What makes Jeff Rowland gear so expensive?

[Huck]

Hi: I am looking for a replacement for my Musical Fidelity A3.5 integrated amp and I thought about trying a Class D, or T, whatever is the proper term and I was looking at the Jeff Rowland gear,specifically the Concerto integrated amp. This apparantly uses the ICEmodules, and the case is made from aircraft aluminum. I have looked at some of the other Class D makers ( Nuforce, CIA, Bel-Canto,PS Audio etc) , which use the same technology..... and can't figure why the Concerto is so much money,almost 3 or4 times as much?? It sells for big bucks and that's without any phono! Can anyone explain.... maybe they do something special with the ICE modules??! I guess it's like asking why a Mercedes is so expensive, it uses a gas engine!(most),or why a Rolex watch! Anyways, Thanks, Huck:holycow:

[F1 fan]

Hi Huck,I'm not sure what justifies the price but I don't think they would change much on the ICE modules because they are pretty much State of the Art as far as Class D amps go.They probably design their own preamp and control section for the integrated unit.

[SGarcia]

I guess the answer would be R&D.

[newmann]

I think marketing is the answer
Any company chooses a target group, and then makes its products, apearences, prices, quality, etc, according to what they think their target group will like and be willing to pay
And surely the profit margin from a Mercedes (or any other expensive brand name) is much greater for the manufacturer, than from the sell of a Skoda
Apart from this, many people believe that after a few years we will have cheap digital amps (and technologically we should)

[blownrx7]

Jeff Rowland charges "high-end" prices for all his products so the Class-D pricing is in line with the rest of his products.
Is it better than the other Class-D products? I haven't the slightest idea but I don't see anyone rushing to review it either. Hmmmm...

[jackfish]

Maybe they sound better?

[Beat_Dominator]

The Absolute Sound magazine reviewed the JRDG (Jeff Rowland Design Group) class D amplifier a few months ago and received less than favorable reviews. The NuForce "special edition" amp was preferred over it as was a design by Kharma.