Rowland Concerto - Has anyone heard it yet

my apologies- the concerto pre- was announced 1st. i'd still like to know, since it's a lot newer than the synergy, if the sonics are worse or better- that would be a big dilemma for synergy owners. i myself have m-12 amps which were "supposed" to be some of the best switching amps you could buy- and a lot less money than halcro and even linn. then, jrdg did a "180" with the 301's and 201's. the m-12's still sound phenomenal to me, even though i thought "they" were a little puny. if their girlie-man stuff gets any smaller they'll be competing with i-pods.

In talking with JRDG, I am told the new Concerto pre will be very close to the Synergy IIi but without some of the IIi's features, the Synergy IIi has the advantage of the separate power supply.

My Concerto preamp is 3 weeks old now.

So far, so good. Much better than anything else I've ever owned.

Quiet, fast, dynamic. Recommended.

Hi All,

Great to hear that the Concerto is living up to its audiophile 'buzz' in your systems!

I'm thinking of a Concerto as a long-term update to my current system, which is based around an original Rowland Concentra. It's not that I'm unhappy with the current system in any way (in fact, I'm really pleased with the synergy and overall performance of the system below), just that the upgrade bug has bitten. In all likelihood, I'll stay with the same manufacturers, and acquire the most recent version of their equipment that corresponds to what I use now.

Unfortunately, my pockets aren't deep enough to pay for a new Concerto, so I'll need to wait until a used market develops.

I'd love to hear more from anyone considering upgrading from a Concentra/Concentra II to the Concerto Integrated, particularly if you share additional system components:

Rowland Concentra Integrated
Wilson-Benesch ACT-One Speakers
Meridian 588 CD
Equitech Son of Q Power Cond.
Alpha-Core AG-2 speaker cables
Kimber Select 1130 inteconnect
JPS Labs Digital power cord (CD)
Granite Audio 560 power cord (Amp)
Assorted Sonex/RPG room treatment

Thanks in advance, and happy listening!