Jeff Rowland preamps


I currently have the following; Synergy IIi, Rowland 501, 2 x PFC and read with interest here that the new Capri has received positive feedback. Has anyone here compared this with the Synergy IIi which has now been discontinued in terms of sonic performance. With new technology introduced I assume the Jeff Rowland has taken the performance for his preamp upwards. I'll have to ignore the flagship Criterion as this is wayyyy out of my budget.
dtanclim
Thank you Cyrus, isn't the little darling wonderful? The more I use the Capri the more I love it. Of course Capri is very sensitive to power cords. . . I have preferred the Shunyata Anaconda Helix Alpha this far, compared to PAD Anniversary and Cardas Golden Ref-- because of harmonic integrity an overall linearity. . . but I will be trying a few more PCS in the not very distant future.
Of course, Capri won't be ideal for everyone. . . it's not for those who seek the classic midrange 'glow' of tubes, nor for those who are questing for the ultimate ironfisted energy of some SS. Yet to me, it makes Music the way I like it. G.
Guido, since it appears that you have good communication with Jeff Rowland, has anything been done or is planned to fix the balance display situation?
I really like the Capri, I still have a second silver unpacked unit, but as hard it is to disagree with general positive feedbacks, I am still perplexed with the above very serious miss.
Audiofil, I don't understand why you think that the lack of a balance read out is such a "serious miss." Yes, it when be convenient when setting the balance in initial setup, but why would you ever touch it again after it's set? I actually set my balance with speaker placement and never move the pre-amp off center, but I can understand why some might use the balance control, but only once.

Maybe I'm missing something.

Dave
Audiofil, I understand your pain. You are correct in that lack of visual feedback on left/right balance on Capri may be somewhat annoying for some. The limitations are as I explained elsewhere, historical. while the signal-sensitive circuits of the Capri are state of the art, for cost control reasons, The Capri's control circuits are exploiting legacy designs/hardware components used by JRDG since the early '90s, including the seven-segment numeric display. Future designs are likely to include a more sophisticated display and firmware capabilities. Currently, the only thing one can do on Capri is to turn the volume down to 0, select an unused input, then press the pause button for 5 seconds to reset the firmware.

From a purely personal point of view, most amusingly, anything that JRDG does with more elaborate visual I/Os in the future. . . will not yield any better usability for me. G.
Dcstep, for a number of reasons. When inadvertently pressing balance on the remote, it will require a reset, a fairly easy method, but one that must be remembered. The other problem is system calibration and back value setting, which in this case is simply impossible. I fix would be in order. From another point of view it raises a question why even have balance in this unit in an unfinished form?