Like all Rowland designs, the 201 is ever-so-slightly warm in tonal balance, rich and solid in tone color, and fairly lively from the upper midrange through the bass. It's built around the B&O ICEpower Class D module, with Rowland?s own proprietary modifications added on. The result is a Class D amp that sounds like a Rowland, albeit with a little less energy than a typical Class AB Rowland and a peculiar-to-Class-D/T compression of the top treble. Outside of its top treble, the 201 plays with considerable beauty, outstanding clarity, and fair-to-good power, and I recommend it for systems that are a bit on the hot side.

Note: The TAS 166 review is a part of Special Report on Class D amps.