Rowland "house sound"?

As a follow up, my BAT is now gone. I have a friend who loaned me a one-off ice based amp he purchased here recently as well as symphonies plus pre-amp. I must say the combo is pretty nice for the money. I am enjoying the bass but it is missing that sweet midrange I had with the BAT. If I could find a digital amp (or solid state for that matter) that give me the musicality & presence of the BAT with the dynamics of the ice-based amp I would be in heaven. The problem with that is if it has been produced none of us has found it yet :)

So, I am looking at some of the digital designs because I often hear how (somehow) they are "similar" to tubes without the rolled off lower frequencies. I am looking for something musical with a sweet midrange & very dynamic.

Can anyone tell me which Jeff Rowland model is the warmest and sweetest sounding of his line up. Many have said the model 10 fits the sound I am looking for but I would like to get more opinions on this.

When I mean warm and sweet sounding I mean comparitively to other SS amps and not tube amps. Thanks.

Fishwater - I am not sure if a digital amp is your route if you are looking for lush midrange reproduction. I would try a pure class_A ora a tube amp first.

Mike - Rowland 6 looks to me like the warmest on the Rowland line, I have had the 5, 1, 2, 8 and 9, as I said, I am not familiar with the new line 5XX, 3XX, 2XX but some reading says that they are a bit cold or analytic in comparison with the previous models.

My favourite?, The 8.

Hope this helps

Fernando

Thanks fernando for your reply. I think the 9 is out of my price range.

I will check out the 8 prices.

If anyone can comment on the 10's that would be great as well.

I am a bit hesitant when it comes to declaring that anything has a particular sound because so much depends on system interaction. So, this is a very general statement of what I have heard. To me, Rowlands are smooth, pleasant sounding amps that don't quite deliver enough toe-tapping excitement, i.e., they are slightly lifeless sounding. I've heard them in several systems, most recently, driving Sonus Faber Anniversarios.

But, they are not offensive, and I bet they would work well with speakers that are a bit edgy and forward sounding.