Jeff Rowland 7s Amps, verse Rowland 8T1 or 112 Amp

Have not heard the 8T1, but used to own a pair of 7's. I auditioned the 112 and the 10 extensively for my Vandersteen Fives before going with the Model 12's monoblocks. The Sevens have a sonic characteristic that shot Rowland to the top some 15 or so years ago - that is, a very musical sound that at the time was usually only obtainable from tube equipment. However, Jeff has made a number of advances since the Sevens.

His new line of 112, 10 and 12's maintains the musicality of the Sevens, but with much greater detail, musicality and soundstage than the Sevens. Some people actually prefer the old Rowland sound to the new, but in comparison, I think the Sevens sound veiled and too "polite".

Of course, the Sevens are probably going to have more punch than the 112 and are going to perform better with power-hungry speakers. However, the 112 is no slouch and definitely worth a try.

Just want to add my particular experience in contrast to Cornfedboy. I owned the Sixes with battery supply, before I did extensive auditioning of the 112, the 10 and ultimately bought the 12's. My experience on my Vandy Fives was that I preferred all three of the latter to the Model 6's. The 6's seemed to lack the resolving power and punch of the other three.

Also, I do think there is something to what Brulee says. I've never heard the Spectral, but I did feel that the Sevens never had the punch that amps of that size should have. I actually had four monoblock Sevens powering Soundlab A-1s and B-1 bass panels. That was an interesting combo, but it never did seem to be quite right. It wasn't until the B-1 panels were returned to the factory that Roger West discovered one of the bass panels was wired out of phase. I won't embarrass any of the several high end luminaries who heard my system and didn't catch that problem through listening.

In any event, the Sevens did quite well on the A-1s, but I remember they had real trouble driving a pair of Apogees (don't remember which model).