Jeff Rowland Capri preamp

"sweetness and musicality of tubes with the drive and authority of solid state."

Pause, my sentiments exactly. May I quote you if I ever write a review of the Capri for TAS? I should add that the Capri's frequency extension is outstanding, and so is its harmonic richness. I am powering it through a Purist Anniversary PC. I am currently trying to gage the impact of the new JRDG PC1 external Power Correction Factor on Capri. My standard Linestage is the ARC Ref 3. My very initial and tentative impressions is that Capri by itself may compare favorably to Ref 3. Capri being this good, I can only wonder how the upcoming statement level JRDG Criterion is going to sound like.

Agree with Pause 100%.

I would like to add that I used a 102 amp with a lesser pre (an Arcam Solo with internal amp, bypassed to the 102; dumb setup). The sound was nice, but perhaps a little too velvety. Highs were rolled off considerably and bass was tight but lacked punch.

When I replaced the Arcam with the Capri, it opened up a whole new sound. The velvety qualities remained to some extent, but the highs became much sweeter and crispier, and the bass gained considerable authority.

Having listened to little else, I am no expert, but I can say that the synergy between the Capri and the 102 is superb.

I had an email discussion with another member about the Rowland 102 vs. the Bel Canto S300. The fellow had moved from the 102 to the BC, claiming the Rowland was too laid back. I suspect his preamp was the culprit. With the Capri, I'd call the sound anything but laid back.

I just acquired a pair of Rowland model 12's and was wondering how the capri preamp sounded. From the above posts it sounds exactly what I'm looking for. I'm currently using an Air Tight ATL-10A passive pre. A trip to Soundings and a talk with Rod seems to be in order.

ConiferDave, by coincidence, Sounding's Rod's Capri was in my system just a couple of weeks ago. He did the Master Set on my Mahlers and 'forced' me to listen to the Capri. . . what a harsh man! (Chuckles!)

Guidocorona,is the Capri tubelike in the mid's with extended frequency extremes? I've been considering a tube pre but the WAF would really like something to match the Rowlands. By the way, how did the Master set change or improve things. Have been considering doing that also.