Best Integrated, period.

Perrew,

Good question.

No, I have never heard any of these.

I have researched some pretty well though and would say both the Rowland and Krell qualify.

"Best" is a meaningless term without some context around it though. Best for what application?

Without even having heard it however, if you need the best high power SS integrated at reasonable cost, I would say the Class D based Rowland unit would certainly qualify and be of interest for many.

Hi Mapman, I agree completely with you there not existing a 'best'. . . . there are too many system dependencies and equally valid user preferences/priorities. Concerning JRDG Continuum, there are 2 variants of the JRDG Continuum integrated. . . between the 250 and the 500, the latter may in many cases yield greater value of the 2, and sound more refined with greater authority. Reason is its use of ASP1000 module and built in PFC circuitry.

The title seems to be offensive, that was not the purpose, so apologies....
Im just trying to find out experiences with the mentioned integrateds. The starting oint is to find a good integrated and build around it. One can assume that a good integrated should be able to mate "fairly well" with a fine turntable and reasonably priced speakers. The Rowland Continuum 500 seems to be a nice unit, although Im not convinced, yet, that it beats the others on the list?

Hi Perrew, as you said, these are all very good units. . . no one unit 'beats' any other one. In the end, you are the only one who can decide what is right for you, based on price, your speakers, your room, and your sonic/musical prefs. G.

although Im not convinced, yet, that it beats the others on the list?
Perrew (Answers)

Describe what someone could say in a discussion thread that would convince you? I suspect the answer will be nothing.

The point being, only you can determine which is best in your system, with your preferences, and with your loudspeakers.

Pick your loudspeakers first. Then, pick an integrated that will properly drive them.

High sensitivity, flat impedance loudspeakers will open up the possibilities to include many tubed integrated amps in addition to solid state and digital amps.

If you prefer conventional dynamic loudspeakers with an impedance curve that has several peaks and dips, then they will likely be driven most effectively with a solid state or digital integrated amplifier that doubles output as impedance is halved.

Of all the "top" integrated amps, none will necessarily beat any other. It's the speaker/amp match that matters, not the component alone.