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Tag Archives: Jeff Rowland Design Group

Balanced Audio Technology VK-3500 Integrated Amplifier | REVIEW

It’s been twelve or thirteen years since I’ve had Balanced Audio Technology in for review. That previous time, the only real seat time I’ve had with BAT, was with a pair of all-tube separates that […]

Jeff Rowland Design Group Capri S2-SC and Model 125 | REVIEW

The Jeff Rowland Design Group Capri S2-SC preamplifier and Model 125 amplifier are soooooo tiny. How tiny are they? When the boxes arrived at my front door, I said “This can’t be right. These boxes […]

TotalDAC d100 Loudspeakers | REVIEW

In all my years of being an audiophile, of being a high-end audio importer and distributor, of being an audio reviewer, I had never seen a pair of loudspeakers get split up in a shipment […]

Sumiko Amethyst MM Phono Cartridge | REVIEW

This isn’t the first time in the last few months where I had to explain my reasoning behind reviewing a certain component. Take this new Sumiko Amethyst cartridge, a moving-magnet cartridge that retails for a […]

Technics SL-1210GAE and SL-1200G Turntables | REVIEW

  Why do a comparison between the Technics SL-1210GAE and SL-1200G? Everybody “knows” the Technics SL-1210GAE Anniversary turntable, which was just released last year, is better than the Technics SL-1200G. Why? Well, the classic Technics […]

Luminous Audio Technology Arion Mk. II Phono Preamplifier | REVIEW

“Did you ever hear one back in the day?” Tim Stinson of Luminous Audio Technology (website) asked me. He was referring to his Arion phono preamplifier, the original version which created a lot of buzz […]

Jeff Rowland Design Group Continuum S2 Integrated Amplifier | REVIEW

Four hundred watts per channel. The Jeff Rowland Design Group Continuum S2 (website) has four hundred watts per channel. In over forty years of being an audiophile, including the twenty-plus years I’ve been reviewing hi-fi components, I’ve never had that much power at my disposal before. By modern standards, the Continuum S2 isn’t the most powerful power amplifier out there—I can think of a few four-figure monsters turning heads right now. But I’m the guy whose all-time favorite SET had two juicy watts per channel. I’m the guy who followed the vaguely Brit-fi attitude of never needing more than 50 watts per channel, preferably in an integrated amp because English cottages are so tiny, just like one-bedroom apartments in the San Fernando Valley where I spent my journeyman years, and you need all the space you can get. Even now, in 2021, my reference amplifier is just 25 watts per channel, but it’s all gorgeous Class A and can be switched to 100wpc AB if needed, something that rarely happens, to be honest. What am I going to do with four hundred watts per channel? To make things more complicated, the Volti Audio Razz loudspeakers arrived at my house at […]

Nordost QKORE Ground Units and QKORE Wire | REVIEW

I enter the world of grounding, as it pertains to high-end audio, with some trepidation. When the Nordost QKORE products (website) first arrived at my doorstep—the QKORE1, QKORE 3 and QKORE6 Ground Units and quite a few runs of the QKORE Wire with various terminations—I instantly thought, “This is some serious equipment for grounding. Am I up to the challenge?” I’m not completely alien to the science behind grounding. In a past life I had to install Ufer grounds on new construction sites for the computer racks and associated hardware. But other than making sure the grounding lug is tight on the back of my phono preamplifier, I don’t think about grounding a lot these days—I haven’t had to hunt down a nasty ground hum in quite some time. The Nordost QKORE seems like an ambitious, all-out assault on ground hum and other spurious noise, and I started to wonder if I needed all this to combat whatever grounding issues I might discover. Was I walking into a minefield? Is this another controversy in the making that will make me hover over the comments section with my finger poised one steady inch from the delete button? Is the Vinyl Anachronist […]

Rotel A14 Integrated Amplifier | REVIEW

  Why in the world would I want to review the Rotel A14 (website), an integrated amplifier with DAC and phono stage and headphone amplifier all sorts of features for just $1500? What is this, 1985? Am I still in college looking for an optimal amplification match for my Snell Type Js? Look over there, on the racks and around the listening room. I’ve got $10K worth of Rowland over here, and $25K worth of prime Pureaudio amplification over there. I should be set, ready to go, ready to review turntables or speaker cables or something else other than amplification. But when I got the chance to review the Rotel A14, I jumped at the chance. Again, why? Because I love doing reviews on gear from companies I know well, the brands that convinced me to fall head over heels with this hobby so many years ago. If you haven’t noticed, I love telling those stories. I love talking about my hi-fi history. Some guy in an elevator in 1992 who turns out to be Jeff Joseph and 28 years later I finally get to review his speakers. Meeting Colleen Cardas for the first time at CES—I remember meeting her, […]

Now Listen Here “Micro-Show” Wrap-Up | Now Listen Here 2020

The Now Listen Here (a Tenacious Sound company) micro-show listening event was held at the Hyatt House Hotel in King of Prussia, PA. An event location with quick access to main highways, decent shopping, and open restaurants. Which made for easy day-travel to the event and allowed one to find other things to do if audiophilia wasn’t exactly their idea of a good time. As for the space inside the hotel, the NLH event was perfectly distanced away from the main lobby of the hotel on the lower level grounds, with adequate space for sprawling out, access to fresh air, and dedicated facilities. Reporting by Eric Franklin Shook A few days after the show I reached out to Jessica Sherrick of Now Listen Here to ask a few questions and get a few takes on the first ever pandemic micro-show as she distinctly had a bird’s eye view of what was going on (and going down) all weekend. As just a press member, I could tell that the Now Listen Here micro-show was well-attended despite the slow start with Saturday’s early morning rain. Jessica Sherrick tells me that “Sunday was nearly a 100% in attendance from registered show attendees, and […]

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