September 19, 2008

  • Jeff Rowland PC-1

    20 years ago, on some September Friday afternoon, my family went to the Wherehouse Music on Geary & Parker.  I bought Metallica's ...And Justice For All.  On the way home, I was in the backseat of my dad's car.  As we were going through the tunnel under Masonic, I popped the CD into my Sony Discman, and was treated to the pounding of "Blackened."  Okay, so maybe the road was full of potholes.  But I'll never forget that ride.
    I got home, listened to the CD, liked it, and thought to myself, "This [school] year is going to be good!"  Many of the songs depicted the problems of the Reagan years.  The album cover showed Lady Liberty, blindfolded, tethered, and crumbling.  In 1991, the Republicans completed the demolition and  disposal of Lady Liberty, when they put Clarence Thomas on the U.S. Supreme Court.  Bush II then gave us Alberto Gonzalez, John Ashcroft, and Samuel Alito.  Today, instead of Lady Liberty, the Republicans have erected.........Sarah Palin.
    Tessa might not be Lady Liberty, but with her hooded towel, she looks like an Archbishop or the Pope!  And Tessa is infinitely more qualified to be a leader than Palin.

    But anyway, as I was listening to Metallica in those late 80s halcyon days, I read that James Hetfield was living in the Marina, Kirk Hammett had moved to Pacific Heights, and Lars Ulrich was in the East Bay, perhaps Berkeley.  It wasn't uncommon to see members of Metallica in S.F., when they weren't on tour.  If you went to concerts at The Stone on Broadway, you'd often see Lars and/or James at the bar, mixing and chatting with attendees.

    The thin and dry ...And Justice For All led me to seek out better sound through high-end audio.  It was also at this time when I read that Naim were advocating splitting out a component's power supply.  Jeff Rowland Design Group now take this to another level, with their PC-1, which is intended for use with their Class-D amps.
    The PC-1 converts 110V to 220V.  Depending on the load, the amp utilizes variable amounts of voltage.  Because the Class-D Continuum 250 has a switching power supply, the PC-1 is designed to assure that max voltage is applied at all times.
    The PC-1 has a regular 15-amp male IEC, so you can use any aftermarket powercord between the wall outlet and the PC-1.
    Alas, the other end of the PC-1 incorporates this female 15-amp IEC cutout.  The PC-1 comes supplied with a generic pigtail.  This would appear to be the Achilles heel.  More on this later.

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