Sprout is silver. Except for the odd Massdrop (oh, sorry, ‘Drop’, oh, sorry, rotgut IEM/Topping DAC shop) version that came in black and just looked strange.
I’m a silver guy I suppose. It just reminds me of the 1970s and early 80s when things made more sense to me. Although my NPC is black because I couldn’t pass up the deal. If I ever won the lottery and could get a Stellar Phono, I’d go silver.
True, someone said something interesting once, said kids find their parents cars as boring and not cool, while find the GRANDPAs car cool.
Esoteric: Great performing kit by all accounts; but I don’t dig their current styling - in any color.
Too “Ford Taurus” looking for me.*
To each his own.
Regards.
*That swooping, rounded crap from the mid-80’s ruined a whole generation of automobile styling, IMHO.
No single look appeals to everybody. I don’t really care for looks as much as sound quality, so I would sacrifice some looks for the ultimate in sound quality. I just couldn’t imagine having all black Esoteric’s look as classy though. Maybe , but to each his own.
I usually prefer black components, but I liked the contrast of the silver PS Audio gear with the black top. Also the silver is more of a matt finish than shiny, so not reflective at all.
Yup, that’s my Rowland Continuum S2 integrated.
Perhaps I misspoke last night when I suggested that my rig was all black. I rather meant “all dark”, as I tape over all LEDs.
I love the Rowland. It won a shootout of four or five other amps. It has been trouble-free, smooth, and very enjoyable. There is a Rowland house sound, but it plays well with the Maggie 3.7s.
This is exactly why I decided on silver. I’ve always associated PS Audio components with silver, it’s their classic color. Like a silver Mercedes, silver Porsche, or a red Ferrari.
One look at the PSA website and you can tell silver is the color they think looks best. 
Too bright and shiny for me I bet it would look beautiful in black!
I’m all in on silver. Although my headphone amp is black. That was a matter of what the dealer had in stock at a price that made sense at the time. I find the black devices to look rather austere. Nothing better that Silver or brushed aluminum like Esoteric, Jeff Rowland or PS Audio. I was at one of my audio dealers on the weekend talking about JL or REL subs and I saw a Black Esoteric Device. She said that they don’t sell well in that colour compared to silver.
How would you describe that “house sound”?
Thanks for sharing.
I had Sansui AUD-7, then AUD-9, in the early 1980’s. Always in black.
Hmm, that’s a bit hard to describe, as it has been a number of years since the shootout.
Some amps were very accurate, but clinical, with no body or warmth. (All were Class D amps.) Some, like Merrill Veritas, were amazing performers. But the Rowland handily beat them all, bringing in the power for the Maggies, the detail of Class D, but having a warmth that was alluring — almost like well-done tubes without all the fuss. I imagine that other Rowland models would have the same characteristics.
Look up Guido Corona on Audiogon. He’s very helpful, and he loves talking Rowland. He guided me through the process, vicariously spending a lot of my cash. But I have no regrets.
Because…I’m Batman!
I love the sound of Jeff Roland. My favorite of all time is the Rowland Model 9ti. I remember hearing it at the dealer that I always go to and was just blown away with the sound. It had the warmth, the richness, the incredible resolution, the soundstage other amps only hint at. But unfortunately I couldn’t afford and didn’t have the space for them. They are 4 units, 2 power supply and 2 main units. They sounded better than what I heard from the Mark Levinson Model 20’s which also sounded quite nice also
with the IRS V’s. Man, talking about going low, you feel waves of pressure in your guts with Saint-Saens third Symphony. That is something to experience. I just think the Rowlands sounded more refined. They played the Rowlands with the Avalon Ascent’s with top line Cardas and it was a match made in heaven. I believe the Rowland’s are even better now, but still quite expensive.Serious Rowland porn.
If you’ve ever glimpsed inside the chassis, the engineering is astonishing, at least as far as I can tell.
Or, this…
Wow, beautiful. When you see something like that, you know it has to sound special.
Which model is that?
Wife - “You better be getting black”
Me- “it is so ordered”
