I owned a Rowland Concentra I for many years, and it was outstanding. Some caveats, though:
They run hot and are always on (no on/off switch).
According to some reliable sources here in Europe (where I now live), certain internal parts are sealed so that some capacitors cannot be replaced, and Rowland is unwilling to help independent technicians.
In other words, the user would be forced to send the unit to Rowland for the replacement of parts that would otherwise not be very expensive to replace. And remember, some of these amps are now drawing close to being 20 years old, and capacitors do degrade.
I have also heard other not-so-flattering things about their aftermarket support.
Again, I loved the Concentra, but given what I’ve now learned about their support, coupled with the difficulty of using other than authorized repair centers, I'm not sure that I would consider another.
They run hot and are always on (no on/off switch).
According to some reliable sources here in Europe (where I now live), certain internal parts are sealed so that some capacitors cannot be replaced, and Rowland is unwilling to help independent technicians.
In other words, the user would be forced to send the unit to Rowland for the replacement of parts that would otherwise not be very expensive to replace. And remember, some of these amps are now drawing close to being 20 years old, and capacitors do degrade.
I have also heard other not-so-flattering things about their aftermarket support.
Again, I loved the Concentra, but given what I’ve now learned about their support, coupled with the difficulty of using other than authorized repair centers, I'm not sure that I would consider another.