Jeff Rowland 302 or Conrad Johnson Premier 350


I am thinking of buying a high powered amp and I have shortlisted the JR 302 and the CJ P350. Which is better overall? Would appreciate all comments.
thf
Thf:

In my opinion, the Lamms hybrids are very competitive with other top-shelf solid-state amps, the downsides being a slightly dark character that requires a bit of system matching or tube rolling, they produce a lot of heat, and I think they are ugly. They are extremely well-made and Lamm has a reputation for supporting its products. I can only guess how they sound when partnered with your ARC Reference preamp (probably pretty good -- the ARC Reference preamps are reputed to be sunny and open sounding). A final comment about the Lamms: while they are very good, my understanding is that both Lamm's hybrid and tube amps are a bit overrated, and that the honey of the Lamm line is Vladimir's $14K preamp.

I do not know about the availability of these products where you live in Asia, but if you are opening up your list of contenders, I would mention the CAT JL-2 stereo or JL-3 mono tube amps. They are incredibly well-built, will man-handle any solid-state amp you are likely to consider and would likely be exquisite with Extremas. But if your choice is limited to the Rowland, the c-j, and the Lamms, I would go with Rowland -- his stuff sounds and looks really good, it won't break, and if it does break, Rowland will likely be around to fix it (PS - I use a Rowland Coherence II preamp and Cadence phono stage in my main system, and used to own Rowland Model 6 monos w/ batteries that worked really well with an ARC LS-3 solid-state preamp in my second system).
Cytocycle. You said you have heard both the 501's and 302's. Do both possess the ability to drive low impedances in the bass ( ie 3ohms) and play effortless loud. ie for my Vienna Mahlers which are bitches to drive.
Does the 501 have the refinement and dynamics of the 302, or is the 302 in another league.

cheers Shane
Raquel- Thanks a lot for your thoughts which will help me greatly in my buying decision.
Downunder: If you have a resolving system and can afford the 302 get it! but the 501 is a bargain and can drive low impedences (my WP7's dip to 3.4ohm).

The 501's are that much better than the 201's especially for driving low impedances (still pretty amazing and I wouldn't have pick this as a weakness if I hadn't been comparing it to my Lamms!!!) The 501 to 302 is just as big of a leap with twice the powersupply capabilities! The build quality and the cool to the touch is amazing on the rowland amps.

Raquel: I have only once found my Lamms sound the slightest bit dark and that was comparing it to the excellent VTL Sigfrued 400 amp that has a sparkle on top in my opinion! I totally agree that system synergy is everything.. My rowland preamp sounds amazing with my Lamms! (Lamm doesn't make a remote controled preamp!)
Cytocycle. Thanks for this, do the 302's have any isues in running out of steam driving low impedance speakers loud?. My room is reasonable big being 26 by 24.

cheers