Musical integrated and is balanced in all areas. 20 years old and still working great so a testament to build quality. Using it as a preamp into a primaluna dialogue power amp on kt120 as the jr bested my pl prologue premium pre. No hum through speakers and lovely volume steps on control.

The reason for 4 stars. Speaker connectors on back only for y connectors. A separate power amp tube with lower power sound much much better. I believe this pre would work brilliant on any system that is too forward or non musical, and the amp section may work better with new caps as 20 years old😄

This is an amazing integrated amplifier. PURITY is how I would describe it's sound and an uncanny balance between tube and solid state sound (but it's 100% solid state)! If you want to get off the tube vs. solid state merry go round, or if you just want to get an integrated that is truly high end then find one of these used. I have tried so many combinations of preamps, amps, integrateds, and with the Concentra I know that I won't ever need to make a change for as long as it keeps working!

Warmth, transparent and details.

Power

Spent six months to search and finally got this used concentra I. Philips+silverlink+concentra+power source MK II+Jmlab Mini Utopia Warmth, transparent and details.

Detailed and sweet sounding.

Power/ but then there is always the Jeff Rowland Concentra 2. 150Watts

Best Integrated on the market period. Would have to spend 7000.00 and more to beat this sound. This unit just sounds right. This will be the last unit u buy until u are ready to spend more than 7000.00 and more.

built quality

over priced

the built quality is awesome comparedto krell or classe, the sound is musical but colored,it lacks dynamics and the bass is not tight. the sound is trensparent, sound stage and depth are good but can get better for much less (classe)but you can not the same built quality

Similar Products Used:

krell 300i, classe 101, bryston b60

Obvious and remarkable build quality. Fine detail without over emphasis of HF or increased listener fatigue.

Price I guess, but it didn't stop me. My electric bill went up because I can't bear to unplug it. (To those of you unfamiliar, no power switch....it cooks 24/7) Also: IR remote shares exact same freq as Toshiba TV, which could create a problem in mixed A/V environments. Probably not a problem for audiophile use.

Astonishing silky smooth highs without any brittle edges.
Sounded great on several loudspeaker types, but just remarkable with my Audio Physic Tempos. I removed my Transparent Ultra speaker cables at the suggestion of Jeff Rowland, and replaced them with Cardas Golden Cross. I also use a Cardas Golden Cross (EIC) power cable on the mains supply. The Concentra is best suited for non-network cables due to its design. Having heard the JRDG separates (model 2, model 6,) I am confident that none of the clarity and transparency of its big brothers has been lost on the Concentra. Yes Virginia, there IS an audiophile-class integrated. Maybe the $6,000.00 msrp will scare away some folks, but the Concentra is pure Jeff Rowland. Those of you who thought you HAD to use tubes need to hear solid state the Jeff Rowland way.

Similar Products Used:

Audio Research, Bryston, Hafler solid state amps (no other integrateds)

smoothness, accuracy, reasonable power & good-looking, etc.

not yet

I purchased this a couple of months ago and I've listened to it's sound. After all I came to fall into not a sound but a real music! I've never heard a sound as good as ever made by integrated amps.
The strongest merit of Concentra is the smoothness. but there's no loss of resolution & power with wide frequency range. And The Jeff's silver front penal and in-cutted side plates show and an art of cutting skills. That's greart!

Equipment
Speaker : Dynaudio Craft
Source : FMJ23 & marantz cd17d
cable : Kimber KCAG(source), belden w/ WBT

Similar Products Used:

krell 500iL, primare A30.1, A-Research CA-50

Refinement in all areas

I wanted to "downgrade" my McIntosh separates mainly for size; I move a lot and did not want them to get damaged. Wanted to replace them with something smaller and possibly better built (succeeded here). Initially I set my eyes on the Sim Audio Moon I-5 but found the Rowland used for a good price at a reputable dealer, so I bought it (interestingly enough, I called the manufacturer asking them to tell me who owned it, using the serial number (it's very low, in the 100's). They said they had originally sent it to a reviewer for Stereophile who never reviewed it. They said they never saw it again...I actually contacted Stereophile and asked them to put me in touch with the reviewer (who resides in Hawaii), which they did. All he would say is that "it's a sweet piece of gear"....sounds like these reviewers have something funny going on...) Anyway....
I loved my Mac gear (C-15 & MC-300) but I must say this unit is superior in sound reproduction overall. Its sound is very neutral (read as, unfatiguing, pleasant at high frequencies and high volumes, and CLEAN/grain free ALWAYS). It is more revealing, has better imaging and soundstaging, and overall has a more refined presentation. I have heard the Levinson 383 with the same speakers, and believe the Rowland to be superior in terms of musicality, depth of presentation, and "bloom." While beautiful in many ways, the 383 seemed slightly more analytical. In addition to the Rowland I use Aerial model 6's and an SCD-777ES SACD player. The amp is wonderful at loud and soft volume levels, and never loses its temper (refined!).
I honestly feel like this is the 1st piece of gear I have ever owned that I could not best; if in the future I wanted to exchange it I would only do so for more power (don't need it now) or for a different sound altogether based on new preferences, or a system matching component that I felt I had to have (you know the disease). I have great respect for my speakers and CD player, but feel that now they are the weaker links in the chain. This is definitely a two-in-one box product that easily bests many separates. Should you find one used and want an integrated, buy it. For one thing, it will last forever the way it is built. I have not been happier overall with an audio purchase than this one.
By the way, I talked with the manufacturer about cables (I use Transparent) - - they would not endorse Cardas over the phone and stated the below mention is untrue. If anyone thinks they have found a great match please let me know!

Similar Products Used:

Creek 5250, Audio Research Separates, McIntosh separates, Adcom separates

Build-quality is next to none; sonically excellent.

None

I've had this unit for 5 years now and have never had any trouble with it; it is very reliable. It sounds as good today as it did when I first bought it. Sonically it is more refined than the Classe CAP-100 which I really liked. It sounds more tubelike than the Krell, which I found to be a little on the cold and sterile side. I am interested in someday possibly going to a tube integrated amp but this unit is so good I may not bother.

Similar Products Used:

Classe CAP-100 and 150, Krell integrated.

Its good reputation of JRDG at sound , beautiful look , Excellent workmanssship. Almost perfect sound
performance in my system . abundant function ,such as pre-out , equipped two kinds of input and output--XLR, RCA .
The higher range is smooth and no lack in bass , Ultra-transparent in mid range (especially at singing song and string music) . the response speed is good enough for me , such as Guitar.

The price is incredible high , the performance of phonostage is just a little bit better than ordinary one in my system. No power off switch. The speaker connectoers are just suitable for Y connector.

When I replaced my ampilifer system from "ARC and Bryston" to Concentra , I know I got the favorite sound which had never come .
Actually I like ARC and Bryston , but they were not completely suitable in my system compared with Concentra. By the way, Concentra is more beautiful than ARC and Bryston , I think the most people recorgnize this.
This is subjective aspect of mine , in Concentra.
My system consists of

ESTI, CD transporter
Sonic Frotiers SFD1 , D/A
LINN LP12 Valhalla with SAEC tonearm and supex cartridge
JRDG Concentra 1
platinum solo speaker.

Similar Products Used:

Klimo Merlin and JRDG M1 ; ARC LS2BMK2 and Bryston 4BST.