Rowland 625 versus Audio Research DS450

Thanks Guido. I'll see if I can give the 1000M's a listen. It will be tough being in a small city, but maybe I can make it to RMAF this year...

Although I think many manufacturer's were attracted to the ICE modules because of their low power usage and cost effectiveness, I believe many found it (using ICE) to be a marketing nightmare.

Several companies had difficulty explaining why or how their ICE based amps were different from others, much less explain the price difference. To make matters worse, some audio magazines expressed an almost universal, perhaps irrational dislike for the "Class D" sound. Digital amps became a dirty word in some circles.

Maybe it's just me, but I noticed several manufacturer's seemed to have moved away from stating they use ICE.

This is or was unfortunate, because perhaps ICE could have raised the bar for affordable high power, low cost amps.

On my part, I try to be technology agnostic. In the end, hopefully, the proof is in the pudding or listening.

Optimus, the "negative reviews" on IcEpower are old hat.... they were covering early devices, that in some cases may not have been broken in adequately.

I hope you make it to RMAF.... you will discover that some designers like Stronczer of Bel Canto obtain from their ICEpower-based amplifiers a refinement of sound that comfortably exceeds any reasonable expectations from the particular price point.

Guido

Hi All,

I had the chance to hear the Rowland 625 for a second time, this time at RMAF 2011. I have to say this time I was a little bit disappointed. (The first time at CES 2011, I was wowed. Cannot remember the original setup.)

The Rowland 625 was setup with Thiel 3.7's Speakers, Rowland Aeris Dac (used as both DAC and preamp), and Bryston BDP-1 (Digital Player).

While it didn't sound bad, there seemed to be a "whitish" type high frequency coloration to the sound. There was much less mid-bass, than I would have liked. The overall sound was little bit "hard".

I was thinking that there may have been a few possible causes, assuming I listened correctly.

a) The 3.7's were not broken in yet.
b) The 3.7's sound is much better in a larger room,
giving the bass and mid-bass a chance to bloom.

c) The preamp section of the Corus is better and much
more forgiving than the Aeris DAC.

Any thoughts from others who were at RMAF?

I usually love Rowland and Thiel stuff, so I'm wondering how these hotel setups or demonstrations may effect the sound.

I heard the Bel Canto 500M's with the Joseph Speakers. It sounded pretty darn smooth...

Optimus, in the Rowland room I heard relatively similar things as you did. I am quite familiar with the sound of M625, Corus, and Aeris DAC in favorable setups, and they sound like completely different devices from what I heard at RMAF this year. Part of the issue may have been the speakers that perhaps were not ideal for the electronics, but I suspect the largest problem may have been overdampening of the room.

Conversely, I truly enjoyed greatly the sound of the room where the new Audio Research switch mode DS450M monoblocks were featured.

G.

Guido, good to hear from you! For a while, I was worried that I was suffering from listening fatigue from the show, and hearing things. Yeah... setup seems to be super, super important. Even with the best gear, you can't always beat the room acoustics.

Vienna Acoustics Speakers, which I believe you may own, seem to have a pretty good synergy with Rowland. I think Rowland may have done a few demos with Vienna in the past.

I agree with you on the DS450M. They sounded extremely musical and dynamic. I honestly think we are reaching a point where amps (at a certain level/price point) may not necessarily sound better than the other. They simply sound different.

Just curious, what were your favorites from the RMAF show that really impressed you? (I'll probably try to start a different thread on this subject.)