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The Perfect Speakers for Jeff Rowland Concerto Int

I have seen so many great reviews of Jeff Rowland Concerto Int. on Audiogon and I would like to ask what would be the prefect speaker to go with the Concerto.

Better yet, what would be the perfect system, digital, analog, speakers, cables, etc. based on the Concerto?
polabear119

Showing 2 responses by neilgundel

neilgundel
15 posts
 
On the Rowland site, they say they will not recommend associated equipment, but you can always ask!

I am using the Concerto with JMLab 1027 Be's and it is a very nice combination, using Ayre CD player and audioquest cables (cheetah and volcano). I get the idea that cables might be pretty important with this amp, because the sound is noticeably brighter when I have my power meter connected, which hooks up with 3 feet of wire. Not a lot brighter, but I can tell the difference. By the way I auditioned the Ayre K5 and V5 (the current "e" version preamp & amp) with the Ayre interconnects & the Rowland was considerably better.

Not at all thin or bright - beautifully balanced in my system. If anything, it seems like almost every recording is listenable, no matter how badly recorded. That bothers some people, but it is better than being too "honest".
neilgundel
15 posts
 
>>Neilgundel: could you please specify in which aspects
>>the JRDG Concerto was better than the Ayre K-5xe &
>>V-5xe ?

Fair question. My main interest was actually in the Ayre based on reviews, but my dealer had played the concerto back-to-back with the Ayre - since it sounded better to my ears than the Ayre at the time, I took both home for an extended listen in my system. I used Ayre Signature interconnects between the CD - preamp, and between the preamp & power amp.

The amplifiers couldn't have sounded more different in my system: The Ayre had tons of air, but it didn't sound natural at all to my ears - in either my system or the one at the dealers. However, it was very detailed and extended. But especially in my system, the soundstage was unnatural and it sounded very "transistor-like", especially with acoustic music. I have no doubt that many people would really like this sound.

The concerto didn't really sound like tubes, but was much smoother overall, and the individual instruments had a much more believeable relationship to each other.

It's true that everyone hears differently, so it wouldn't surprise me if you like the Ayre better.
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