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ARC Ref 3, Rowland Concerto, or Capri line stage?

Has anyone had the opportunity of comparing the ARC Reference 3 side-by-side with the Rowland Concerto linestage or the Rowland Capri? If you have, please post your comparative findings. I own and love the Ref 3, but I have heard the Concerto at RMAF and found it to be wonderful. I have also heard rumours that the little Capri may even exceed the Concerto's performance.

My current system is balanced and consists of TEAC X-01 Limited, ARC Ref 3, Rowland 7M monos, Vienna Mahler speakers. I listen mostly to classical--80% of it chamber music.
guidocorona
periklis
4 posts
 
Hi Guido, indeed the new capri outperforms the older Concerto at least in the hearings I have done.
The capri in all hearings sounded more clear a little more dynamic and same musical as the Concerto.
The Capri is power factor corrected as Jeff told me and all the new products are (312,102 etc).
If you put the factor price when the Capri seems a bargain in this money.
I believe that you must hear it in order to have an personnal opinion for the new age sound of Rowland gear.
guidocorona OP
4,298 posts
 
Very interesting Periklis, I did not realize that PFC was already implemented on Capri and 102. I agree completely that 1st hand audition of current JRDG gear on own system is in order.
jfz
570 posts
 
Based on a conversation I had with Jeff, I don't believe the Capri is already power factor corrected.
pinkus
144 posts
 
Jfz,

that is my understanding also. You can buy an outboard unit, the PC1, that can add power factor correction to the Capri.
guidocorona OP
4,298 posts
 
Yesterday I had Rod Thomson of Soundings Hifi (Denver, Co.) over at my place for a Master Set of my Vienna Mahler speakers, and he brought along a JRDG Capri for the ride. This was a unit without the external PC1 power factor Correction box. The rest of the system consisted of Esoteric X-01 Limited, JRDG 312 amp. We performed the initial two thirds of the setup using the Ref 3, then switched to the Capri. The line stages were powered by a Purist Anniversary PC. After work was complete we performed some further comparative listening of the two line stages. Here are my preliminary impressions of these two wonderful devices: The Ref 3 slightly outperformed the Capri in mid-bass linearity while the Capri appeared to generate a very slight 'bump' in some mid bass areas. The Ref 3 sounded perhaps slightly more 'neutral' than the Capri and got my nod in the area of airiness. However I experienced with the Capri a wider top to bottom frequency extension, a more revealing harmonic texturing, a unique propensity for unmasking the fallacy of the myth of 'black backround' by exposing some very low level decaying detail, a faster rendering of transients, and a remarkable musicality. I wish I also had a PC1 to play with: according to Jeff, several Capri users have experienced the application of the new PC1 device to the Capri to be quite synergistic.
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