Jeff Rowland Design Capri SC Preamplifier

Description

MY TAKE:

Striking beauty, stunning sound, rock-solid reliability - a complete package. Few products offer the complete satisfaction and pride of ownership you’ll experience with the purchase of a Jeff Rowland component. – Galen Carol

Featuring unprecedented sonic performance and functional enhancements, the new Capri Series SC preamplifier offers stunning dynamic realism and expressive refinement through an advanced topology. The SC designation, which distinguishes this Capri from its predecessors. SC stands for supercapacitors, four of them, that are now employed within. You can see them in the photo above, a little blue quartet, taking the Capri in an allegedly new direction.The Capri SC features an impressive complement of standard input/output interfaces; greatly enhanced flexibility through its phono option (two versions available); and the Rowland trademark prismatic platinum faceplate beautifully integrated into a non-resonant chassis milled from a solid block of aluminum.

With an output impedance of only 80 Ohms balanced and 40 Ohms, single-ended, Capri SC drives any amplifier with confidence. Whether serving a single-ended triode amplifier in a vinyl rig, or controlling a quartet of solid-state Rowland M525 monoblocks with a 192 kHz digital source, or at the nexus of a home theater setup, the Capri SC preamplifier delivers the trademark Rowland musicality, resolution, and consistent authority.

Watch the video showing the amazing process of machining Jeff Rowland chassis and front panels.

FEATURES:
 

• Compact elegance - Balanced preamplifier design housed inside a low profile, compact, ultra-low resonance, structurally rigid chassis that is precision-machined from solid blocks of aircraft-grade 6061-T6 aluminum that is completely sealed for trouble-free operation and high RF and EMI isolation. Features an elegant front panel precision-machined and sculpted with a diamond-tipped cutting tool.
• Universal power supply - Low noise, high-current, dual regulated switch- mode auto-sensing and auto-ranging power supply provides Capri with optimum performance at any world-wide mains operating voltage.
• Thin-Film Resistors - All resistors are low noise, 0.1% thin-film type for extremely low thermal noise which complements the low-noise characteristics of the active circuitry.
• Four-Layer Circuit Board - All circuitry is populated on one side of a 4 layer circuit board to allow for continuous, unbroken, low impedance ground and power supply distribution planes. Care was taken to minimize signal path lengths and components sizes.
• Input transformer-Coupling and Isolation - Transformer coupled input circuitry provides universal component compatibility and virtually eliminate ground loop noise and RFI/EMI. Transformer coupling ensures identical preamplifier overall gain when using unbalanced input adapters. Other benefits include ground noise isolation and excellent common-mode noise rejection (CMRR) from all sources.
• I/O flexibility - Dual low impedance line-level outputs (80 Ohms balanced, 40 Ohms unbalanced), 48 Ohms balanced and unbalanced inputs and preamp bypass inputs allow unprecedented compatibility with audio and A/V components, while optional high-quality phono cards are available for compatibility with vinyl sources.
• Remote control - Six-function remote control transmitter display dim, adjusts volume, input selection, mute, phase, and channel balance.
• Precision volume adjustments - Dual rate volume control allows precision level adjustments over nearly a 100 dB range. The volume control incorporates a permanently noiseless optical encoder that always maintain its tactile feel, accuracy, and channel balance at all settings. The optical encoder mounted behind the volume knob commands the attenuation level of a monolithic resistor attenuator over a 99.5 dB range in 0.5 dB increments.
• Optional Phono Card - Plug-in phono cards (installed internally) converts Line Input 1 to phono input. Three gain and loading options can accommodate moving magnet (MM), moving coil (MC), and high output moving coil cartridge types.
• Optional DAC Card - Plug-in DAC card (installed internally) converts Line Input 1 to high-performance DAC input. Accepts all SPDIF digital signal sources from 44.1 to 192 kHz sampling rates and adjusts accordingly.
• Home Theater Bypass Adjustment - The Home Theatre BYPASS RCA inputs can be changed to an additional set of standard inputs by the placement of an internal jumper inside the unit.
• Display Off (5 Sec) - An internal jumper will place the display in an automatic OFF condition after 5 seconds from any operational command and illuminates again for 5 seconds after additional commands are initiated.
• High-quality connectors - All signal connectors are rhodium-plated, copper jacks (RCA), and Neutrix silver-plated contact (XLR), soldered directly to the circuit board for direct connection to the signal circuitry.
• Green technology - Modest power consumption of mere 6 Watts permits constant power-up operation to eliminate warm-up time and maximize musical performance and allows Capri to operate enclosed into an entertainment unit.

REVIEWS:

The Audio Beat: “The Capri S2/Model 125 combination is one of the neatest, most versatile and most tractable product combinations I’ve ever had in-house. It ticks most boxes, is compact, portable and unfussy and draws surprisingly little musical attention to itself. While it has been here it has found itself called into action in a whole range of ridiculously demanding systems and always acquitted itself brilliantly, the ultimate emergency cover or placeholder. But you don’t begin to appreciate just how quietly competent and musically expressive these products are until you leave them in a settled system and simply enjoy what they do -- and do and do. They just get on with the job without intruding or showing off. Eventually, you come to take them out -- which is when you realize just how effective they really are.

“’Budget esoterica’ and ‘small but perfectly formed’ express common sentiments about audio equipment, yet no two phrases better encapsulate exactly what these Jeff Rowland products represent. Bijou in the truest sense of the word, they might seem expensive at first glance or first listen, but once you understand their musical capabilities and sheer versatility, their growth potential and ability to accommodate upgrades around them, you’ll appreciate their long-term appeal. The 125 in particular constitutes a model of modular flexibility, with the option to add a second amp and the ability to partner with even exotic front-ends, DACs and preamps. The shifting digital landscape is crying out for a Capri S2-sized DAC that's even more capable, has more inputs and quite possibly a variable output, but even without that option, the existing Capri S2 and Model 125 represent a serious option for serious music lovers. Small boxes with big musical hearts, they’ll bear comparison with anything at or near their asking price -- and look way prettier while doing it.” – Roy Gregory

PartTime Audiophile: "I’m starting to get a handle on the Jeff Rowland signature of sound on his gear, and it seems to reflect that “don’t worry, we’ll take care of everything for you during your stay with us” sort of swagger. It’s Pierce Pachett in L.A. Confidential, whatever you desire. I felt this confidence with both the Conductor phono pre and the Continuum S2 integrated amplifier, and now I have it with these diminutive yet stellar performers.

Right away I was impressed with the Capri S2-SC/Model 125 combo in the system, the way these little boxes sounded just like many big boxes in terms of an open, sizable soundstage and strong performance at the frequency extremes. I also noticed plenty of inner detail without ever sounding too analytical—both through the line stage and through the HP card. I gravitated toward some of my favorite classic rock LP reissues, the usual from Dire Straits’ recent MoFi releases, as well as gems such as my Nautilus Half-Speed Masters of The Police’s Ghost in the Machine and The Cars’ Candy-O, because the HP had such a wonderful and visceral quality to the beat—we’re talking both power and finesse.

I’ve been receiving a lot of jazz from around the world lately, mostly from Switzerland and Japan and even a stellar new title from Russia—the LRK Trio’s Memory Moment. Other extraordinary titles include trombonist Florian Weiss’ Alternate Reality and Satoko Fujii’s Piano Music. One thing these adventurous jazz albums have in common is astonishing sound quality and a fidelity to the minimalism that differentiate these performers from their North American counterparts. I felt like I could dive into the sound delivered by the Rowlands and really figure out what these compelling artists wanted to tell me.

It took an integrated that was twice as expensive as both the Jeff Rowland Design Group Capri S2-SC preamplifier and Model 125 power amplifier to illustrate what the little combo couldn’t quite supply. The Allnic Audio T-2000 Anniversary brought forth so many organic details in the music, those cherished musician-instrument interfaces that I yammer on about every review, all those rich additional textures that you can only get from a tube amp, especially running in triode.

The Capri S2-SC and the Model 125 sounded just a bit too smooth in comparison, a little sanded off perhaps, but that’s not exactly fair. Start looking at other solid-state amplifiers that are the roughly the same cost, anywhere just below $10K, and you’ll start to appreciate just how refined and composed these Rowlands are. Not only is the Rowland pair performing at that same precise, accurate level of reproduction, but you have the option of moving the goalposts by adding another Model 125, or jumping up to the HP phono card if you started off with the standard.

Oh yeah. You get that phono stage too, possibly one of the very best inboard modules available. For many audiophiles, the HP will be the ultimate deal-sweetener. I totally get it." - Marc Phillips

PartTime Audiophile: Marc Phillips: “You can get the Jeff Rowland Capri S2-SC preamplifier outfitted with either the standard phono card for $400 or the HP (high-performance) phono stage for $1150. The HP gives you more flexibility with loading options than the standard card, and yes, it sounds fantastic. It’s so good, in fact, that you’ll question your need for another box in your system. Keep it simple and compact with the HP version of the Capri S2-SC—that’s sort of the whole point." Deserving of a Reviewers Choice Award.”

SPECIFICATIONS: