mcintosh vs jeff rowland

Brianmgracom,

I've been playing the MA7000 almost non-stop since I bought it and it is gradually improving. The holographic, transparent - - - YES - - - Three-Dimensional soundstaging has become much more well defined. I don't know if I am forgetting the Rowland's strengths, or if the MA7000 is improving to the degree that it has equalled what I remember about the Rowland. It does, now sound very, very good. One of the earlier responses told me that I should try single ended rather than balanced cables for the CD input - which I did - it changes the sound, but I'm not yet sure which I like better. I can switch the inputs "on the fly" as was suggested and there is a definite difference. I think that the single ended input narrows the soundstage slightly and makes individual instruments and/or human voices a little a little more defined. (It moves the position of, say a female singer slightly upward and a little more to the left and makes her mouth a little smaller). Probably an anomaly of the difference in the wires themselves. Maybe I should switch the wires right to left and see if she now moves to the right . . . . This never-ending tinkering is fun, but gets old as well.

For the benefit of those who question my ability to listen and describe what I am hearing. . . I have been a high end (often very high end) listener for over 40 years, have owned very good equipment, well set up in well treated, dedicated sound rooms.

I am currently using the McIntosh MA7000 in a SECOND system, driving a pair of Sonus Faber Guarneri Mementos. Sources are an Esoteric X-01 (heavily modified) player. CD and SACD, Vinyl played on a VPI Super Scoutmaster table with their arm and a Benz Ruby 2 cartridge. Mark Levinson No. 25 phono stage. I own over 14,000 LPs.

My main system consists of Spectral DMC 30SL preamp, Spectral DMA 360 monaural amps, Avalon Eidolon Diamonds or Audio Physic Caldera III speakers, Wadia 581SE player, Basis Debut Vacuum turntable, Graham Phantom arm with choice of Graham Nightingale, Clearaudio Discovery or Koetsu Pro-IV cartridges. PASS X-Ono phono Stage etc. etc.

I am terribly sorry to learn that what I have always though to be three dimensional soundstaging is a figment of an over-active imagination on my part. I guess I'd better start changing stuff out to see if I cant make my systems sound flat and one dimensional, and I'd surely better rotate my speakers inward and tilt them forward to stop the sound from coming from space well above the speakers and from, seemingly, from wall to wall well outside the edges of the speakers. I didn't realize that my systems were sterile and had no bass. Gosh, I've got $90,000 worth of speakers that must not sound like a flip because they have the ability to project a phony soundstage.

I also had better go more often to live performances - Heck, I only go to symphonies and Operas a couple of dozen times a year. I've got to go a lot more to find out what live music really sounds like. Maybe I should go to a few rock concerts to really learn to appreciate "correct" sound.

Actually, I think I'll turn on one of my boring, uninvolving, unreal sounding, utterly fatiguing, pile of garbage systems and listen to music, with no bass or no life.

What are these people talking about?

Jprice-I was interested in your comments concerning balanced cables;I would expect you would hear a difference since the balanced cable has better noise rejection thus increasing microdynamics; and being able to retreive more low level detail from your sources.
It should only get better;want to try a cable that is excellant and recommended even by Ralph from Atmasphere is the Mogami Neglex;won't break the bank and is a stellar performer;excellant reports here in the discussion groups as well.

The Mac isn't a fully balanced design, I'd expect them to either be equal or RCA to be better.

IMHO, just because one spends lots of money on a system does not mean it will sound good together. If you go that often to the concert hall, you should know that music does not sound as detailed as it does on your system. I sit four rows back right in the center, right in front of the pit. I never hear the instruments in the rear of the orchestra sound anything like they are portrayed in most systems. What it sounds like to me is mono, like an old mono symphonic recording. That is the closest example to my ears at least. I have had or listened to many of the same components you have mentioned and they all sound different, but not necessarily "better" than any given component. I hear all these amps with their "Class A Stereophile rating" whatever that means, and the so called experts who review them. A system is only as good as the person thinks who listens to it. I wonder if we closed our eyes and were asked to listen to several systems and asked which one we liked the most, I wonder what we would pick? Would it be the 100K system or a 20k system that was well matched, or maybe a 10K system? Who knows. I do not prefer most detailed, solid state, or otl systems. They sound boring, sterile, most are very light in the bass, and uninvolving to me. They may not sound this way to the next person, but they do to me. When I owned or heard these systems, I never liked the way they sounded, and I could not listen to anything less than the best recordings. I fought this for so long. I wanted it to sound great because everyone told me it was "the best". So I was not listening to great performances anymore, but to detailed sound that was not very musical. I do think that McIntosh does make very musically satisfying components. much more so than some of the other stuff I have owned regardless of what many say. I am very glad that I finally have a system that I can actually enjoy, and it does sound much closer to the real thing than anything else I have owned or heard.

I am not saying you do not have a good system, heck is sounds like a great setup. We all just like different things. The Rowland is a great amp, and the Mac is also a great amp as well.

Thanks for all the input everyone. I should note that I have gone with the mcintosh integrated but have decided that both brands offer great products. HOWEVER, in my set up I have recently swapped out my cardas golden reference interconnects and replaced them with virtual dynamics ultra clear interconnects and this has had an effect that is nothing short of a miracle. I have never heard an interconnect on any system have such a profound effect on the overall sound. Furthermore, I have taken the advice of many on this thread and used rca connections with these interconnects. I suggest everyone audition them these cables. They are by far the best interconnects I have ever heard. I guess I'll mention that I have absolutely no affiliation to virtual dynamics or any audio equipment manufacturer. This is just my honest opinion.