Old Jeff rowland Model 7 monos
- Thread starter MCLSOUND
- Start date
I had a brief time with a 5, which I think was the stereo version of the 7s, pure class A and great sounding amps. I would consider them for driving difficult loads with excellent sonics.
The Jeff Rowland model 7 had three versions, and each sounded different. The first one was unbalanced and, although less detailed and fast then the next generations, had a typical coloration that could sound very nice. Later versions were more neutral. I had some special consideration for the mk3, that paired with the matching Coherence One series 2 could make a great system.driving a pair of IRS Beta speakers. The Rowland 7s were full bodied and, with a powerful bass, but by modern standards were not very articulated in the lower frequencies. They also sounded excellent with electrostatics, such as Soundlabs. The model 5, a lower power stereo version of the 7s was one of best sounding solid state amplifiers to drive the Quad ESL63s. BTW, as far as I know no Rowland amplifier was class A.
I have used a pair of Rowland M7 monos from 1997 to about 2 or 3 years ago. They were the very latest quasi balanced model with XLR connectors and updated with the trans-impedance module. If I remember correctly, they deliver about 170A of peak current. I have used them to power Maggies IIIAs and Vienna Mahler V1.5 speakers. M7 deliver incredible authority, and are silky smooth. Compared to today's Rowland models though, they have less harmonic resolution and transparency from top to bottom, and their transient delivery is somewhat slower. Furthermore, in spite of their overall smoothness, they do not control mid treble intermodulation quite as well as newer designs, and their bass is powerful but somewhat more sluggish and 'romantic' than it is articulate. G.
Last edited:
If IIRC, didn't the Rowland 5 or 7 amplifier also come in a version with a battery power supply? Not that I thought the battery was better; different definitely.
Myles,
No, they did not . Only later the new series, including the M8 and M9, used batteries. I owned a M8 for a short time, but not the version with batteries.
OK maybe the 8s were what I heard in a fellow reviewers system with or w/o battery pack
I have always enjoyed the sound of older Krells (FPB), Forte 4 (50 watts Class A). I also have heard ML33H recently...and it made me wonder about the Forte 4 which i have not heard in 20 years. I feel like i could have made a similar comment about the ML33H in terms of the refinement in the mid treble...i was expecting 'blow away' refinement and while it was excellent and a well balanced amp, i was surprised i did not find it as utterly grain free as i was expecting. my first reaction was to say 'it is showing its age'...which, for someone who owns/owned a lot of older equipment, was a surprise to me.
I am decidedly not convinced newer is always better...but i will say having heard some of the latest generation amps (Krell Evo One, Gryphon Colosseum) that would have competed against the ML33H, they have managed to create even finer treble in some of these Class A/high powered amps.
Similar threads
