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Rowland Model 6 monoblocks - my thoughts

I promised John (Jmcgrogan2), that I would share my thoughts on the Jeff Rowland Model 6 amps that I purchased from him. If you are interested...read on!

Some background: I have always been a tube guy. In fact this Rowland is my first solid state amp. From Conrad Johnson, Cary Audio, VTL, Audio Research, and Sonic Frontiers, I've had some damn fine tube gear in my house! As is so often the case with this hobby, I took a trip on the dreaded audio avalanche; buying, selling, trading, and testing various components. Each time, convincing myself that it just wasn't right. Always, that little voice kept pushing...just buy "Brand X" cable, or "Brand Y" isolation feet, and use "Brand Z" vintage tubes, and the sound will magically transport me to some sort cosmic neverland! Little could I appreciate, that I was probably already there. In short, audio-nervousa was getting the better of me, and I lost site of the goal: enjoying recorded music. I decided to take a step back from this madness and start over...SLOWLY...MORE BUDGET MINDED...NO GIMMICKS. This time I would do a better job of managing, balancing, and accepting compromise. And above all else, I would just enjoy the music.

So for the last five years, my simple and basic system consisted of:

*Conrad Johnson Premier 11A 70W tube amp
*Conrad Johnson PV 10B tube preamp with phono stage
*Electrocompaniet EMC-1 CD Player
*Technics SL1210 MK2 turntable that I've kept as a spare from my DJ years in case I get a hankering for vinyl. I Sold my SOTA, due to lack of use.
*Harbeth 7ES2 speakers
*Kimber Kable PBJ interconnects
*Speltz Anti-Cable speaker wire

A Sam Tellig or Harry Pearson reference system, the above components do not make. However, this time that wasn't my goal...I just wanted to listen to music instead of worrying about $3,000 speaker cables being the weakest link. And to my surprise what glorious music these components produced!!! Oh how I was finally moved. Beautiful imagery and staging. The components just seemed to disappear leaving me with music. In my small listening room, everything sounded good. Silky smooth and so easy on the ears. Several friends who moved from two channel into the home theatre world were astonished at my latest "house sound". Maybe my mindset was different this time; older and wiser? Possibly I was more relaxed and less fussy? Or, maybe this time I didn't listen with my wallet?! Whatever the case, I found my own slice of Nirvana.

HOWEVER, there were occasions when the wife and kids left me alone to my vices, with the opportunity to really "crank the volume knob". Here I thought the Harbeths might like a little more power...more headroom. Not that the CJ was ever clipping...perhaps the tubes were just borrowing from Peter to pay Paul, when asked to work their magic at full tilt with these speakers?!?

Enter Jeff Rowland Design Group. I have ALWAYS had a thing for the JRDG gear!!!! From my perspective, Rowland is a hands-on mad man always pushing the envelope with newer technologies and unusual circuit designs. Doing it a bit different as it were - right, wrong, or indifferent - his way. Show the guts of a Rowland to an Electrical Engineer, and the head scratching begins! All this with a beautiful packing job to boot! Years ago, I auditioned the Rowland Model 2, 75 watt stereo amp with Synergy preamp at a local hi-fi store. I was blown away and had a hard time believing that some tubes weren't being slipped in, some place. I remember that audition being very lively and punchy without annoying. In short, I never forgot it.

Enter the Model 6 monoblocks. Once the decision had been made for more power, I had my amp choices narrowed down to the CJ Premier 12 (140 watt monoblock version of my Premier 11A) or something from JRDG. Deep down, I felt it was time to roll with one of the "better" solid state amps...go for a total change as it were. Remembering my audition with the 75 watt Model 2, the Model 6 with it's 150 watts seemed like just the dish for me. The units I bought from Jmcgrogan2 had the black face plates, which was an added bonus; I felt that the all black would be less "bling bling" than the signature Rowland silver, and less likely to influence anyone that happened to be over for a listening session. The black blends in much better, and is more subtle. However, once you inspect them up close, you quickly realize that you're looking at something special. Black aluminum tanks!

Enter Model 6 sound. For some reason I was expecting more harshness, maybe some grain. Even though I was previously impressed with the Model 2, I just couldn't let go of this notion that solid state was the devil's work and would annoy me with shrill sounds. OH HOW WRONG, I WAS!!! All of that tube-lover smoothness is there. The best imagery I've EVER heard....and this is something my CJ excels at! There are times when I close my eyes and feel like I'm not even listening to a "stereo"!! It's all there only with much greater authority! Much more concert like. More stage like. This sound is very energetic and moving...and that tube like warmness that I'm so fond of is still there with just a touch more detail. And the louder it gets, the better!!!! I'm amazed at how much bass my Harbeths can deliver - these are not large speakers!!! But now I have this punchy bass slam that's accurate and controlled. And here's the clincher: at louder volumes, the Rowlands can present this deep bass without losing any of the mid range or upper registers. No more borrowing...no sacrificing one area to furnish another. They just keep delivering and reproducing what you throw at them until some other component breaks down...in my case it's probably my small room or the monitors! I never thought solid state amplification could give me the same hair raising experiences as my beloved tubes. Time to quickly step off the audio merry-go-round, yet again, and enjoy what I have.

Thanks For Reading,
Jeff
sand_man
jmcgrogan2's avatar
jmcgrogan2
6,346 posts
 
I agree with most of what Raquel has stated, especially with the mid to late 90's being JRDG's golden years, and his reco for the Coherence II/Synergy preamps.

I do have a couple of differences though, first being that I would still prefer a tubed preamp. I like tubes, that's me, that's why I sold you the Model 6's Jeff....tubes. I feel that a tube preamp can be used with the Model 6's with great success, using the 18K input impedence switch of course. I know, I've done it. I feel that you are not happy with your CJ, which I can understand, as I never really warmed (no pun intended) to the CJ sound myself. However, if you have cash in hand, I'd seriously take a look at Upscale Audio who is selling NOS BAT VK-31SE's for just under $4K.
Great, great preamp, and IMHO better than any SS preamp out there. I would buy new for the 5 year warranty though, it's worth it.

If I had to go back to SS, I actually preffered the Threshold T2 over either Rowland preamp, or Krell and Levinson to boot. I'm not trying to confuse you, just let you know of other options. Raquel's Coherence II/Synergy reco would come right behind the T2, IMHO, along with maybe a Klyne Series 7 preamp. If you'd like to match JRDG for synergy sake, that's certainly understandable, but I wouldn't paint myself into that corner. There are many better preamps out there than your CJ PV10BL.

Lastly, I do agree and disagree with Raquel on his comment about unplugging equipment. I do agree that ALL equipment should be unplugged from the wall for electrical storms. I disagree that antisurge protection at the panel or elsewhere is and alternative. I've been a audiophool for over 30 years now, and I have owned many protection boxes, but have found NONE provide absolute saftey for close (<1mile) lightning strikes. Many protect from surge, but NOT lightning. If a storm is a brewing, I still unplug/disconnect my main audio/HT breaker box.

Believe me, when you're talking about very expensive/sensitive equipment, if your $3000 surge protector fails, it will cost much more than that to fix your rig. They're great for most 'hiccups', but unplug for severe storms.

Cheers,
John
sand_man OP
23 posts
 
This Sonic Frontiers Line 3 SE looks interesting:
http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?preatube&1209840622
Care to comment? I had one of SFs earlier preamps (can't remember the model), and I reacall it being prety good. Not nearly as "high-tech" as this one.
jmcgrogan2's avatar
jmcgrogan2
6,346 posts
 
Balanced ouput impedence of 90 ohms and 45 ohms unbalanced should work really well with the Model 6's. Those output impedences are almost SS like in nature, which is also one of the complaints about SF gear, is that they are tube, but sound too much like SS. If you are looking for the best of both worlds, this may well be it, however, beware the call to upgrade to NOS 6922 tubes, as 10 of them could be very, very expensive.

I've heard several SF amps, but only the SFL-2 preamp. I think this would be a very intruiging combination though. SF definitely does NOT sound like CJ.

Cheers,
John
raquel
841 posts
 
Drubin:

I found the 10/12 to be open and quick, but lean sounding -- I prefer the 2/6/8/9 sound, which is more burnished in the mids.

Jmcgrogan2: We don't disagree. I wrote that there are alternatives, but I did not mean better alternatives. My drafting error.

I ran a Hovland with my Model 6's for about a year and got very good sound, but, as noted above, I prefer very high-end solid-state preamps over tube preamps -- the very best ones layer space every bit as well as the best tube preamps, but they have lower noise floors (crucial in high-rez systems) and can drive any length of cabling. I do have a preference for tube amps over solid-state, however, as they almost always layer space better and have, to my ears, a more life-like presentation than solid-state (an exception to this statement is the amazing darTZeel).

Regarding the other preamps mentioned, the Kline is not balanced, is it? BAT certainly makes fine gear, but I do not like equipment that uses 6H30 tubes because there is only one manufacturer and your stuck with that sound -- does the BAT VK-31 use a different tube? If you must do a tube preamp, the Sonic Frontiers Line 3 is well built and has a nice remote. Chris Johnson, a former principal of Sonic Frontiers and now owner of PartsConnexion, has a lot of integrity and is a pleasure to deal with -- he can help you with tube selection. In addition to the LS-5 Mk. III, any of the Audio Research Reference preamps that do not use the 6H30 tube will provide excellent sound, as will Ralph Karsten's (Atma-Sphere's) top preamp. If it were me, however, I would be thinking Synergy IIi (or budget permitting, the Coherence II Mk. 2 or Levinson 32 -- they may be the best solid-state balanced preamps available).

For whatever it's worth, I run a Coherence II Mk. 2 (and Cadence phono stage) with VAC Renaissance 140 Mk. III zero-feedback triode monoblocks.
sirspeedy
738 posts
 
Raquel and all,actually I am aware of the unplugging during storms.My question was...is the on/off cycle of doing this around thirty times a year somewhat harmful?The powering down,then up...so frequently?Or is it rather benign?
Thanks
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