What preamp & power amp to buy?

05-14-11: Syntax
Go to Lamm Industries. They have the best sounding gear.

The best in the world above everything else made or just in your house? :)

I'd talk to Rockport, ask them what they found to work well, I'd also ask what they found didn't work as well.. At the "cost is no object" level it all becomes differences, and what matches best with your speakers, room, and your ears. Certainly ARC, Lamm, Ayon, Halcro, Rowland, Krell, Ayre, Boulder, CJ, Spectral, VTL, all would work fine.. but one or two will be the match made in heaven for you. At the price point you're talking about buying by the label is a bad idea.

Thanks for your response guys, I will try and audtion the Rowland 625 and also talk with Andy Payor from Rockport regarding what works and what doesn't.

A quick search of Virtual Systems on Agon showed systems where Rockport speakers were paired with Boulder (mentioned above) and also Gryphon monoblocks. Might also be worth auditioning or asking Rockport about these.

Good luck, your "problem" is arguably one of the better ones to face!

If cost is no object then IMHO I would flying out to all the Rockport dealers to see/hear what they are paired with and assess the performance.
If you can afford a 100K worth of electronics I am not sure what you are going to glean from this forum - I doubt that many people own equipment in that stratosphere.

Please do not take this response in a bad way - but if you do not have a budget relatively speaking... a trip to a few dealers makes more sense to me then advice here.

J. Valin of the AS reviews all sorts of products in that echelon.