burmester, MBL, and such.
Very little out there could compete with the Levinson 33H mono blocks and that includes Rowland except perhaps the 9's unitl the last few years.
but the Model 8 stereo amp, If you could afford it, made beautiful music and
looked like a million bucks as well.
does that mean that a ML-336 wasn't/ISN'T a great amp? would anyone care to match a 625 against a ML-532? ML doesn't enhance or "smooth" the sound.
which means that with a good turntable, you're likely to get exactly what you want to hear. with the wrong front end or a mediocre cd, you're not going to be transported anywhere except a nice clean picture of exactly what's not working.
Rowland has not always been successful at making their gear one's first choice either due to price or a poorly-received collection of digital amplification. so people end up with something else while looking anxiously at what Jeff is going to come out with next.
and here is the latest puzzle if you will. the new 725 Monoblocks are $28K, which is more than double the price of a 625 stereo amp. same chassis, with 30W more per channel (?). If you were waiting for "the next thing" from JRDG well, here it is... sorry, but this makes no sense to me at all.
OTOH, the Corus sounds like a much better deal than the Criterion since it performs all the same functions (i think). and it will be easy to dismiss the negligible increase in background noise. OR, you could do what i did and get a ML-326S WITH PHONO built-in for about $7500 used. i can't detect the SLIGHTEST bit of grain or hash coming from my speakers at any volume. but it doesn't look elegant, just purposeful.
in conclusion, there is no real competition here. i love both companies.
i love the sound these components make. JRDG makes very seductive looking
components. Levinson has a more functional approach but sounds excellent by any measure you care to use. Reviewers even tend to agree with this unanimously.
Just like back in "01"....

same chassis

??

the 725 are build with ceramic boards, the 625 not

and by the way compare the 312 with the 33, you could have a surprise

same chassis

??

the 725 are build with ceramic boards, the 625 not

once again, it would be more constructive to show where each company has met with great success and which company failed to either make appealing products or had reliability issues or price issues. IMHO it's a TIE, with the exception that Madrigal had more designers working together to make a wide range of great products, while Jeff Rowland has concentrated on amps, preamps, and integrated amplifiers for the most part. once upon a time Levinson made the best digital front end available - i remember having a ML dac/transport feeding a Rowland Preamp. the Consonance btw was (and still is) an amazing sounding preamp with the best remote ever invented. and this combination worked great.
I never heard the #312 from rowland, but your comparison to the "33" is irrelevant- two completely different designs, made in different era's.
but it doesn't matter anyway- both are great amps given what they are and what they're designed to do.