The Rowland was, I believe, a 500 series. (301"s?) It went from Atlanta in my car to my home after audition where the previous owner claimed he had owned it and it had been in his system for 2 years. Definitely broken in. It had the same sonic signature as the Bel Canto 500 References that I had such high hopes for.
The highs on all of these amps did have the "unbroken in" sound of limited extension, chunky mids. It was the upper mid distortion that drove me crazy, sort of like original cd players had. 4-12 khz was just a mess. Resolution, yes, due to a really good noise floor, but a harsh and not so musical sound. Maybe I'm not being fair, since I did not own any of them long enough to "tune" cables to their particular needs, but I didn't hear anything promising me that it would be worth the time and money.
It's for sure that technology has progressed way beyond the days when everyone used ICE stuff (and it all sounded the same). I remain curious and it still amazes me that SS amps of any sort work as well as they do (and I've owned a lot of them).
However, I just turned 60 and settled into a Mac 275. I have owned so many amps, etc. that I'm just going to listen to music for a change.
