Jeff Rowland a designer or an integrator?

ack

VIP/Donor & WBF Founding Member
May 6, 2010
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A few years ago, TAS ran a digital-amps issue, and in the included designer interviews Rowland accepted he's not a designer but an integrator. Of those who own his products, and of those who know better, what's the truth behind JRDG products? What is Jeff's background?
 

JackD201

WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
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It could be that Rowland was just being modest. It reminds me of that scene in the Greg Kinnear movie where he plays the guy that invented the automatic wiper. He didn't invent any of the parts but in the end won the case based on the novelty of the utility.
 

DaveyF

Well-Known Member
Jul 31, 2010
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IMHO Jeff's a designer... Perhaps not in the sense of new circuit designs ( But then these days who is?:confused:) But definitely in the way his products are produced, styled and marketed. I absolutely think that my Model 8 is still competitive with the best ss out there today and not just in the looks dept:cool:. Also, a few years ago I had the pleasure of talking with Jeff about his amps and my model especially; he was an absolute wealth of knowledge that, to this neophyte ,seemed to extend into the technical realm.
 

GuidoCorona

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Apr 23, 2010
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I am not familiar with the particular Rowland interview . It is worth pointing out however, that the switch mode amplifiers in question -- digital being a misnomer -- were 1st generation entry level devices, where most designers optimized the behavior of third party large integration power conversion modules through some modifications, but mostly by inserting them in their own particular 1st generation topologies. Some topologies may have simply consisted of providing I/O connectors, while others employed a variety of peripheral devices, from power supplies to I/O line level transformers. Some products were musically satisfying, while other products were somewhat less.
In later years, some manufacturers, like Rowland, and Chapter Audio applied similar switch mode power conversion modules in much more sophisticated designs, ranging in price from $10K to $30K, where these subcomponents yielded much less of their idiosyncratic character to the whole, but where in fact designers used them in context, to achieve a particular -- and usually advanced -- esthetic sonic goal.
Unfortunately Chapter Audio was not present at RMAF last weekend, but Rowland introduced the 625 stereo amplifier, a device that utilizes power factor correction and regulated switch mode power supplies to feed a class A/B topology.
Yet, we can certainly claim, that there is a continuum between integration and design.... but isn't there always?
And in the end.... artistry remains in the musicality of the whole, regardless of technology, topology, level of integration, etc.... Once again, as Igor Stravinsky so aptly said.... "We Do not judge a tree by its roots, but by its fruits."

G.
 

JackD201

WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
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Manila, Philippines

GuidoCorona

Well-Known Member
Apr 23, 2010
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Summerville (SC)
In other words, a component must justify its existance in terms of the musical experience it is capable of producing, then in its reliability and serviceability.

Only after the initial conditions are satisfied, other lesser categories can come into play, such as esthetic appeal, price-performance ratio, etc...

G.
 

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