Rowland M501 versus M201

I heard them both at a HI-FI Shop here in Puerto Rico and the difference consist in the amount of power, but in terms of sonics both are awesome! Much better than Krell, Mark Levinson, Pass, Lamm, and the rest of the Heavy Weights!

I auditioned several discs ranging from Metal to Cool Jazz, Bebop, Pop, Prog Rock, Salsa, Blues, Alt, Fusion Rock, Latin Jazz, Classical, Opera, and eclectic, and they played the discs with the highest resolution and realism yet heard in the others!

I usually like Krell and Levinson for everything (versatility), but these are much more amazing! For instance, I played a CD of the greatest "Sonero" of all time, Ismael Rivera, and his recordings weren't well mastered, and despite all possible sonic shortcomings, his vocals at a Live Performance were so full of body, his timber had more tonal layers which I knew he had in Live Performances but that I never captured in recordings! The Guiro, which is a wooden percussive instrument that you easily can confuse with the Metal one used in Merengue, or the Cuban one which is a bigger one with a fatter/rounder sound with sort of scatting scratchings sounded genuine as if you were hearing it next to your ears! With either the 201 or 501, the sound was authentic and earthly, as if you were in the quietest forest and you heard every single movement by the tiniest insect!

I wish the guy at the sore could have taken my Krell for a trade-in! I wouln't have hesitated! It is like comparing the Wadias with the Meridians, or anything else, the Wadias regardless of price sound better than anything Meridian make, that much of a difference!

Best Regards,

Igor Igoroysky

Thanks Igor. I am going to try to get some tome to demo the M501 and see if there is s difference that I can hear.

The M501's work better with sub 4ohm loads.. it fleshed out the midrange and they were more effortless over the 201 which sounded excellent for the money but neither amp could compete with my Lamm M1.1. My Speakers dip to a 3.6 ohm load.

If you can afford the extra get the 501's and give either one at least 400hrs to break in. The 201's I used had less than 300 hrs by the time I was done so they were still not as smooth. Rowland equipment is fully balanced so you will see a benifit.

Cytocycle, I a new to Lamm. It has a great reputation and I know that Kharma uses it as it's demo equipment for it's speakers. What speaker are you using with the M1.1s? Used 501s are about $5000, used Lamm M1.1 are available for $7500 right now. Close enough to go with these amps.

I was using Wilson Watt Puppy 7's. One thing to keep in mind is that the Lamm's can heat a room up 10 degree in a handful of minutes. The Lamm's are much warmer in the mid's with a little more force and a delicate magic. The top end in reviews was considered dark which I never heard until I listened to the amazing VTL S400 tube amp which made that clear but not something that you would end up focusing on.

The Rowland's are smooth and faster however especially with Wilson's. A Rowland 302 or 301 would be a better comparison as these units use an analog powersupply which adds more texture and detail.

The 501's are still really cool... 10 watts idle, no heat, always warmed up and ready to go... small easy to place...