It's it too late to buy a Jeff Rowland Synergy 2i now?

M

MM622

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Jan 26, 2015
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I’m using Avalon Opus Ceramique speaker, many people say Jeff Rowland is perfect match with Avalon speaker but I never try. I’m thinking to get a JR pre-amp, but brand new Corus and Criterion are too expensive, 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] hand Corus and Criterion is hard to get.May I know if Synergy 2i sonic characteristics is very close to Corus and Criterion?If I can get a good price, is it too late to buy agood condition Synergy 2i now (around USD 3500)? Also does it match with my power-amp Electrocompaniet AW-180? THX.

My present quid equipment:
Esoteric K-03X (IC: Mundorf Gold Silver XLR)
Electrocompaniet EC-4.8 (IC: Inakustik NF-1603 XLR)
 Electrocompaniet AW-180 Mono-Block
Avalon Opus Ceramique (SC: Inakustik LS-1603)
Audience aR6-TSS Power Conditioner
Furutech GTX-D (R) Receptacles
 
Yes, Rowland gear works very well with Avalon speakers... So much so that Lucien Pichette, who used to be at Avalon, now is the director Marketing/Sales with Rowland.

You are correct that Corus is quite expensive... But instead of getting a used 15 or 20 years old Rowland design like Synergy II, why not get a new Rowland Capri S2 preamp? I have heard it at RMAF, and it is quite spectacular... And just slightly warmer than Corus. Price in US is approximately $4K new.... Capri S2 also has a slot for a small optional DAC card or for a phono card.


Regards, Guido
 
As a data point, I sold a Synergy IIi last Sept for $2600 and it was mint. I also had a Capri S1 I sold shortly thereafter and unless the S2 is worlds better Id take a Synergy over a Capri any day of the week. its much more sophisticated in design, execution and SQ.
 
Actually yes, Capri S2 sounds quite different from the original Capri. Before upgrading to Criterion, I had the original Capri in my system for about 15 months... Lovely linestage, but... The original had a bass that was accurate but a little blanched. Furthermore, the treble of the original fell slightly short of removing intermodulation... There were very slight traces of hardness in high string passages.

Capri S2 has removed all these flaws, has enhanced its harmonic exposure as well as staging and imaging, and is actually very subtly warm. Internally, the circuit at the S2's core has been redesigned by Thomas Holm and features new component parts.

Just as an aside, the Capri S2's circuit, display, and volume control are also used in the Rowland Continuum S2 integrated amp. See here is a link to Roy Gregory's review of Continuum S2:

http://www.theaudiobeat.com/equipment/jeff_rowland_continuum_s2.htm

Regards, Guido
 
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