Meet Jeff Rowland…
Every now and again we get a little bit excited…
And just after Xmas is was just like that here @ Rapallo. This was a brand we have had in the showroom for a while that we were trialing with various setups and speakers. The outcome was, well, we loved them and there are now a couple of options on demo at Rapallo, where you can mix and match the speakers and get a good feel for them. They look sensational with their shiny front panels.
“HEY, CHECK THIS OUT”
Jeff Rowland is one of those brands that audiophiles like to show off to non-audio people.
The company’s products go some way to quiet the “it cost HOW much?” cries from non-audiophiles, thanks to off-the-chart external design and build criteria. With its thick gloss black casework and contrasting scalloped so-shiny-it-might-be-lenticular front panels (all machined from top-grade 6061-T6 aluminium alloy), Jeff Rowland sets a build quality standard that is rarely matched, and never exceeded. It’s the Leica lens effect – spending that much money on metal and glass is an absurd idea right up until you handle one.
JEFF ROWLAND – WHO OR WHAT IS THIS BRAND?
For more than 25-years, Jeff Rowland Design Group has been seen as an unqualified leader in the world of high-end audio and the team @ Jeff Rowland continues to innovate and push limits.
There HiFi units have embraced a winning combination of innovative technologies which together form a road “least travelled” and constitute the core of an advanced multi-tier technological strategy for the design of reference audio amplification products.
Very few HiFi components stir the lust in audiophile hearts as those with the design of Jeff Rowland. The gear from this Colorado Springs marque has an unmistakable look and feel and its build quality eclipses just about all else.
Their very distinctive face plate finishing duplicated on the top panels won’t be confused with another brand. The ripples are actually an optical illusion but extremely convincing. Only one other company ever had anything like it: Enlightened Audio Design, but sadly they are not around anymore.
Jeff Rowland is best known for their amplifiers, then preamps. When computer sources came into play a few (ok more than a few) years back, their DACs became increasingly important part of their line-up.
The Jeff Rowland build quality is its own religion and legendary. Their gear is housed in expensive sophisticated monolithic cases precision-milled from single blocks of 6061-T6 aircraft-grade aluminium with very thick fascia’s where a proprietary laser process embeds a rippling pattern right below the surface.
PRODUCTS – LITERALLY THOSE SHINY THINGS ON THE SHELF
At Rapallo we stock a range of the Jeff Rowland line-up. We carefully choose these options as we felt they were the best options in the brands line up. So lets dig into them.
Model 125 Power Amplifier
The Model 125 stereo bridgeable power amplifier delivers dynamic realism and refinement from its solid aircraft-grade aluminum chassis, a perfect match for the sleek profile of its companion Capri S2 preamplifier.
From a single M125 in stereo mode powering an intimate analog system, up to several bridged units driving a multi-speaker setup, down to a bridged pair controlling demanding 4-Ohm monitors, the energy-efficient Model 125 power amplifier delivers consistent resolution and authority with Rowland finesse.
Capri S2 Preamplifier
The Capri S2 features an impressive complement of standard input/output interfaces; greatly enhanced flexibility through its optional DAC card or phono option; and the Rowland trademark prismatic platinum faceplate beautifully integrated into a non-resonant chassis milled from a solid block of aluminum.
With an output impedance of only 80 Ohms balanced and 40 Ohms single ended, Capri S2 drives any amplifier with confidence. Whether serving a single-ended triode amplifier in a vinyl rig, or controlling a quartet of solid-state Rowland M525 monoblocks with a 192 kHz digital source, or at the nexus of a home theater setup, the Capri S2 preamplifier delivers the trademark Rowland musicality, resolution, and consistent authority.
Capri S2 Preamplifier + DAC
The Capri S2 features an impressive complement of standard input/output interfaces; greatly enhanced flexibility through its optional DAC card or phono option; and the Rowland trademark prismatic platinum faceplate beautifully integrated into a non-resonant chassis milled from a solid block of aluminum.
The new Series II model can be ordered with an inbuilt DAC to give true input flexibility across both analog and digital inputs. 99.5dB gain range in 199 equal steps. Total overall gain of 14dB & Frequency Response 10Hz – 350kHz
With an output impedance of only 80 Ohms balanced and 40 Ohms single ended, Capri S2 drives any amplifier with confidence. Whether serving a single-ended triode amplifier in a vinyl rig, or controlling a quartet of solid-state Rowland M525 monoblocks with a 192 kHz digital source, or at the nexus of a home theater setup, the Capri S2 preamplifier delivers the trademark Rowland musicality, resolution, and consistent authority.
Model 535 Power Amplifier
A bridgeable power amplifier that delivers stunning dynamic realism and expressive refinement. Housed in a chassis milled from a solid block of aircraft-grade aluminum, the Model 535 features an innovative topology that epitomizes power and efficiency.
From a single Model 535 in stereo mode at the core of an intimate audio system, up to multiple bridged units powering a complex home theater setup, down to a bridged pair driving a sophisticated two-channel environment, the Model 535 delivers exquisite resolution, authority, and control to speakers of almost any size and any load.
Continuum S2 Integrated Amplifier
Featuring enhanced sonic performance and flexibility, the new Rowland Continuum Series 2 integrated amplifier delivers stunning dynamic realism and expressive refinement through advanced topologies. Continuum S2 integrates the new Capri S2 preamplification circuit, input/output, and control features with an innovative 400 watt power amplification stage into a single chassis.
The amplifier delivers the trademark Rowland musicality, resolution, and unfailing authority to the most refined audio environments: challenge Continuum S2 to the extreme dynamics of high-resolution digital sources and the power requirements of large bi-wired speakers. Apply it to the complex loads of electrostatic panels in analog rigs. Admire its exceptional realism driving single-wired studio monitors in a sophisticated multi-media system.
The elegance of Continuum S2’s ergonomic console emerges from a solid block of aircraft-grade aluminum. Discover the impressive complement of standard input/output interfaces. Enhance its flexibility through the optional DAC card, or its fully redesigned phono stage.
Aeris DAC
The Aeris is the product of a close collaboration between Jeff Rowland Design Group and Holm Acoustics, a Danish company founded by Thomas Holm that specializes in signal processing products for high end audio applications.
The Aeris is much more than the successful result of a synergistic collaboration between the two companies. The high degree of complementary synergy between the two teams working in parallel can only be defined as a case of true organic design.
Corus Preamplifier w/Remote
The Corus Stereo Preamplifier delivers the Jeff Rowland hallmark of a sensuous and grain free musicality, combined with astonishing transparency and low level resolution.
A broad 3-dimensional sound stage materializes into the physical listening space, where instruments and vocalists assume the textured appearance of solid existence.
The preamplifier yields exceptional frequency extension and linearity, with magnificent bass definition, an extraordinarily complex exposure of harmonic structure, and a sweetly filigreed treble. The Corus yields amazingly nuanced low level detail and micro-dynamics, and outperforms every previous Rowland preamplifier with its transient speed, staggering authority, and breath-taking macro dynamics.
Model 625 Series 2 Power Amplifier
The 625 Series 2 incorporates many of the same technical features of the 725 amplifiers.
Similar to the 725, the 625 S2 signal circuitry is built upon a Rogers ceramic circuit board laminate material for lower dielectric absorption and energy storage. The 4-Pole filter capacitors used in the 725 power supply have also been included in the S2, significantly reducing power supply output noise. The maximum output power has been increased from 300 to 325 watts per channel at 8 ohms.
Input circuitry includes an additional linear phase 2 pole filter to effectively attenuate all out-of-band signals from any source, including DSD spurious noise.Cardas gold/teflon/rhodium XLR input connectors are carried over from the 725. Newly developed error-correction circuitry has been incorporated around the entire amplifier, making a total of three independent error-correction techniques used to decrease all forms of distortion throughout the entire audio bandwidth.
The Model 625 S2 delivers a sensuous grain-free musicality of unparalleled transparency and low level resolution that blossoms from a rich velvety silence and blossoms into the pure enjoyment of your listening experience.
Sources: Jeff Rowland / Stereophile / 6Moons