Rowland Consummate III Pre amp??


Hi, Has anybody ever heard this pre amp from Jeff Rowland? Thanks, Bob
telescope_trade
Mattimnet, I just spoke to Stuart at Rowland and he said there was a III but it's called a C-3, it was the latest greatest & last upgraded model at the end of production in 1993.
like mattimnet, i'm unaware of there ever being a III designation for the jrdg consummate. the consummate is a 2-chassis pre with a seperate phono stage chassis; all three "boxes" are the same size. the pre/power supply was manufactured from 1990-1993. the phono stage was introduced, i believe, in 1992 and continued as an active product 'til around 1995. i bought a consummate, with phono stage in 1992, and used it in my system for six years. it was mated to a jrdg model 8, which was updated to an 8ti. i still use the amp, tho i'm looking to replace it with boulder or accuphase monblocs. the consummate was modified/upgraded several times. since i know jeff and live less than an hour from his hq., it was easy for me to learn of and have these mods done; if you are looking at buying a consummate, i'd try to determine beforehand when it was made and whether it is equivalent of the "latest" model. when i bought my consummate, i listened almost exclusively to vinyl. it worked and sounded great in my system, particularly because it permitted fully-balanced connections and "throughput" from cartridge to speakers. it was also one of the first remotely-controlled pre's, a real plus in my view. when i bought an accuphase 75 cdp a few years back, i compared the sound of it run through the consummate to a direct connection to the amp. without question, the consummate degraded the output quality of the accuphase cd player. i thus decided to sell the consummate, including the phono stage. (i've since purchased an accuphase dc 330 pre/dac and dp 90 transport, plus a seperate phono/pre.) the consummate was a great preamp of its time. it was as close to "tube-like" as i could find without the hassle of tube gear. (the consummate was a replacement for a top-of-the-line cj in my system.) the remote was neat, but noisy. i think jeff would now admit that the remore function was not optimal. i'd definitely recommend buying a consummate at the right price, particularly if you're partial to vinyl. if you want more info, feel free to send me a private email. good hunting. -kelly
Cornfedboy, Thanks for the input. Since this is a 7-8 yr old pre and you have owned one, and a lot of other pre's, how would you rate it by today's standards? Say...compared to pre's today that cost what?? Sound performance wise, not flexability which it has in spades. Thanks, Bob
Hi, Disregard the last question, I got my answer today! What a beautiful sounding (and looking) preamp. It is a get what you pay for pre. I loved the Rogue 99 (and still do) but this retains the airyness & sweetness of the Rogue but with even greater detail, and the bass is astounding. A keeper! (THANKS FOR THE POST"S GUY"S.) BTW...here is a late e-mail from Rowland (after I talked to them) about a Model 3, Subject: Re: From www.jeffrowland.com Reply Form Date: Fri, 19 Jan 2001 18:28:35 EST From: JRDG@aol.com To: telescopetrader@earthlink.net In a message dated 1/17/01 8:18:16 PM Mountain Standard Time, telescopetrader@earthlink.net writes: << Is there such a thing as a Consummate III ? >> Yes