Can the Rowland Concentra II be beat?????

I'm using a Rowland Model 2 with an Adcom GFP 750 pre amp.
The combination sounds very very good to me. The balanced XLO interconnect is another $400.00 though...
Do you have a YBA dealer near you? YBA is coming out with a Passion integrated soon for around $4500.00, to me YBA is very similar to the Rowland sound. My dealer is selling his personal YBA separates & has the Passion on order. YBA looks great in black!

Daniel

I have auditioned the Concentra II with Vienna Mahlers, and the sonics were very good. I have a email friend in Aspen who has the Musical Fidelity M3 Super Intergrated amp that is the best he has heard in a long time. M3??? - any objective listeners out there with comments on the M3??

As much as I like the Concentra II--and I do--IMO if you can afford the upgrade, a Rowland power amp with a nice tube preamp will REALLY take you to the heights. I know we're talking much more $$ but such is my experience. I had Rowland Model 10 and initially mated it with Rowland Synergy II linestage and it was no good--I REALLY disliked the Synergy II sound. But when I put any of several good tube pres with the Model 10, oh my...that's the ticket. CAT Ultimate and Rowland amp is particularly ooh-la-la...

I've got the Magnum Dynalab MD-208 receiver in house right now and the sound quality is staggering. It is tubelike and lovely with deep bass, not sacrificing detail. I have never heard solid state this good. I don't know if it's better than the Concentra II but it could well prove to be all you need and want.
--a

How does the Levinson 383 compare to the Gryphon and
Rowland Concentra amps? I'm trying to decide if an
integrated is my next step. Anyone compare these three?

If you can find a Pathos dealer in your area, give the Twin Towers a try ... in the right system, this amp is AMAZING!!

Jeff

Hi Jpayne, try to add one of the Gryphon integrateds to your list. They have a 100 and 200 watt version. I heard the comparison of the 100 watt Gryphon vs the Concentra ll at my friends store who is a high end audio dealer. We both thought the Gryphon was clearly the better of the two. Could be that the Venture speaker matched better with the Gryphon. IMO it wasn't much of a contest. You may feel differently but I would be surprised. Opinions don't mean much. Your opinion is the only one that matters. Good hunting.

The integrated amps from Accuphase are my personal favorites. They easily give the Rowland a run for the money.

Happy Listening!