The Criterion was definitely plugged in, no battery power.
The room sounded very good today. I ran through a couple of my test CDs and found the system to be less bright and more neutral. Bass was very good too. A very even presentation with a large sound stage. Many rooms had issues with depth and/or off centered image due to the room layout. Not the Rowland room. |
Cappuccino, it is good to know that complete Valhallas are synergistic on a JRDG-based system. . . Jeff Rowland currently favors Nordost Valhallas. . . I believe he may have them on his entire reference system in Colorado Springs. I have no details on the CES setup as yet. |
Valhalla is the best cable I have had in my system with 301 monos. The trick was to have Valhalla all the way. When I had Valhalla only partly in the chain, the sound was too bright and edgy, but all Valhalla has made my 301 shine as absolutely fantastic amps. I have compared against Stealth Indra, Synergistic Research Apex/Precision Reference and Wireworld Gold. Valhalla is the clear winner.
In another system (Cary, Sonus Faber) I have done the same test, in that system Synergistic was the winner, Indra second and Valhalla third. |
If Jeff were indeed using Nordost wiring, it may not be a marriage made in heaven in an already reverberant/bright environment. Guido |
On Stereophile's blog they say that the Criterion was on static display. I suspect that you're right and they're wrong (I saw it active at RMAF, but on AC only) but I'm wondering what was going on.
I suspect that Jeff ran it on AC and didn't want Stereophile to hear it until they could hear DC. Once Jeff gets the programming finished for this thing I suspect he'll never hire a programmer again. (Necessary evil).
Dave |
Front end is DCS. I will get back to you on whether it was running on battery power or not. I asked Jeff yesterday and didn't get a straight answer, so I'll assume it was not. I was in the room today but focused more on listening.
The set up is very good. I think it tended towards the bright side, but overall a rather detailed and transparent sound. The Criterion is a couple steps above my Capri, but overall it has made me have a greater appreciation for what a great value the Capri is.
FWIW - many rooms at the show appeared to sound bright to me. The set up is difficult due to most rooms having a double tier with railings. The Rowland room was one of these so I have to give Jeff credit for getting as much out of the room as he did. |
Thank you Clio, please keep us posted. Do you know if the Criterion was running on battery power or AC? If it is, see tomorrow if you can switch it back and forth and report on any perceivable difference. Guido |
Heard it today and spoke with Jeff. The wiring is Nordost but quite frankly don't remember the front end as I was there early morning and heard a lot of stuff today. I'll be going back tomorrow.
The sound was very good. Much more impressive than the Soundings room at RMAF. |
For those lucky stiffs who are attending THE Show in Vegas from Jan 8th through 11th, Jeff Rowland is featuring the Criterion at the Venitian, 30th floor, room 231. All I know about the rest of the system is that it features the JRDG 312 amp and Thiel 3.7 speakers. I suspect that the front end may be the newest EMM single box player, and that wiring may be Nordost (perhaps Valhalla). Sadly, I am not attending, but if you are, please post here any further details and listening impression. Furthermore, if you spot any showblog reports that mention Criterion. . . pls post the URL here as well. G. |
According to Rod at Soundings in Denver, Kelly, JRDG's office manager, declared that Santa does exist! The factory has just had Criterion First Customer Ship (FSC) a few days ago. Looks like a few lucky audiophile in yet undisclosed locations may get a Criterion under the tree. If I learn more, I'll post here. |
Kawika, I am planning to buzz JRDG this week, and will ask an update on Criterion First Customer Ship (FCS) date. In the meantime, if you are interested, my capsule review of the JRDG 312 stereo amp has finally been published on issue 188 of the Absolute Sound. It's part of the Vienna Mahler Review article,which starts on page 76 or 78. G. |
Well Gang, we are down to the last 30 days in this year and I sure hope Jeff can get this thing out the door in time for Santa to put it in his bag of Christmas toys to be left under my tree Christmas morning! |
Yup, little Capri is one amazing device, and still remains my reference linestage. I hope that some day I'll be fortunate enough to compare a Capri and a Criterion side by side in my system. |
Guido, I was sceptical of your thoughts on the Capri being that good until I had my Wadia CD player upgraded (781) and then moded by Great Northern Sound to Statement level. The Capri has now shown me that my weakness in my system was my source! I won't get into a review here, but WOW is that thing great! If the Capri can show me what I'm now hearing (Avalon speakers) from my system it must be one killer pre. The most incredible thing about the Capri is its price. I know of no other preamp that can touch it for under $10K That Criterion is going to be something very, very special. I can't wait to get mine!!!! |
Just managed to obtain one small technical tidbit from Jeff Rowland. . . Criterion utilizes the same oversized input and output Lundahl transformer that JRDG already has used on the 312 stereo amp and the Continuum 500 integrated. In the meantime, Jeff is confident that he will start shipping Criterion before year end. An engineering level unit with AC operation only and engineering level circuit boards is making the rounds of several dealers in Japan. . . in spite of device not being final production version, according to JRDG, reports are that dealers/users much prefer its sound even over the Coherence flagship. G. |
Guido, it was the Grace remote and I just happened to call JR on another issue.. |
And of course. . . Criterion does show R/L balance info on the display. |
Audiofil, if your Capri remote displays occasional emotional issues, you should contact JRDG directly at 719-473-1181.
You are correct about L/R balance reset. Capri manual states that:
"NOTE: To return the balance to the center or 0 dB position, press and hold the MUTE button on the front panel of the preamplifier for 3 seconds. This will reset all microprocessor controlled functions and return the balance position to L/R +/-0 dB."
To the best of my knowledge, future JRDG designs are likely to include balance status indication on the display.
G. |
There is balance reset method in your manual. The other, lets call it interesting, thing about the remote itself is that it stops working sometimes and there is a simple fix. Strangely, I have a Grace Design 902 from Mike Grace, an ex employee at JRDG, who has been for sometime running his own shop with magnificent products and still gets the remotes (which are identical) from....Jeff. Something I missed in the GD manual and I brought the remote back from Europe for replacement, when all one needs to do is simply remove the batteries for about an hour for the unit to self reset. Not being able to see the balance is in my view a significant miss. |
Hah, that's funny about Audiofil vs. Audiofeil. Very different personalities indeed, thank goodness.
I'll vote for a balance display on all JRDG products where applicable. Right out of the box I started pushing the remote buttons for my Continuum 500, accidentally hitting balance instead of volume. Since I didn't know where it was relative to neutral, I needed to power off to reset the center point. With the lesson learned I've not made the same mistake and I have little reason to mess with the balance, but, if I did, it'd be nice to know how to get back to Center.
Dave |
Hi Clio, here are some possible answers:
The remote control circuit of Capri was designed in the early 90s and has been used on a variety of devices ever since, hence its limitations.
Yes, the Criterion display will show balance state.
The audiophile population is not getting any younger. . . and a number of audiophiles are affected by all too common macular degeneration, cataracts, and various age related moderate sight deteriorations. . . hence the growing need of larger fonts on component displays. I only wish that the info on displays were also exportable via USB for those of us for whom megafonts are not an option. . . but this functionality is not yet implemented in today's generation of devices. G. |
For a second there I thought I was having a flashback and imagining Bill Feil was engaging Dave and Guido in a pleasant exchange about JRDG products. Then I realized Audiofil does not equal Audiofeil.
In any case I can't imagine larger display numbers than those that are on the Capri. I do wish the balance position could be noted on the display and I really wish someone would explain to my why I can't flip the polarity via remote (manual via faceplate only).
Otherwise this is quite a nice little preamp. |
Kawika, during todays' phone chat Jeff appeared to be confident that he will ship Criterion before year end. Guido |
Guido, did Jeff say how it's progressing towards a production date? I've waited nearly a year so far, so if it actually gets out his shop door by the end of this year Ill be satisfied. |
Just spoke to JRDG. Criterion is a linestage. a Phono section will be introduced next year in a separate chassis.
On the subject of size and color of characters on the display. . . the display is a fluorescent panel with 32x320 pixels. All chars are generate via software. numerics will be larger than on Capri. As fluorescent display generates a relatively broad spectrum, JRDG has selected a set of filtering jells that tune the output to a broad-spectrum very-light-quasi-white-blue, which should be usable even with most color distrophies. Brightness will be adjustable; display can be set to turn itself off after 5 secs, or even stay off indefinitely.
G. |
Someone mentioned it would have a phono.....Was that meaning a input, or a on board amplification section.... |
The Criterion will show a balance reading. The Criterion's remote will be very different from Rowland's prior minimalist remotes. It still won't be a 100-button style, but it'll provide a lot more flexibility. Unfortunately, I don't think it's on any site yet where you can see it. I saw one in his shop a few months back, but that was too long ago for me to provide any detail. (Darn, I should have taken a picture).
I understand your point of view towards controls, but I'm in the other camp. I like simple and minimalist, orieted toward an owner/user.
Dave |
As for the Capri (I have to ask Jeff again about this) you still cannot display the balance situation. My hands have not touched the Criterion, but it appears that Jeff employed the slightly larger M&Ms. Then there is yet another element rapidly changing in video and not seeing new technologies in audio. Connectivity. Today, the traditional XLR and RCA could just as well be replaced with something smaller in size and also with better performance as well as the ease of use. I hope new standards will be implemented in the near future - a market wide benefit to all. There is an enormous amount of new technology in connectors today... By now we should all be used to illuminated switches, as well as illuminated remotes, but how many can you list? BTW, what is the Criterion remote look like? The Cardas implementation by JRDG is clearly a winner and I hope more brands would use this solution. In any case, the Criterion today looks just lovely. |
Audiofil, you have a point about buttons on JRDG. . . they are a little to small for me as well. . . in particular, the on/standby power switch on the 312 amp is a tiny round thing. . . flush with the front plate. . . I always hunt around with my fingers before finding it. On the other hand, I thought buttons and volume knobs on Capri and Criterion to be no problem at all. G. |
I agree that the Rowland product is somewhat tamed and my comment pertaining to fashion was a general one addressed to the marketplace as a whole.
Then again, if you go for the right feel, the switches on the JRDG are in my view too small and oddly shaped for comfortable pressure to be found (here imagine what fun would it be to have them in different colors, just as large like the ones Tandberg once used on the 910!) I think as B&O lost its design factor appeal by having employed an outside of the industry stylist a good number of high end products are still just an engineering vision turned reality without the involvement of the right and talented industrial designer. Please take note that I am not addressing this to any specific brand. To comment Dave's reply, I differ here and I am a strong advocate of sharing the music system as an appliance with all others. Appliances are however best when they are good, robust in performance, reliable, beautiful and intuitive to operate by all. |
Those reading Audiofil's post may mistakenly believe that the Jeff Rowland Design Groups are radically designed. In my view their physical appearance is very conservative, giving the feeling of understated quality. The blue lights for the buttons are very small and the display can be muted on devices like the Capri and Continuum. The engineering sample of the Critereon was similarly understated.
Whether the Critereon will ultimately allow users to customize their displays, I have no answer. The USB allowing firmware update would make that a possibility. All I need is Phono, Digital 1 and Digital 2 and maybe Tape in the future, we'll see. Lacking that a simple 1, 2, 3, 4, as on my Continuum 500, will suffice. I really have no trouble remembering what's what and don't let anyone else use my rig without supervision.
BTW, my Playback Designs MPS-5 has a large, red LED display and some complain about that. I mute it when not in use, but there's no satisfying everyone. There'll always be someone bitching about something. I just make sound my first priority and follow that cue.
Dave |
Thank you Audiofil, except for the relative insensitivity to eye-candy, blindness is hardly a disability for an audiophile. . . more of a persistent annoyance, which can be circumvented to a reasonable extent by bits of added shrinkwrap on positive wire leads (thank you Cardas!) and a few written notes about remote control and component layouts.
I agree completely about the rigidity of display ergonomics and related input/output labelling. If I recall correctly -- and I may be wrong -- Criterion lets you assign meaningful text label on the display to connected devices. As for display color, the Criterion at RMAF had only an engineering level display with a temporary color. Criterion uses a series of filter jells to tune display color. Therefore it may be possible -- at least in principle -- to ask Jeff Rowland to install color filter tuned to the requirements of a particular user as a special order.
In some bright and wonderful future, I would like to see all system components able to communicate with and being remotely controlled by an external Mac/Linux/Windows computer via a platform independent web or Web 2.0 interface. . . at which point current international standards can be applied for developing highly usable/accessible control environments compatible with all audiophiles, including those of us with certain sensorial/motor/cognitive inconveniences/disabilities. See the World Web Consortium's Web Accessibility Initiative technical guidelines at:
http://www.w3.org/WAI/guid-tech.html |
Guido, I am sorry to hear, or rather read about your handicap! You are most likely correct about the possibility of modifying via firmware. Dave, that's exactly the other issue of not being able to assign custom names to sources in the Capri situation. In today's world one should also be able to pick a color of choice for all LEDs in a given device. I spent much time discussing this with Larry at Magnum, but the market trend said blue and the nights of music suddenly turned into a fiesta of lights-into your face. In my humble view too much attention is given to radical styling and submission to fashion, and still a lot of work remains in the ergonomics for most brands. |
The Capri is easier to read than the prototype Critereon display, by a long shot. The buttons light, so I don't really see much need for a display if you remember which buttons are which inputs. These are both functionally pretty simple devices, so I wouldn't get too hung up about the display, but that's just me.
Dave |
Hi Audiofil, I do appreciate your quandry. . . as I am totally blind I can't see even the large display of the Capri. The Criterion display is a pixel map display and the firmware can be updated via a USB port. I will ask JRDG if large characters can be generated. . . or if the firmware can be modified in the future to do that. . . But I have gotten used operating equipment without looking at the display, and it has been only a minor inconvenience this far. Guido |
I was not able to read all posting, so I apologize if this is redundant. One fairly practical design element that is often so annoying in other brands and components and used only by few other manufacturers is the dot matrix display. It is curious to often see equipment addressed to obviously the both financially and age...aged markets with rather invisible data displays from most rational system placement locations. Perhaps acoustically unwarranted, but I will not bring the P05 home to my -4.5 diopters unless they do something with it.....So do I part with my still unpacked silver Capri and go for the Criterion? |
Another way to answer, is that the OPA1632 is just a component. . . the sound of a pre depends on much more than the chips used in it.. . . or in other words. . . "it's all in the handle". G. |
Kawika, my answer is "Yes; no; and definitely. . . may be!" A classic "non answer". . . the operative word is "can" as you say in your own question. The Burr Brown OPA1632 is apparently an extremely low noise, low distortion, and very high bandwidth differentially balanced op amp from TI Burr Brown. JRDG used it for the 1st time in the minimalistic Capri pre, which I do prefer over my own ARC Ref 3. . . as you can read in several threads where I wax poetic about Capri. I hope that eventually I will have the opportunity of comparing a fully broken in production level Criterion with the Capri and with ref 3. . . and derive some personal opinions. What I heard from Criterion was very promising. . . but it had engineering level boards and was running on AC. |
Recent communications provide that the software issue for the battery power supply control function is finished. Not aware if there are more programming issues, but Jeff says Criterion will be shipping before year end. Dave or Guido, can you tell me a bit more about the quality and performance of these op amps Jeff is using in his pre-amps? Has op amp technology gotten so good that it can compete with a Class "A" circuit using premium parts? |
no offense taken Kawika, I really shouldn't throw stones myself. I was introduced to the ARC and Rowland Sound many years ago by Angie, the owner of American Sound in Toronto. . . only after mistakingly referring to her as the "sweet thing" telephone receptionist with one of her horrified staffers. . . and amazingly, Angie still talks to me years after my gaffe!
Returning to the main topic, I have secret hope that firmware will be complete before the end of December, but as a former sofware developer myself, I know that programmers think of themselves as artists first and foremost, for whom a 'deadline' is only an obscure entry in the English dictionary to which they simply do not relate. |
Everyone knew what you're talking about and there's no "front desk chickie" at JRDG is our point in response. |
Did I offend someone? I come from a Pilot background and no offense was inteneded whilst referering to the nice lady answering the phone at JRDG. While comming up the ranks we always referred to the pretty young lady answering phones as the airport receptionist as the "Front Desk Chickie" Just in case you truely had no clue what I was talking about! |
Kawika, I do not recall anyone by the name of Chicke at JRDG. the nice lady who usually answers the phone at JRDG is Kelly, who is an excellent business manager, while Jeff drives engineering and strategy. G. |
That "desk chickie" was probably Jeff's wife, OR one of the production assemblers. No one there just answers the phone, so your report is probably accurate.
Chassis lay in wait for the boards and software. I've seen them myself, months ago. The big unknown is software development. Has anyone here ever depended on a software engineer to finish something on time??? Raise your hands... so my prediction is two to six months. Jeff's not really in control regarding this issue.
Dave |
I spoke with the front desk Chickie a few weeks ago about the Criterion. All she knew was that the final production circuit boards had been ordered by Jeff. |
Hi Kawika, as far as I know all the hardware is ready and there are a few dozen Criterions almost ready to be shipped. . . control firmware is expected to be completed by year end. . . but, have you ever dealt with software developers? There is always one more module to complete, one more bug to remove, one more test configuration to run. I'll keep you posted. G. |
Guido, are we going to see it before year end? I hate to keep asking Jeff every month about it, but we all thought it was just months away from production after seeing it at Jeff's CES exhibit...........Mine's been bought and oapid for from my dealer for 7 months! |
Just learned a couple more bits of info about the Criterion at RMAF. . . the device was an engineering model whose internals are still a little away from final production. For one thing it does not have final ceramic multi-layered boards, but it uses downlevel engineering development boards; According to Jeff Rowland, even under AC, the final production version should sound even better than what we heard in Denver.
The display is a prototype as well. . . final production will look somewhat different, should be brighter and should have crisper color. G. |
Here are some more post RMAF notes. . .
Soundings suite top flight system consisted of Vienna Muzick, JRDG 312, JRDG Criterion running on AC (that probably just reached 100 hrs mark by end of show(, brand
spanking new Marantz SA7S1 player with 50 hrs break in by end of show alternated with Dave's well broken in Playback Designs MPS-5.
We tested initially the Marantz SA7S1 in the Soundings store before taking it to the RMAF suite using a well broken in Capri linestage: it was remarkable being still fresh out of the box with
some initial raggedness and congestion that already seemed to abate significantly by end of show on Sunday afternoon. Yet, even on Sunday afternoon I easily preferred MPS-5
for ease, extension, staging, imaging, harmonic content. The entire system in suite 505 on Sat and Sun was simply remarkable when using MPS5.
I expected that initially the JRDG Criterion in 505 would
impart a cold/ragged/congested signature as it was so new and running on AC. . . it definitely did not do that. . . overall there was magnificent extension,
headroom, musicality and clarity which kept increasing throughout the show, particularly when we used my AudioQuest Sky XLR IC between MPS-5 and Criterion.
Spoke to the developer of Criterion control software. . . battery PS control modules should be operational by year end.
Apparently JRDG will not rely on consumer grade NiMH, but may equip Criterion with industrial grade NiMH D cells--probably Saft, which have much greater reliability and durability. He said that he has not yet heard Criterion on batteries but his experience is that electronics on
DC batteries always sounds significantly better than on AC, no matter what line conditioning is being employed on AC.
We did briefly replace Criterion with a brand new Capri out of the box and fresh from the factory. Predictably Criterion was significantly more fleshed out, bolder, grander. . . the comparison however does not mean much as Criterion had perhaps 60 hours on it and Capri had 0 (zero). A meaningful comparison will eventually need to be made with 2 fully broken in units, and with Criterion running on batteries.
Overall, it is difficult to determine where the excellent sound in suite 505 was coming from: Vienna Acoustics Die Muzick, JRDG 312, Criterion, MPS-5, Marantz SA7S1, or the 8 hours that Soundings and Sumiko spent setting up the speakers in the room. . . likely it was a combination of all of them. In the end, while there were several rooms that I found quite enjoyable, Soundings suite 505 was one of my very few most favorite places, together with the Bel Canto / TAD suite in 585, the Synergistic Research in Longs Peak, and to an extent the TEAC Esoteric Room in 445. |
Remember when you compare hiss, you have to do it at the same gain. Some pre-amps don't have as much gain as others, so when you compare their hiss at full volume it may not be apples to apples.
I didn't know if the PFC's conversion to DC might reduce hiss. Apparently not.
Dave |
