New Amps for my Avalon Ascent II

You are spot on. That is why the Ascents are the "Archimedean point" of my system. The rest I am gradually enhancing.

I heard Ascent MK2's many times with Rowland Mono 9's, Gryphon Monos, Basis / Wadia front ends, Cardas Hexlink / Purist Dominus cabling throughout, no other system (except Apogee 1-ohm Scintillas) could ever touch it to this day.

First time I heard the Ascents was back in the early 90's at Chicago CES. They were in a very large deep room, driven by an all Gryphon system. Music was analog front-end playing a jazz trio. It was mesmerising. The soundstage depth, image density, and tonal accuracy left me in want of these speakers.

Hi FranzSchubert, old Gustav does sound magnificent on my Mahlers with subwoofers firing outward + 312 + Capri. the extension is phenomenal. . . but it is not bloated at the bottom, nor it ever becomes tizzy at the top. . . and harmonic exposure is tops. Macro and micro dynamics is to die for. . . but it never sounds 'artificially pumped'Good idea to remove speaker grills for critical listening. . . . lowest level detail excels with grilles off. Oh yes, did I mention bass drum is stigean? I still have some relatively weak links in the system: Cardas Golden Ref speaker wires and a Cardas Golden Ref PC currently on Capri. PC on 312 is Shunyata Anaconda Helix Alpha, which is excellent for this particular application. my AudioQuest Sky ICs work beautifully from X-01 LE to Capri to 312. I will try some new Synergistic wires soon and will see how they behave/compare. Guido

Guido,
Yes I was very impressed by the 312 .... the bass was almost surreal. I am also considering the H2O.

How does Mahler sound on your Vienna Mahlers? I always thought his polyphony was the hardest to reproduce.

Best amp I have heard is the LSA Statement. The tube preamp section can be bypassed. If you are familiar with Winston Ma at FIM, he uses two in mono with his Avalons Sentinels. I am a dealer-we offer full money back and will pay the return shipping. Before Winston used the LSAs he had the Rowland 301s then the Krell Evolutions. Send him an email...

Michael
www.luckymanmediagroup.com
831-423-5523

I am a lover of Rowland myself. . . I have migrated from my own venerable pair of JRDG model 7Ms to a single JRDG 312 stereo amp. My taste in music is 90% classical. Speakers are Vienna Mahlers. The 312 has all the incredible sweetness and grace of the old Rowland sound, but with the agility and control of the new technology. My linestage is a Rowland Capri, which has replaced an ARC Ref 3. Guido