Sounds like an amp that would look good partnered with Avalon Acoustics new statement Tesseract.
Good for them, I hope they sell well. Audio for the 1%. |
I am waiting for the 8-chassis version. Each mono signal will have its own chassis + PS. Will create a new class, the A++
(4x better than live...minimum) |
French_fries, M625 has already undergone a "silent revision"... If I remember correctly, machines that are still at base level can be updated by the factory. I imagine that one would have to provide a serial number to the factory to find out if an M625 is current or not.
Corus is the linestage that JRDG recommends for M925, M825, M725, and M625. Owners that only use a digital front end may also look at the Aeris DAC directly into their amp... I have heard opinions according to which Aeris may be even more resolving than Corus. I cannot confirm nor deny, because I have never had Aeris in my system.
The Power Storage Unit (PSU) will be an add-on for Corus and Aeris.
I spoke to Mr. Rowland last week about M925. I specifically asked him to characterize the sound of M925 compared to M725. He said that M925 is like.... "opening a window". Of course, this is the understandably proud opinion of the designer. Very few people have heard M925 yet, let alone in their own system. My own unit is on order. |
i just want to know how the 925's will rank in Stereophile versus the Dartzeels, the D.Momentums, and the Levinson 53's they have already "reviewed". can they possibly be as good as the darts, or maybe even better? the momentums came so close for less than half the price, while levinson sounded dry and artificial.
at these prices, can one even take a guess as to who makes the most musical-sounding component and/or which is the best constructed?
the 925's are going to have to outperform the 725's by a considerable margin which is not going to be that easy to do. the 625 will probably need an update to mark-2 status so it remains a truly desirable amp along with the monoblocks.
and the criterion has been discontinued (already?!) so am i to assume the 925's and the corus is still a good match-up, or are they going to have to produce an update for the preamps as well- hopefully the super-power supply is not far behind these other new releases. |
As I thought, the Rowland Model 925 power amplifier has just been released to the North American market. Here is what I have learned this far about this new amplifier:
MODEL 925 4-chassis monoblock power amp: 2 audio chassis and 2 power supply chassis
OUTPUT POWER: 430 watts @ 8 ohms/850 watts @ 4 ohms per channel
Power supply: 2400 W regulated DC SMPS per channel, with Active Power Factor Correction (PFC)
FREQUENCY RESPONSE: 5 Hz - 50 kHz
INPUT IMPEDANCE: 40k ohms
THD + NOISE: 0.004%, 20 Hz- 20 kHz
DAMPING FACTOR: > 1000, 20 Hz - 20 kHz
OVERALL GAIN: Switchable 26/32 dB
Combined AMPLIFIER chassis & POWER SUPPLY chassis WEIGHT: 160.4 lb / 73 kg (per channel)
TOTAL DIMENSIONS (H/W/D): 16.5" x 15.5" x 16.25" (per channel) 419mm x 394mm x 413mm
List price: $58K USD.
Thank goodness that each uber-hefty 160 Lbs per channel are split between an audio chassis and its power supply chassis! |
I obtained informally the following initial specs for the Rowland M925 from JRDG:
* 430W per channel over 8 Ohms
* 850W per channel over 4 Ohms
* 2400 W regulated DC SMPS per channel with Power Factor Correction (PFC).
I will post further information as soon as I find out more..
Guido |
Ah yes, your concern is valid Roxy. A better qualification would be "unadorned", or "to the point". I will contact JRDG and will try to dig out some technical ... adornments *grins!"
Saluti, Guido |
Guidocorona,
Although the definition of terse can be concise, or brief and to the point, in common usage, it implies curt or abrupt, and I don't think the sentence came off that way. |
Sorry Roxy, I am confused....Please explain how the quoted line deviates from "terse". Thanks, G. |
The one line was brief, but not terse. |
Mark Levinson is coming out with some new pieces in early 2013 as well including a reference preamp, cdp, etc. I am not a salesperson for ML per se, but
the company has been rendered as "over and done with" by many people contributing their "thumbs down" in these forums. i have always thought of Rowland and Mark Levinson as two companies you could always depend on to
make components that met a very high standard. and yet that standard was never created to compete with an FM Acoustics, a Goldmund, Vitus, etc. in trying to see just how expensive you could market hi end audio and still attract customers.
Of course the 326S preamp- Levinson's present best for a few more weeks, has been reviewed as being as noiseless as anyone within reason could hope for, and has a lot of features including optional internal phono boards. sadly it is all built into one chassis, which everyone knows (!) is simply not good enough to acheive the best sound. so the beat goes on.
Rowland has to overcome another hurdle- the nice aluminum facia that adds thousands of dollars to the price of each piece they market. It is supposed to lower resonances although no one has offered any real proof that the added expense is worth it sound wise- but it sure looks spectacular just the same.
i for one have always longed big time for a criterion preamp. but that desire has waned somewhat over time. maybe someday... but in the meantime, i wish success
to both companies (as well as Krell even without you-know-who at the head).
there are several others i could mention here, but as long as they're around i believe there is a standard by which to judge a whole range of component manufacturers who either come very close or even offer more value for the dollar. |
