Jeff Rowland Capri S2 High End Pre Amplifier

Made in US High End Jeff Rowland S2 Stereo Pre Amplifier

The Jeff Rowland Capri S2 has several strong selling points, especially for someone looking for a genuine high-end Pre-amplifier that is compact, beautifully built, neutral and very quiet.

Prestigious American high-end brand — Jeff Rowland Design Group has a long-standing reputation for exceptional construction quality, refined engineering and distinctive industrial design.

Superb machined aluminium construction — the Capri S2 chassis is precision-machined from solid 6061-T6 aircraft-grade aluminium, designed for rigidity and RF/EMI isolation.

Smooth, refined and highly musical presentation — hi-fi+ described the Capri S2 as very neutral and revealing, with particularly impressive smoothness, tonal richness and low-level resolution.

Extremely quiet background — one of its strongest qualities. The hi-fi+ reviewer specifically praised how quiet the preamp is, contributing to excellent dynamic range and retrieval of subtle musical information.

Excellent imaging and separation — particularly through the balanced XLR connection, where the review noted improved bass authority, image depth and layering.

Balanced XLR and RCA connectivity — two pairs of balanced XLR inputs plus RCA inputs, along with both balanced and single-ended outputs.

Very low output impedance — only 80Ω balanced / 40Ω single-ended, which makes it relatively easy to partner with many different power amplifiers.

Excellent precision volume control — 99.5 dB adjustment range in fine 0.5 dB increments, using an optical encoder/resistor attenuation system.

Home-theatre bypass — useful for owners combining a serious stereo system with an AV/home-theatre setup.

Optional DAC or phono capability depending on configuration.

Very compact for a genuine high-end preamp — only about 35 cm wide and 4.26 kg, making it considerably easier to accommodate than many large reference preamps.

Low 6W power consumption and universal-voltage power supply are additional practical advantages.

Despite its compact size, the Capri S2 is a serious high-end preamplifier and an excellent way to experience the refinement and build quality for which Jeff Rowland is renowned.

A particularly good choice for someone looking for a neutral, smooth and sophisticated preamp without sacrificing musicality.

Audition can be arranged for serious buyers.

https://www.jeffrowlandgroup.com/capri-s2/

https://hifiplus.com/articles/jeff-rowland-design-group-capri-s2-preamplifier

In its standard state, the Capri S2 is a line stage with two single-ended and two balanced inputs plus a home theatre bypass, which seems an unusual input array for what appears to be a purist product. But ‘home theater’ is bigger in the US than in many markets, and even audiophile brands have to cater for market trends once in a while.

Usefully, if you don’t want this feature, an internal jumper can transform it into a regular, volume controlled input. Output is via RCA and XLR and that about covers the back panel. Behind the inputs is transformer coupling circuitry chosen for universal compatibility with different sources, identical gain for unbalanced inputs and noise rejection. This isn’t a TVC (transformer volume control) however, such things being solely the domain of passive components.

The volume control has usefully small increments of half a decibel that can be achieved with the remote control or the beautifully turned knob. The latter is speed sensitive, so can give you big changes quickly as well. The easy to read volume display can be switched off with the handset or you can move an internal jumper that turns it off after five seconds if its yellow/green hue offends.

At first glance, the price seems pretty high for such a compact device, but the Jeff Rowland Capri S2 is not only superbly built, finished and thought out but its sound quality has a similarly deep sheen. Size matters when it comes to some things – loudspeakers, listening rooms, cakes – but small is clearly beautiful where preamplifiers are concerned.

Used and maintained well in air conditioned environment, non-smoking and pet free home.

Please contact me at 012-588.....5270 (Whats.....App) for more details & photos.

The market price is still around RM22k now, letting go cheaper around RM9.5k (still negotiable for serious buyers).

Condition: 9/10 comes with the original remote