Rowland "house sound"?

I have Martin Logan Ascent i speakers and have tried a Bryston 4B, Bel Canto EVO 4 gn II, Nuforce 9.02 and now a set of Rowland 201s. The Rowlands just play music. The Bel Canto and Nuforce are too clinical for me. The 201s are smooth. As soon as I hooked them up I was drawn into the music. I have been sitting for hours listening to disc after disc. That is the highest praise I can give to a component. I am sold on the Rowland. I have not heard his older gear but I would like to.

Just shows how important synergy is. I had Rowland 201s and have found the Nuforce amps to be better with my Verity speakers. The Rowlands sounded a bit congested and lacking coherence and the Nuforce opened things up to sound more natural. I guess you might conclude the Logans are a more open speaker than the Verity, and that is probably true.

Redkiwi - could it be that the Rowlands were not broken-in yet?

I've had both Rowland 201s and Nuforce 9.02s and to my ears the Nuforce are clearly in a different league. Rowlands were definitely stale in my system.

I owned the Rowlands and used them daily for a couple of years, so I would say they were broken in. I can agree with Kiethr's words too. If you find the Ref9.02s a bit sterile then try the Ref8.02. Provided they have the right set of mods these compete with the 9.02s - and there are many that prefer them. The 9s are drier and the 8s are very liquid. I think the 9s are more neutral but even the 8s beat the Rowland for me.

I own 8s and 9s and have listened to both for months on end (with brief breaks for sleep of course) and know them both very well.