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As much fun as mega-music was through the Andra, the speaker was just as wonderful with more intimate fare. Never had my wonderful old green-label first pressing of Van Morrison's Moondance (LP, Warner Bros. WS 1835) sounded so involving as through the Halcro dm58/Andra II combo. The lithe, mellow flute and sax, the warm, brown-toned throb of the bass guitar, and Morrison's ur-soulful voice ascended to the sublime. Paired with the Lamm ML2.1 amps, Oscar Peterson's A Tribute to My Friends (LP, Pablo 2310-902) simply sang. The Andra not only articulated Peterson's dizzying fingerwork and…
As is the case with most of today's best speakers, the midrange that came out of the Andra II was nothing more or less than what was put into it. My weakness for sexy-sounding female singers is of long standing, and the Andra proved a perfect conduit for my fix. Chrissie Hynde's achingly lovely vocal on Moodswings' "State of Independence," from Moodfood (CD, Arista 18619-2), was as luscious and succulent as a ripe peach. Patricia Barber's ultra-cool huskiness on "Ode to Billy Joe," from Café Blue (SACD, Mobile Fidelity UDSACD 2002), was completely intoxicating and spooky-real.
The male…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Dynamic, floorstanding loudspeaker. Drive-units: 1" fabric-dome tweeter, two 6" plastic-cone midrange drivers with 3" voice-coils, two 12" plastic-cone woofers with 4" voice-coils in push/push compound, sealed-box loading. Crossover frequencies: 135Hz, 1.8kHz. Crossover filters: 6dB/octave symmetrical filters at 135Hz with Zobel impedance compensation; 24dB/octave symmetrical filters at 1.8kHz. Frequency range: 17Hz-25kHz. Impedance: 6 ohms average, 4 ohms minimum at 35Hz. Sensitivity: 88.5dB/W/m (91dB in-room). Recommended power: 30W (small room)…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog sources: SOTA Cosmos turntable, Graham 2.2 tonearm, Dynavector DRT XV-1 cartridge; Clearaudio Champion 2 turntable, Unity tonearm, Benz L2 cartridge.
Digital sources: Classé Omega SACD/CD player, Ayre D-1x CD/DVD player.
Preamplification: Manley Labs Steelhead, Jeff Rowland Design Group Cadence phono stages; Jeff Rowland Design Group Synergy IIi line stage; Ayre K-1x, Atma-Sphere MP-3 preamplifiers.
Power amplifiers: Halcro dm58, Lamm ML2.1, Manley Labs 250 Neo-Classic, all monoblocks.
Cables: Phono: Cardas Golden Reference, Hovland…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
For logistical reasons, the samples I measured were different samples from the ones auditioned by Paul Bolin. My estimate of the Andra II's sensitivity was slightly but inconsequentially lower than specified, at 88dB(B)/2.83V/m. This is still a dB or so above the average sensitivity of the speakers I have measured over the past decade, but more important, the EgglestonWorks is a very easy speaker to drive. Fig.1, which shows its electrical impedance magnitude and phase, reveals that it drops below 4 ohms only briefly in the octave between 50 and 100Hz, and that…
I remember having a conversation with an audiophile some time ago about the thorny subject of choosing an amplifier. He was convinced, on the basis of an article he had read in Stereo Review, that all amplifiers of a given power rating sound pretty much the same. Although he was sufficiently well off to buy just about anything on the market, he didn't want to waste his money. He chose the amplifier for his system by going through the Audio Annual Directory Issue, calculating the price:watt ratio for each amplifier that was listed, and then bought the amplifier with the lowest price/watt…
The output section features four individually selected bipolar transistors per phase per channel, totaling 16 transistors overall. A sophisticated temperature-sensing circuit optimizes bias. The Model 2's output stage operates in class-AB rather than class-A. Jeff Rowland believes that a well-designed class-AB design can perform as well as a class-A, without the penalty of high power consumption and heat generation. In common with many high-end amplifiers, the Model 2 has no overall loop feedback.
All amplifiers have transformers in the power supply, and tube amplifiers have transformers…
The Model 2 represented a distinct change from the traditional "Rowland Sound." The top sounded open and extended, while maintaining exceptional freedom from the "electronic" quality that is the bane of solid-state amplifiers. With the right source, like one of the Reference Recordings HDCD releases played through the HDCD-equipped Sonic Frontiers SFD-2 Mk.II, instruments with significant treble energy were reproduced with crispness as well as delicacy.
Throughout the entire range, but especially in the highs, the Model 2 had stunning transparency, providing resolution of detail but…
Sidebar 1: 1995 Review System
Analog fans may consider me a traitor to the Cause, but most of my listening to the Rowland Model 2 was done with digital sources. Because of Rowland's commitment to balanced operation, I wanted to listen to it in the context of other balanced components, and I didn't have on hand any phono preamp with a balanced output. The line-stage preamps I used—both fully balanced—were the Sonic Frontiers SFL-2 and the Balanced Audio Technology VK-5. I did spend a bit of time listening to unbalanced phono (fully updated Linn LP12, Ittok, AudioQuest AQ 7000nsx) through…
1995 Measurements
Following the 1/3-power, one-hour preconditioning test, the Rowland Model 2's heatsinks were very warm, but not hot, to the touch.
The Model 2 measurements here are all for balanced operation, and, unless otherwise specified, the amplifier was in its high-input-impedance mode. In this configuration, the input impedance was 49.4k ohms (it measured 718 ohms in the low-input-impedance mode). Its output impedance was under 0.02 ohms at 20Hz and 1kHz, increasing to a maximum of 0.028 ohms at 20kHz.
The voltage gain of the Model 2 was 26dB into 8 ohms (32dB in…