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Jeff Rowlands Amp and Dac vs. VAC amp and DAC

Hello, I am new to this forum but I have a question. I am trying to pair an amp + DAC with my Wilson Sabrinas. I have listened to Jeff Rowlands integrated with the Aeris DAC. And the VAC Sigma integrated with the Aeris DAC. Price is a factor and so is space. Does the 625 need a pre-amp? Any suggestions or thoughts? 
rinpoche
guidocorona
4,114 posts
 

Hi Rinpoche, here are some pointers about wire products with Rowland gear.


Jeff Rowland in his factory's demo system uses almost exclusively Cardas Clear and Clear Beyond, as well as Nordost Odin II. Internally, all Rowland products are wired with Cardas wires. I have heard Jeff's system connected with Cardas wires and it was amazing.


Nordost wires are incredibly expensive, thus unless you have an uber-generous budget, you will likely not consider them.


In my own system, with a variety of Rowland components, over the last 18 years, I have had best results with:


Nordost Valhalla II -- Not the original Valhalla, which sounds thin, but the 2nd iteration, which is still marvellously extended, but is also harmonically rich throughout the audible range. But once again, the problem with Valhalla II is the same as with Odin... The cost of ownership is very high.


* A variety of Shunyata wires... Helix, CX, and the original Zitron Anaconda. Absolutely phenomenal wires... I have not heard the very latest iteration, but have been told that the newest middle-priced Z-tron Cobra might exceed the performance of all previous Anacondas.


If you were seeking wires that are even more moderately priced, I have found the Furutech Evo II to be exceptional price performers, and some of the Furutech bulk wires to be even a little better than EVO II. Furutech wires can be ordered and custom-terminated by Elite Audio. You can contact Scott Markwell at Elite...


Elite Audio Video Distribution
P.O. Box 93896
Los Angeles, CA 90093
Phone: (323) 466-9694, x.22
email address: scot.markwell@themusic.com
web address: http://www.eliteavdist.com


 

  Having said all of the above,  until your M625 stabilizes, any audition of wires will yield unreliable results... They will emphasize or overcompensate any temporary performance anomalies of M625 S2. Only after equipment is stable, auditioning wires is a useful exercise.


Saluti,    



 

almarg's avatar
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almarg
8,673 posts
 
Excellent inputs from Guido, as usual. Some additional comments:

Many Nordost and Cardas wires are often thought of as having intrinsic sonic characters that are in opposite parts of the spectrum, with some audiophiles being of the opinion that Cardas tends in the direction of excessive warmth, and some audiophiles being of the opinion that Nordost tends in the direction of a colder and more clinical sound. Of course, different models within each product line will differ in those and other respects, as Guido noted in the case of the Valhalla and Valhalla II.

My main point in responding, though, is to point out that with the exception of the Cardas Clear and Clear Beyond speaker cables, what the Cardas, Nordost, and Furutech cables Guido mentioned all have in common (including the Cardas Clear interconnect) is very low capacitance (between 8 and 20 pf per foot in all cases). Which would seem to say that if other cables are considered, preference should be given to those having similarly low capacitance.

Unfortunately, though, many and probably most manufacturers do not provide capacitance specs for their cables on their websites (Cardas, Nordost, and Furutech happening to be among a small number of notable exceptions). But in those other cases perhaps an email to the manufacturer would unearth that information.

On the other hand, in the case of the Cardas Clear and Clear Beyond speaker cables (but not the Clear interconnect), capacitance is very high (278 and 446 pf/foot respectively). Presumably that is a consequence of those cables having been designed to provide extremely low inductance. The impedance of the Sabrina speaker rises to relatively high values (around 10 ohms or so) in the upper treble region, which is where inductance primarily matters, and that kind of impedance characteristic makes having low cable inductance relatively unimportant. So my instinct would be to avoid those particular speaker cables in this case.

BTW, here is a link to a very nicely written review of the Furutech cables which Guido did a while back:

http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue45/furutech.htm

Best regards,
-- Al

mapman's avatar
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mapman
15,679 posts
 

Wires are often a potshot even for the best informed.


My advice is buy in a manner that enables you to experiment without taking a loss each time you might want to change.    There are some vendors who offer generous return and exchange programs I hear. 

Myself, I tend to always buy wires used and not overpay so I can then resell and try others as needed.

My other suggestion is do not assume cost indicates performance or best sound with wires.   There may be some correlation but certainly no guarantee.  I'd find something less expensive and suitable first and then experiment with others from there if needed but avoid the trap of paying a lot for new wires and then taking a financial beating if you decide they are not for you.

inna
5,245 posts
 
A few thoughts. If the system sounds good enough now, there is no need to change anything, certainly not untill the question of adding preamp or upgrading speakers is answered. At this level I would not mix brands of interconnects and speaker cables unless I wanted to experiment with hundreds of brands. The fact that Rowland is wired with Cardas and Wilson with Transparent means exactly nothing from audiophile perspective. This is a digital source transistor based system, I would think that it needed some 'tubes' in the chain, that's neutral enough but full bodied cables that would bring out colour and texture, as opposed to coloration and additional digital artifacts.
Are we talking about XLR balanced or RCA cables, by the way? If balanced, it's easier and less expensive.
rinpoche OP
152 posts
 
There are some used Audioquest Wel and Blue Yonder on line as well as Nordost Valhalla (not sure which ones, maybe II?). Right now my dealer was kind enough to lend me Transparent until she finds something used that would be right. I got the demo amp so it has some hours logged on it already. And I am doing my best to listen as much as possible. Thanks for the informed advice. R
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