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New Rowland Criterion 2-chassis battery pre

Jeff Rowland Design has just created a page for its upcoming statement-level, twin chassis, battery powered full function preamplifier. Detail is still scant, but a little bit of info is already available, in addition to front and rear view pics. Here’s the page:
http://jeffrowland.com/Criterion.htm
And here’s the front view:
http://jeffrowland.com/Criterion-front.htm
And here’s the rear view:
http://jeffrowland.com/Criterion-back.htm

You will find a few specs already on the site. JRDG should be publishing more info in the next few weeks. I will post here as I receive it. in addition to the published specs that you can read on the page above, here are a very few additional tidbits that I have learned this far:

. Uses Burr Brown TI OPA1632 high speed fully differentially balanced modules.
. Includes phono stage.
. Uses standard NiMH D-cell batteries available in most electronics stores, loaded in 2 rear-inserted tubes of power supply chassis.
. Capable of AC/DC operation . . . will recharge batteries on independent circuit during AC operation.
. Full remote control
. Target price $18K (not sure yet)
. Availability: probably early Fall 2008.
. Will be featured at RMAF in Soundings Hifi suite Marriott 503 or 505 from Oct 10th to 12th in Denver.

And sorry folks, I have not heard this device yet. Nor I have any good third party reports on its sound. Any speculations on Sonics from my part would be just. . . pure speculations. I’ll keep everyone posted as I learn more.

Guido
guidocorona
clavil
254 posts
 
http://blog.stereophile.com/ces2010/jeff_rowland_design_group_bling/
guidocorona OP
4,298 posts
 
Husk, I'll know more about Corus product availability in the next couple of weeks. . . but the prediction of 4 months out for Corus does not match anything I have heard this far from JRDG. Claude, Erick Lichte seems to be correct about Model 925 pricing, but pessimistic about product availability. . . His crypto-reference to audio jewelry is very cute. G.

clavil
254 posts
 
some more pictures

http://www.flickr.com/photos/metropolismusic/4261312831/
guidocorona OP
4,298 posts
 
Found more pics of the new JRDG gear at:
http://positive-feedback.com/Issue47/ces104.htm

G.
kawika
57 posts
 
Nice pictures of CES Guido. Thanks for the link! I took my Criterion up to a friends over the weekend for a listen in his system. (Wadia 922/931 fed by 781i, Rowland 312 into Aerial 20t MKII via Silent source cables everywhere. The room was fully treated, but on wood upper floor.) The first listen was obviosly direct digital to amp for about 5-7 cuts. Then swapped after pre had been on for about 6 hrs for a listen. Upper mid to beyond took on a more solid feel not a thickening at all. The background stayed pitch black. Bass got just a tiny bit more authority, but the biggest effect was two fold. First the overal sound took on a sort of Majestic feeling. Yes, hard to explain but I think the bit of extra dynamics and sensity of the upper end gave it this feeling. Second was when huge and/or very loud uber dynamic swings were fed thru the stream, the pre kept it all together without even the time to sigh about the load! Now, I must tell you, if you haven't already figured it out, that the floors and walls were VERY active by now and feeding back from this energy. Yes the 312 can provide, but it needs unrestricted wall juice and needs to stay away from it's upper output limit due to the hardness and tendancy to start falling apart just before the thermal overload protection kicks in. We were listening that loud!I've said it before that the 312 is not the last word in low freq extention and dynamic cpability. Having heard it pushed hard in this system I still feel the same. It has tremendous transparency, and the imaging is spectacular. Look, it's not a pair of 200 lb mono's! It's a 65 lb stereo amp, that poud for pound kicks ass. It's not cheap, but it does more than most any amp I know in its price range. Sorry, got sidetracked and off subject. Just wanted to address some of the 312 amp comments on this and other threads I'm on. Anyway, going back to the Citerion...Taking it out of the chain was imeaditealy noticed. It was like "Hey, where did the majesty go?" There's probably a better pre out there, but at what price and will it be unaltering of the signal?
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