Rowland 8 Ti hc and Rowland 12


Let's be frank .
Is the 8 better than the 12.
How JR can come up with an amp that would not sound (at least) as musicaly as good..
What is it that is so nice about this 8Tihc that we cannot find in a new 12 or even a 10?
odiomuse
thanks for your confidence angela, but, no, you go ahead. i'll post a follow up. promise.
I don't know nuttin' about the new JRDG gear (just hear say :-), but no personal experience). I only have experience with the old stuff. Sorry, Odiomuse, someone will come along who knows something, I'm sure. I am a fan of the old stuff, tho. Regards,
As far as I know the biggest difference between the 8TiHC and the Model 12, Model 10 is the power supply. The Model 10 and 12 both use ultra-fast switched mode power supplies while the Model 8TiHC uses conventional toroidal power supplies. I am not sure what if anything has changed on the amp board. JRDG over the phone told me that the Model 12 would sound similar (relative term) but better than the 8TiHC in that the Model 12 would be more dynamic and faster. I have not confirmed this by listening so this is purely JRDG marketing speak. – Cheers, Dan
ok, i promised angela i'd do a follow up post, so here goes. i've owned several jrdg amps and pre's. i have a 9- year-old model 8 that's been upgraded to ti status that i still use and love. i've listened to a variety of jeff's relatively new amps using the switch-mode regulated power supply on a variety of speakers and frontends. there's no doubt the new amps (10,12,etc.) maintain the sonic signature of jrdg products. the new amps are also very "fast." to my ears, tho, the 8 and 9's are more musical than the switch-mode models. this is hard to describe but i'll try. the characteristics that first led me to jrdg amps was their mid-range liquidity and complete lack of any fatiguing qualities. they were, and are, in short, more "tube-like" than most ss amps without false bloom or overly ripe euphonics. with the right associated equipment upstream and down, they present a life-like image, with air and palpability some believe remain still in the realm of valves alone. at least that's what i heard and continue to hear with my model 8. the 10's, 12's and 112's continue the jrdg tradition of non-fatiguing sound and "tube-like" midrange, just less so. i've yet to hear one of the new models on any speakers that i'd trade for the combination i already own. i am, i admit, not in the majority of my friends who owned prior ranges of jrdg amps; most have enthusiastically embraced the new designs, thinking them better than all that's come before. but i've done what i've preach, listening intently and drawing my own conclusions. i don't pretend that my views are superior to those of anyone else. they are, indeed, just my views. but i'm neither ashamed nor afraid to make them public, since they derive from honest and extensive obseravtions..
I'm with you cornfed, though my comparison was Model 2 to Model 10. The newer amps are still nice, and definitely more dynamic top-to-bottom and significantly better transparency. But, big but--the older amps are more liquid and pleasing, even if it is more colored compared to the newer amps, and surprising to me, the bass is much more authoritative with the older designs. Could it be because there is no substitute for a beefy power supply when it comes to bass response, as opposed to the high-tech but somewhat effete switch-mode supply of the new amps? Who knows. What I'd really like to see is a new and improved Model 2, who the hell needs all those hundreds of watts of the Model 8's, or the new Models 10 and 12? Give me a musical, liquid **and** transparent 50 to 75 watt amplifier and I'd be a happy camper....
We have (2) fully upgraded model 1's (rated @60 WPC into 8 ohms) mono blocked (240 WPC into 8 ohms) and it is going to be hard to kick them out of the chain. I agree with both Kelly and Dkuipers, these guys are so musical and liquid -it's absolute magic. I guess it depends on what type of music you listen to most, to value these charactertistics.
I have owned the 8tihc for a couple of years and auditioned the 12 with the same speakers I have at home, talons.
thec 8ti to my ears is more powerfull with a stronger bass drive. It does sound more musical to me as well. th 12 may be a bit lighter on its feet. P.s holding a 3 month old while typing is quitec a chalange!
After 25 years in audio and owning several JRDG amps (I use 2 7s, 2 1s and 2 3s in an active triamp config) I can confidently say that although switched mode power supplies can sound "faster", as the say in car terms - "there is no replacement for displacement" - the power supply is everything. Big toroids give you more slam in the bottom and sound much more musical. I tried Linn Klimaxes (switched mode power supplies)in my system and they didnt even come close to the Rowlands. I wouldn't trade them for anything.