Rowland Concentra vs. Concentra II

I'll be surprised if any company especially one with the reputation like JRDG, releasing a product like the Concentra II, poorer in overall quality that the previous version.

I participated in the earlier thread which Onhwy61 was refering and did not even bother to reply to the person.
Obviously, the truth is in the listening and you'll see most positive comments on the Concentra some going to the extent that its one of the best Integrated amp's around.

You'll also see positive press from Absolute sound and it was very well rated by them. As far as I understand JRDG is not in the habit of building too much hype around its products nor getting extensive reviews of their products. However, you will still ee a lot of interest and with the recent range of 201, 501 and Concerto amps, prices have become more attractive

I've spent a fair amount of time at my dealer comparing the mega $$$ system of an all MBL monster amp setup and still prefered the Rowlands. I found them comparitively quieter and warmer than MBL although the MBL's possess the brute strength to drive the very inefficient 101E or 111B omni's.

Whilst, awaiting the arrival of my Rowland 201 there was a stage whereby I used the Concentra II to drive my 111B (sensitivity 81db) and they certainly held their own under normal loads. Things only started to come apart with complicated Orchestral, choral and some jazz pieces whereby you could sense the amp could not keep up, the base lost its impact. With standard vocal and instrumental I could not discern too much of a problem.
Of course, the new range of Rowland amp's (501 and 201's) IMO can certainly tame the beast and what I got now is still the Concentra II and 201 in a bi-amp setup. I've had offer to buy over my concentra II but they're here to stay.
Onhwy61, in my haste it seems my reply may have given the impression that you were the owner of the negative comments, no offence intended :-)