Rowland Synergy IIi, Cadence and BPS-1

My listening sessions usually last for about a maximum of 3.5 hrs.This is both with the power plug and unplugged. I think Rowland said if you run the bps totally off the battery (ie unpluged), you should be at least be able to play it for 2 hrs or it is time to change the battery. I recently had a technician change all the batteries in my unit and it cost me about $260. My unit had 4 batteries. The single chassis may have different type or number of batteries.

I have a synergy , cadence and bps. There is apparently more than one version of the bps. There is a one chassis unit or a two chassis unit. I have a two chassis unit which consist of a charger block and a battery unit. The connection of the synery pre amp remains the same. The bps connects to the top unit of the synergy where you would normally plug in the cadence. I was told to disconnect the power cord to the synergy. There is a outlet on the bps where you would plug in the cadence. The cable appears to be the same as the one that connects the two units of the synergy (does the bps not come with the proper cables?) You could e mail rowlands and they will confirm it with you.

There are three ways you can operate the bps. There is a power button on the battery unit. You can run the synergy with the power cord on the bps, with the power button off, with the power button on and with the power button on and the power cord pulled off the wall outlet. It sounds alot better with the power cord pulled off. It sound cleaner, more natural, with more detail and greater dynamics. I noticed this with both vinyl and digital. If you are going to listen to your system seriously, this is the only way to go. As a side note, I had to send the charger unit back to Rowlands for repair. It kept on overheating and shutting down. Also, you should check if the battery needs to be changed or not.

Sorry to hear about your problems. I bought my bps used and never received a manual with it. With my unit only the green light is on. The batteries in my unit were almost dead when i bought it. It would play for 1/2 hr before 1 would lose a channel. There are 4 batteries in my bps with 2 batteries powering each channel. The technician who changed my batteries said that 2 of them where in really bad shape and the other 2 were ok. Thus it seems strange that your unit won't even switch to the battery mode. Did the seller change the batteries himself? If so, did he do it properly? Your best bet is to contact Rowlands directly.