I need to call jeff in the next couple of workdays on some I will call Jeff in the next couple of days and will ask for an update. G. |
Dave, you haven't told us yet if you heard the Criterion on batteries or AC. |
All, because of an emergency in Jeff's family, we may need to wait for Criterion a few more weeks. I'll keep you informed. Thanks, Guido |
Brazcole, do not give up about the Criterion yet. Units have started to trickle into the distribution channels, although the remote control will be delivered to such customers with a slight delay. As soon as Jeff Rowland returns to the office in early March I'll seek a status update. May I ask where you are located? |
That is exciting news Brazcole, please let us know the sound as Criterion breaks in. . . we want to know both sound using battery, and using the power cord. . . and of course tell us what power cord you use on it. |
Brazcole, Jeff Rowland also uses Nordost Odin power cords, Interconnects, and speaker wires in his own entire demo system.
Will your new friend replace his AYRE KX-R with a Criterion?
Saluti, Guido |
Obrigadissimo Brazcole, I did not know that my name was in the movies. Now going back to Criterion. . . you are probably one of the very first lucky audiophiles to receive Criterionin the Americas. That is why we are kindly asking you to write your impressions on this discussion thread. . . . here are some specific questions:
1. Did you receive the remote control for the Criterion?
2. Criterion can operate both connected to the wall electricity (outlet (AC), as well as on its internal battery. Have you already listened to it both on AC and on battery? Was the sound any different? Can you describe the difference?
Finally, it is very likely that the Criterion will need to be used and make music for a few hundred hours before sounding its best. . . the process is often called 'break in'. Please let us know how the sound changes as you 'break in' the unit. Typical interest points are:
. Brand new.
. 25 hours.
. 50 hours.
. 100 hours.
. 200 hours.
. 300 hours.
500 hours.
. 700 hours.
. 1000 hours.
I have created a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet to help tracking break in progress. I'll be glad to send it to you if you send me an email.
Grazie mille,
Guido
|
Husk, if you think about it. . . English speaking audiophiles may be very well the only kind of humans in the world -- besides insurance scammers -- who actively plan for their precious property to be 'broken in'! (grins!). . . minor idiomatic misunderstandings are more than. . . understandable. G. |
I'll dring to that Brazcole! (means I agree very strongly). I have used the 312 for a year now and absolutely love it. You will see how it opens up when it approaches 1000 hours of playing time! In the meantime, how is your new Criterion doing?
|
Just a quick update. . . JRDG is now doing the final assembly of a significant batch of remote controls and remote control receivers. Things are moving in the right direction. The several units already in the channel at this time are still remoteless. Saluti, Guido |
Hi Brazcole, which high end power cord have you liked best with Criterion? What about with 312? Guido |
Brazcole, what power cords have you used on Criterion and 312? Guido |
Thank you Brazcole, let us all know the results of your comparison. Guido |
That is great Brazcole! Did your friend also prefer Criterion better than KX-R? Obrigado, Guido |
Clavil, JRDG has used internal Cardas wiring for many years in its products. Conversely, Jeff has adopted the Odin external wires in his own stereo system only very recently, in the last several months I believe. G. |
Clavil, Internal wiring and external ones need not be the same. JRDG has used Cardas internal wires for many years. There is obviously no telling what internal wiring JRDG may adopt in future products. Personally I am extremely partial to Furutech Evolution (external) wiring for JRDG gear. I have not heard Jeff's setup with Nordost Odin, so it is difficult for me to comment on it. G. |
Ah yes of course Clavil. . . I also do ONLY totally blind listening tests. . . won't do it any other way (grins!)
Brazcole, I have used TEAC Esoteric X-01 Limited with my JRDG Capri and 312 with fantastic results. G. |
Brazcole, I just returned downstairs after 1 hour listening to Inna Poroscina playing Dvorak on piano (Dvorak complete piano works on Brilliant Classics). . . your post makes me smile with delight. . . My TEAC X-01 Ltd coupled with JRDG gear brings out the raw passion, Schmertz, pathos of the music. . . unadulterated by any polite editorializing. I like to feel 1 with the composer and with the performer. . . I want to be compelled to sing along works that never had lyrics, in languages that I do not even speak. The only player I like better than the X-01 Limited (or D2) is the Esoteric P03/D03/G0S stack. . . unfortunately my beloved wife, who knows I am more passionate than sensible, tells me I can't afford it! Ciao, Guido
PS. one word of warning. . . TEAC players take at least 1000 hours to break in. . . for the first few hundred hours they sound. . . terrible! |
Hmmm, the thread just passed the 10,000 viewings mark sometimes during last night. I'll try to get some juicy tidbits on Criterion from JRDG to post here early in the week. Guido |
All, the Criterion will be featured and demonstrated at the upcoming High End 2009 show in Munich Germany. The show will be open from May 21th to May 24th. I have heard rumors that Jeff may be attending in person.
Jeff Rowland Design will be represented by
Taurus High End GMBH, in Halle 3, Stand D14-E09.
You will find more information about the Munich High End 2009 show at:
http://www.highendsociety.de/english/home/index.php
Guido |
All, I tried to hunt down the address of the Munich show on the web site without much success. . . so I asked JRDG directly. . . Here is slightly more complete info:
HIGH-END 2009
Venue:
M,O,C, Munich
Lilienthalallee 40
80939 Munich
Germany
JRDG presence:
Taurus High-End
Halle 3, Stand D14-E09
Public show hours:
Friday till Sunday, May 22nd to 24th 2009 from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm
Ticket: 10 Euro
For more Information please call:
Tel.: +49 (202) 70 20 22 |
I suspect Criterion at Munich might have an operational remote. We'll find out for sure when some High End Show visitor posts here. Guido |
I have just had confirmation from the JRDG factory that the Criterion being shipped to Munic has a fully functional remote control transmitter. Guido |
Hi David, what I meant is that as far as I know the Criterion can now be controlled via the remote transmitter. I suspect this may also mean that the receiver is also operational. Jeff Rowland is probably in Munich today, so I can't seek any confirmation until his return.
But, isn't today the 1st day of the High End show? any of you guys attending?
Guido |
Congratulations Brazcole. You will likely receive 2 milled Aluminum boxes tomorrow:
1. An infrared remote control transmitter with all the buttons to control the Criterion.
2. An infrared remote control receiver. The receiver is a little external box that attaches to the Criterion through a 2 meter long wire. I have been told that the receiver enables the Criterion to be controlled while operating from inside a closed cabinet, as the receiver can sit outside the cabinet. . . . and receive all commands from the remote control.
Saluti e buone cose!
G. |
That's great Brazcole. Right now firmware upgrade is done via a little programmer device that is connected inside the control unit chassis. Eventually all updates will be performed via the USB connector in the back of the control unit, so it will be a lot easier and will not require a technician to visit you.
As far as I know, operating the remote control transmitter also requires the remote receiver unit to be installed, but I may be wrong. Keep us all posted.
Guido |
Brazcole, I am new to remote controls. Until a couple of years ago I thought I would never use one. Than I started using the ARC Ref 3 and then the JRDG Capri pre. . . both with remote controls. . . and I quickly discovered that I love to use the volume control on these remotes while sitting comfortably on my listening couch.
There is now a Criterion with my name tagged on it, somewhere in the JRDG assembly line. I hope my Criterion will be shipped to me by mid July. . . and I fully expect to take advantage of its remote control transmitter.
Guido |
Thank you so much Brazcole, I am in fact quite excited. I'll post here as soon as my Criterion ships from the factory.
Guido |
My Criterion has undergone final testing and battery charge. There are rampant rumours that it will be shipped to me sometimes this afternoon. I'll keep you posted. G. |
Received an automated call from UPS. . . my Criterion will be delivered sometime tomorrow. |
Thank you Phil and all. It looks like. . . The Criterion has landed!
UPS delivered it over the noon hour and I hawled the 54Lbs box 17 steps upstairs to my listening loft. I am delighted to report that I did not drop it. The unit was delivered complete of remote control transmitter and remote control receiver station. The latter connects to the Criterion's control chassis via a custom 2m wire. The control chassis sits on top of the audio chassis and locks into place with 4 Delrin ball bearings that fit into dimples milled into the bottom of the control chassis and into the top of the audio chassis.
I was kindly assisted by Babybear during the setup.
Criterion has been playing for approximately 3 hours now on a tuner and my X-01 player. I have been playing mostly from a piano CD with M. Uchida performing the Mozart 'Twinkle' variations.
So far so good. I was expecting Criterion to sound totally hideaous right out of the box, but it did not.
Being the unit so new it is very difficult to report on its sound. . . just 20 more minutes of playing time can yield perceivable changes. Nevertheless, I have the very preliminary impression that the harmonic exposure in the treble may have already exceeded the Capri, which is no harmonic slouch to start with. This of course does not mean a great deal yet, as for the 1st few hundred hours the device is likely to expose and reabsorbe a number of prowess and anomalies alike.
I have tried both the AC power supply and the battery power supply. On battery operation, the difference seems subtle. . . but Criterion seems to increase further harmonic content, sound even more open, and perhaps extract even a little more ambient cues. Expectedly, if the recording contains low level tape hiss, like the Mozart/Uchida analog remaster I am playing right now, the background tape hiss is slightly magnified by Criterion on bbattery operation.
Interestingly, when I bring a new component into the listening room I can take its sound only minutes at a time for the 1st couple of weeks. Conversely, I had to take a very deliberate decision to come down from the listening room and write this post.
G. |
"Rah rah rah, siss boom bah"
Thank you for the supportive brass&drums fanfare Bill. 'Tis more 'a propos' than you think. . . By coincidence, on Sunday I might take delivery of a 1950 vintage Olds ambassador BB cornet. . . I might use it to herald the arrival of the Criterion. . . . if I can get out of it anything better than a disgraceful squeal by Monday, that is. My goal will be the theme from Bruckner's 4th. . . want to help me along? (grins!)
I just received tracking information. The criterion will be delivered to my doorstep on Monday. |
Very simple. . . Austin is a place of sudden and potentially violent thunderstorms. . . a power surge into the system would have been a rather expensive proposition. I always disconnect the system when I leave town. G. |
Hmmm, hi Clavil. . . it looks like the gentleman with the Olds Ambassador cornet did not show up this afternoon after all. . . I may have to play Bruckner 4th on my barock alto recorder, lovingly manufactured by Moeck approx 1968 in rosewood and ivory, according to the Rottenburg pattern. . . . or on my Moeck Rottenburg Grenadilla soprano. . . . Yet, I fear even these marvellous instruments would feil to capture the uhrn. . . solemnity of the moment. . . and perhaps turn the audioBillian "rah rah rah, siss boom bah" into a bit of a Gerard hoffnung festival.
G. |
All, after 2 weeks of travel to Ithaca (NY) and Vancouver (Canada) I am back home in Austin. During this time the system was turned off and totally disconnected from the AC outlet.
The system has now just been reconnected and is back online. Criterion is doing some remedial break-in: sitting on the Appogg platform, fed music from my ancient NAD tuner through a transformer-based RCA/balanced adapter designed by Austin audiogoner Lee Roitberg ([lee_roitberg@hotmail.com]
), and I expect that it should have mostly recovered from its offline vacation by mid week for some good listening. |
Hi Bob, great hearing from you. . . of course I do remember you!
I just popped down from the loft loft after listening to a couple of selections from my test CD. If Criterion is supposed to be doing strange things before it gets even better, it has not done it yet. Rather, it has just given me a perspective on how undisciplined live concert audiences can be. I knew there were a few thumps, kicks, coughs, and bow drops in Dvorak's 9th Symphony conducted by Bernstein with the Israel Philharmonic. . . but what I started to hear today is closer to unionized ribaldry. Funny thing is that I never knew that the major uhr-thump, probably caused by Bernstein losing his balance whilst cavorting on the podium as his usual self, is actually a profound semi-pitch boom. . . I am pretty sure not seeing it in the score, last time I examined it (grins!)
Funny thing is that I do not recall hearing the 2nd movement sounding so musical before. I recall mentioning other times the gradual cuivre in the brass fanfares of this piece. . . the difference is that today I heard the individual instruments of the brass section quite timprally distinct, attacking at different times, and breaking into cuivre at staggared times.
There is right now a narrow and fairly shallow peak in the mid low bass that appears in some string bass passages, but otherwise the growling pitch of the double basses is quite exciting.
I fully expect the sound to have closed in by tomorrow. . . we'll see.
Guido |
Thank you Brazcole,
what I said was the contrary of what you understood. . . I was afraid that Criterion out of the box was going to be quite dull or strident or bad. I was instead surprised because it was very listenable and in an hour or 2 it sounded a little better than the Capri.
I am glad you enjoyed your phono/vinyl experience. Digital is fine for me. |
O Shucks Dave, the cornet never arrived. . . do you think I should still write the review? G. |
Bill, you are so right of course, I suchly confess that I know nearly nothing about cars, and about vintage cars I know even less than that. I was told the Olds Cornet I was going to buy had only 3 pistons working, and some dings on the manifold, and that is why it costed only $50 on Craigslist. Have you got a better deal? I would not mind one with 4 working pistons, but I was told those are very difficult to find. I was not going to drive it much at all. . . just blow it, you know what I mean! G. |
In other words Bill, for your private edification, the link below will take you to a fine site, were you can learn about cornets, trumpets, flugelhorns, and mayhaps flumpets -- none producing noxious exhaust fumes but all powered by the clean exhaust of our lungs -- to your heart's content, including that very Olds (sic) Ambassador cornet that I am interested in. . . a fine beginner horn to all accounts. . . aledgedly highly recommended, if you were ever keen in blowing some steam without breaking the bank, after which I hope you will become cheerily inclined to contribute to this and other Audiogon discussions with topical and constructive posts.
http://www.dallasmusic.org/gearhead/
Regards, G.
http://www.dallasmusic.org/gearhead/
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Thank you Brazcole, Kimber could be interesting.. . but every time I heard that brand I found it to be a little hard sounding. I am having a great deal of success with Furutech wires. I use Furutech Evolution II ICs, speaker wires and power cords to connect all my equipment: TEAC Esoteric X-01, Capri, Criterion 312, and Vienna Mahler V1.5 speakers. G. |
Getting back to topic. . . it's time for a brief update at approx the 55 hours mark.
Most of the day I have been playing from a CD of Dvorak violin/cello/piano trios from a set of complete Dvorak chamber works on the Brillian Classics label. This morning at about 42 hrs there was a definite steely whine on the violin, a general hardness superimposed on rather good harmonic development and quick transients. There was some sense of the acoustics of the venue, but it was partially hidden by some generalized glare. By tonight a much more natural and comfortable violin was starting to emerge, and I seemed to be hearing more and more into the venue. The sign that things are going in the right direction is that while this morning I had to keep the gain rather low, by tonight I was raising it considerably and enjoying the result. . . . and sinking into the listening couch.
Long way to go I suspect, but what's interesting is that I am not hearing a lot of abrupt fluctuations in sonic quality, but rather a slow relaxing and opening up of the sound.
We'll see what happens overnight. I'll leave Criterion playing from my old NAD tuner at low volume.
G. |
Jimjoyce25, there are 2 12inch pigtails connecting the control chassis with the audio chassis. One connects data buss and DC power to the right channel, the other one is the same for the left channel. The cables are custom cables with small round custom connectors. G. |
Thank you Jimjoyce25, what I have found out is that switch mode power supply, DC power supply, and microcontroller logic are each segragated in their own pockets milled in the control chassis. Furthermore, the data buss is kept off line until the user issues a command of any kind from the front panel or the remote control. At that point the microcontroller and the buss come online, the requested command/change is performed, then the buss goes back to sleep and is taken offline. Furthermore, when the DC power supply is active, the AC power supply is also taken offline. |
Jimjoyce25, I have no doubt that a different power&data pigtail may affect sound one way or an other. There are however 2 things to bear in mind:
1. Experimenting with wires of any kind prior to complete break in is futile. . . you would be shooting at a moving target. . . what works today is likely to be an overcompensation after just a couple of weeks.
2. The pigtails are not simple 3-wire jobbies. They are multiwire bundles that carry power as well as a complete digital control buss.
In some future, if the spec is ever made available, it would certainly be interesting to have some of our favorite OEM cable manufacturer create custom interchassis pigtails for Criterion. . . won't be inexpensive I fear.
G.
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Husk, I believe the list price of Criterion is approximately $18.5K. You should check with a JRDG dealer or with the JRDG factory at (719-473-1181 to confirm.
The sonic difference between AC and battery operation is subtle but discernable, at least in the moderately dirty Austin power grid. Under battery, there is an enhancement of depth, a sence of increased presence of the recording venue, transparency, and low level detail.
The remote control layout is remarkably ergonomic. Even I managed to learn it by touch alone. . . and I find operations on most remote control obscure at best. The remote itself appears to be milled from a aircraft grade Aluminum billet and is finished with the typical diamond-cut JRDG pattern. The design is somewhat retro. . . reminds me of 1970s Danish or Italian styling. . . a mixture of angular planes and curved surfaces. Buttons are small but with an excellent tactile feel, and layout is very logical.
Guido |
At approximately 126 hours into the break in process it is worth while that I post a brief update.
The sound of Criterion continued to open up and to relax until about 85 hours of playing time. . . I was starting to hear a considerable amount of ambient cues. Without the sound ever venturing far towards the warm sound of neutral, performances were becoming more and more textured and emotional. I was very pleased by the amound of harmonic content, macro and micro dynamics, and immunity from distortion in loud passages.
At approx the 90 hour mark, sound turned markedly toward surfacy, pinched, harsh, and brittle. . . Violins became steely and whyny, piano steely and shallow. . . detail gone out the window. . . ambient cues no where in sight, micro dynamics an alien concept. Seems Criterion is not at all immune from the dreaded break-in doldrums. This morning, at approx 115 hours, the creature was definitely still in a bad mood.
Sometimes in the late afternoon things started to open up once again. Now, at about 126 hours, the sound has reopened up considerably, if not to the point where it was a couple of days ago. . . music is becoming enjoyable once again. Can't help being anxious. . . patience is a lot easier to preach than to practice.
G. |
I agree. . . my only concern is also severing the Criterion's shortest path to ground when removing the PC. G. |
Thank you JimJoice, you are correct in that the twin power/data pigtails are shipped with the preamplifier, as such I am definitely breaking those in together with the pre. The ICs and power cord are Furutech Evolution II that I have used in the system since 1st quarter. Rather, as the pre has a lot of transformers (power management, input stages, output stages), I have been told that it may take particularly long to stabilize.
Pinkus, I thank you for your optimism. Of course, in the end, I hope that I will truly enjoy this device. I will try as much as I can to document what excites me, what does not, and most of all, why. If nothing else, I hope that this exercise will help yours truly to clarify the modalities of his own cheery audiophilic obsessions. G. |
Thank you Brazcole, what other differences did you hear between SLP 05 and Criterion? |
