Rowland 625 versus Audio Research DS450

Hi All,

I had the chance to hear the Rowland 625 for a second time, this time at RMAF 2011. I have to say this time I was a little bit disappointed. (The first time at CES 2011, I was wowed. Cannot remember the original setup.)

The Rowland 625 was setup with Thiel 3.7's Speakers, Rowland Aeris Dac (used as both DAC and preamp), and Bryston BDP-1 (Digital Player).

While it didn't sound bad, there seemed to be a "whitish" type high frequency coloration to the sound. There was much less mid-bass, than I would have liked. The overall sound was little bit "hard".

I was thinking that there may have been a few possible causes, assuming I listened correctly.

a) The 3.7's were not broken in yet.
b) The 3.7's sound is much better in a larger room,
giving the bass and mid-bass a chance to bloom.

c) The preamp section of the Corus is better and much
more forgiving than the Aeris DAC.

Any thoughts from others who were at RMAF?

I usually love Rowland and Thiel stuff, so I'm wondering how these hotel setups or demonstrations may effect the sound.

I heard the Bel Canto 500M's with the Joseph Speakers. It sounded pretty darn smooth...

Optimus, in the Rowland room I heard relatively similar things as you did. I am quite familiar with the sound of M625, Corus, and Aeris DAC in favorable setups, and they sound like completely different devices from what I heard at RMAF this year. Part of the issue may have been the speakers that perhaps were not ideal for the electronics, but I suspect the largest problem may have been overdampening of the room.

Conversely, I truly enjoyed greatly the sound of the room where the new Audio Research switch mode DS450M monoblocks were featured.

G.

Guido, good to hear from you! For a while, I was worried that I was suffering from listening fatigue from the show, and hearing things. Yeah... setup seems to be super, super important. Even with the best gear, you can't always beat the room acoustics.

Vienna Acoustics Speakers, which I believe you may own, seem to have a pretty good synergy with Rowland. I think Rowland may have done a few demos with Vienna in the past.

I agree with you on the DS450M. They sounded extremely musical and dynamic. I honestly think we are reaching a point where amps (at a certain level/price point) may not necessarily sound better than the other. They simply sound different.

Just curious, what were your favorites from the RMAF show that really impressed you? (I'll probably try to start a different thread on this subject.)

Hi Optimus, I had 3 favorite rooms at RMAF 2011:

1. The Esoteric room.... K-01 sounds very promising.
2. The Audio Research room with DS450M.
3. The Esoteric room with REF 250M amps.

Guido

Guido,
I really like the Esoteric Dac's and CD players, albeit out of my budget. Is the K-01 or any of the other gear you liked at RMAF next on your review schedule?

All this is off topic -

What did you think about the M2 Tech Young 384/32 D/A Converter, which I believe was in the same room?

DACs in general seem to be better and better, and less different than each other with good source material.

I'm hoping they've refined the magic bullet of making bad recordings sound listenable...!
Tks.