Which Solid State Amplifier is Making you Happy?

Glai, could you please expand on how the Pass X250.5 bettered the Rowland 201s?

I never heard of a 1000W per channel H2O power amp. Is there a new model I do not know about?

The velvety golden glow of my Rowland 7M monoblocks makes me purr with contentment. . . except for that not so fine day when the nail of my left thumb lost an unfair game of 'shock absorber' under one of the cooling fins of the 140 pounds behemoth. That was when I discovered that, for some odd reason Aluminum seems to have been created harder than nail and flesh.
One year later, the nail fully regrown and nicely healed, I went back to purring with blissful contentment.

Fplanner, which Rowland did you compare against the McCormac?

FPlanner, I am not surprised about your Rowland 501 findings. I heard the 201 and found it it delicate but slightly surfacy.

Thank you Rlawry, unfortunately anonymous comparisons are not even worth the weight of the electrons used to display them on a computer screen.

Rlawry, which SS and tube sacred cows has your Emerald put to shame? Do give us details.

Vince, I am trying. . . closest I've been able to arrange is to be in Fresno on Sept 6th and 7th. . . but I haven't lost all hope yet! Guido

Brian, specs for the JRDG 8T at:
http://jeffrowland.com/ClassicSpecs.htm#M8
show a damping factor of 100. This suggests that this amp may not be ideal for driving speakers with very low impedance. If you like as I do the special sound of Jeff Rowland amplifiers, you may have a look at the model 312, JRDG's current flagship. It has a damping factor of 1000 and an output voltage of 125Ohms. Yet, it is to my ears one of the most musical devices I have ever heard. . . plus the usual audiophilic musts of revealing, harmonic complexity, macro/micro dynamics, extension, staging, imaging. You can read a semi-technical sidebar I have just published on this device on the December 2008 issue of The Absolute Sound on page 80, part of my review of the Vienna Mahler speakers. Guido