No-one talks about Rowlands anymore


It's Pass all over the place. Is Rowland going down big time or terribly and expensively up?
inna
Someone put up a nasty toned thread about the Daemon a few years ago...people seem to just buy and enjoy their Rowland gear...I did trade my Capri in for a Pass pre...
.......I had Rowland for years and enjoyed every note. I then bought a pair of their 501's digital amps and sold those in 6 months. I couldn't get rid of them faster. Rowland does well over overseas as noted, but their prices are pretty steep. Their stuff is good, real good but .....I want to retire soon.   
This is the sort of thing that made me start to turn my nose up at Rowland.

With their $10k Continuum S2 Class-D's, the amp module is a cheap Chinese $100 one, sure with a little tweaking, but Red Dragon Audio also use the same module and similar tweak it but it's only $1,800.

   https://forum.audiogon.com/posts/1428517

Cheers George
I have thoroughly enjoyed my Concentra 2 integrated from Rowland for many years.

While it does tend to run quite hot, it is extremely musical, and has been trouble free.  So pleased that I have never had a thought of changing.  Very proud to own one!

Hi Inna and all, if you happen to be at RMAF this weekend, you will be able to listen to a full suite of Rowland electronics wired with Nordost Odin II, and powering a pair of Magico speakers in the Nordost suite (Humboldt). The Rowland electronics consists of the ultra-caps-based Power Storage Unit (PSU) feeding the Aeris DAC and the Corus linestage, into a pair of the brand new M535 bridged amps. In bridged configuration as they are in the Nordost system, they yield about 900W / channel. The amps are derived from the M525 amps.... They have been enhanced with some of the the distortion minimization tecchnology drived from the class A/B M625 and M725 amps, as well as ceramic circuit boards, and other features.

 

The Daemon super-integrated is used in one of the large seminar rooms... Sorry, forgot the name of the room.

 

I believe that the Rowland suite is still on the 2000 level, just off the elevators.

 

It is worth pointing out that Rowland has amp designs in both class A/B and class D. Depending on the particular application, Jeff opts for one class or the other. For example, the M625 S2 stereo and the M725 S2 monos run in high bias class A/B.

 

While I will not venture to predict whether one will like the current Rowland sound, I find it incredibly musical, in addition to subtle and revealing... A far cry from the early Rowland incarnations of class D of some 10 to 12 years ago... Concerto, M201, M501, M302 (stereo), and early M301. If your concept of current Rowland sound is based on the amps just listed, it is quite obsolete... Do give the current crop a listen.... Huge difference.


I confess that in olden days I was also totally mythed by the original Rowland crop of class D amps... As much as I tried to like them, I really could not appreciate them.... The amp that made me fall in love again with Rowland, well past and beyond my beloved Model 7s with its golden glow -- was the M312.... With M625, M725, and M925 pushing the magic of my system steadily further.

 

I looked at the Red Dragon amp mentioned by George... It is based on a Pascal S-Pro2 module. Conversely, the Rowland Continuum S2 is powered by a Pascal M-Pro2... Yielding 400W/8Ohms and 800W/4Ohms per channel.

 

And whether a module is made in the US, China, Mongolia, South Korea, or southern Chile is immaterial.... Seems that we are not particularly squeemish about component provenance when we purchase our marvellous mobile phones, televisions, and even appliances.... Why we become suddenly fervent neo-protectionists instead when we consider audio equipment.. The contradiction  is beyond my grasp.

 

An evaluative article on Daemon appearing a few years ago -- positive or negative alike -- would be a little surprising... Daemon industrial production has commenced less than one year ago.

 

Saluti, G.