Jadis
 

Anyone have experience with Jadis stuff? I auditioned a JPS2 2 box preamp and JA80 60 Watt Class A tube amps recently using a pc running through an Ayre USB dac and then through Wilson Sashas.

I have to admit the sound was pretty mesmerising.

Any experience with these lovely amps??

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u.../photo1_62.jpg

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u.../photo2_62.jpg

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...rou/ja80_2.jpg

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...brou/baidi.jpg

They look excruciatingly expensive. ;)

Not sure if I like the power cord socket location...but they probably sound pretty sweet

Not cheap but not as expensive as you might think.

Preamp: US$12k
Monoblocks: US$18k

at least over here. Not sure about prices in the US.

Howie,

I have heard and have loved them. Lusted actually. They have an excellent dealer here in So Cal named Brooks Berdan. One of, if not THE best, analog dealers in this area. They are a top line Jadis dealer and I have heard those amps driving the Wilson Alexandras and it was nothing short of magnificent.

Also heard them on Quads, a much smaller amp, the KT-88 integrated I think, and it was also seriously delicious,

These amps have that beautiful tube midrange and ss like bass punch.

Great stuff.

Interesting stuff. How would you compare the sonic signature of the Jadis with Audio Note??

I just spent two hours listening to them again and the sound got better and better. The old Jadis sound which could be described as 'thick' has developed into a quicker paced and more detailed sound but with tube warmth retained.

The JPS2 preamp has a tube specifically for the cd input. The sound through this input is quite different from the other line inputs bringing even more tube intoxication. It's a nice touch to have so you can pick and choose the sonic signature to suit your CDP. :yes:

Howie,

I will try to draw a comparison, but first, what are those speakers on the stands???

Sorry it is not a photo of the demo just a stock photo to show what the amps look like!

Howie Bro,

So you are looking into tubes now.

Seriously, there are many choices, apart from schools (SET vs Push Pull). Opinion varies and its best you understand the characteristics of each marque and if they are a good match to your music preferences vs the speakers you intend to drive.

Jadis is an "all rounder", kinda like McIntosh, albeit like exquisite vs retro.

Personally, I would still prefer McIntosh, just for the sake of being a couch potato where it can be remotely controlled vs very manual for the Jadis.

Performance wise, each has its own strengths but like I said, in the end, its still McIntosh for me should I turn to tubes.

Kondo and its distant British cousin "Audio Note" are not my cup of tea. I prefer MORE watts, just in case in future I ditch Horns. At least, I still have amps that can push slightly more difficult speakers. If I go Japanese manufacture, Air Tight would come across strongly. Of course, if pocket deep enough, I would say Wavacs!

Whatever you choose amongst these brands, dont think you would be far from wrong. Its all a matter of taste, maybe acquired taste would be the better word I should use. Happy hunting.

Cheers!

Howie...are you considering other tube amps? I would be interested in your thoughts on a comparison with other well known tube amp brands as Jadis has very sparse distribution in the US and so the opportunity to hear them on this side of the pond is very limited. Let us know if you audition tube amps from other companies such as EAR, McIntosh, ARC, VTL, and Conrad Johnson (these are the names that I would compare with Jadis equipment). Thx

I've auditioned Jadis a few times before with various results. Howie, all I can say is that Sasha may have more to do with the impression you had of that system then you may realize. :smoking:

So far in recent times, I have auditioned Jadis (long sessions) and a short one with Serge's Lamm Models. It had a spectral cdp and Magico M5 speakers. Seriously not my cup of tea at all. I think this is the magico more than anything else. The sound was so dry I almost felt thirsty whilst sitting there! Gonna have to audition Lamm some other way...

Mcintosh stuff i am very familiar with and I intend to listen to the MC2301 once more but it might be more fun to delve into other brands. EAR I know nothing about.
ARC I have to admit doesn't ring my bell yet. I listened to the 210, ref 5, cd8 through amatis a few days ago and it confirmed my feeling that the sound is very neutral and slightly thin, almost solid state like in which case I would prefer to go for Mc 1.2KW or something similar.

CJ and VTL i have heard but not yet demoed seriously.

Last night I had a listen to the new TAD monoblocks, TAD CDP through TAD reference bookshelf speakers. They are quite a fantastic little speaker though not cheap at US$30k ish.

That bad huh? :D

Sashas sounded very nice, soooooooo much better than Watt 8. You really can't believe they are from the same manufacturer.

Actually the day before I listened to the Jadis, the Sashas were hooked up to the Ayre MXR and KXR so I had a fairly good idea of the difference the jadis made compared to the Ayre. Ayre was a lot leaner, dryer but very crisp as well. Not a bad sound at all, but ultimately my preference was for a fuller, tubey sound that I found with jadis. Actually 60 watts of pure class A really drove the sashas well. :yes:

I agree with you on the Magico sound. I have now listened to the V2, V3 and the Q5s and I can respect what all the speakers in the Magico line do, but I just can't bring myself to love them. I just don't find myself emotionally engaged with the speakers. The Q5 demo last week was very impressive when you parse out the sound but when you bring it all together, it just didn't pull me in. If you have not had a chance to listen to Rockport speakers, i would suggest giving them a listen.

I suggest you audition those thirst inducing Lamm's with Sasha and let me know what you think. :D

My Wilson dealer carries Krell, Bryston, Ayre and a few other brands and one listen to my Lamm's with Sasha was enough to convince him this was the best he has ever heard. :yes: Care to guess which amps Peter McGrath of Wilson audio has in his own system with his Maxx 3s? :smoking: Thus man has heard more Wilson with just about any gear than probably anyone on the planet.

Alas it won't be possible to audition Lamm with Wilson as they are with competing dealers. The only other speakers the lamm dealer has is FM Acoustic and having heard them, there is no way I dare listen again! :smoking:

The Wilson dealer on the other hand has MBL, Ayre, Jadis, Boulder, Wadia, Continuum, Lumen White, Westlake.

Its funny, normally you see the MBL 101e being driven by huge solid state monoblocks like the 9011. I heard them with the Jadis Amps (60 watts) and they sounded magnificent. :yes: You can never tell whether one amp can drive a certain speaker until you try it.

Howie,

I have been trying to take myself back to the demo room at Brooks Berdan and give you some more impressions of the Jadis amps.

here are the things that come to mind. Big, Round, Full, Rich, Thick, LOVELY... you get the idea. I was really mesmerized.

At the time I owned, and loved, my 501's, he put those on and they sounded thin, sharp, well ... there was just no comparison.

We ALL know that the 501's are ANYTHING but thin and sharp.. but that is how they sounded after listening to the Jadis full tube set up

This was all with Wilson speakers, which, were not to my liking... in that room ...with the 501's. But I really did love the Wilosn/Jadis pairing. Great stuff!!!

How do you like the FM Acoustics? My friend / dealer said it's one of the best amps he has ever heard, and he heard a lot including many exotic brands. He now owes the FM 244 (a discontinued preamp model).

FM Acoustics stuff is fantastic. Yes it is overpriced but if you want one of the best then this is definitely a contender.

Being European it doesn't try to be 'in your face' like some monolithic brands can be. It has a much fuller, complete and musical tonal quality to it which long term is much more fulfilling. I should qualify that I tend to stay away from brands that try to impress initially with huge bass or super dynamic transients.

Add in a quality LP kit and it really is wonderful. :music: Now if you take 50% at least off their prices it might actually be competitive.

+1 for the power cord socket !
french people know nothing about ergonomics.
I don't buy anymore french made products....

Howie,

I have listened to these Jadis amps about 3 months ago. They are very good.
But overpriced. Actually they are hand made in France where :
- we pay more than twice the taxes you pay in the US
- a worker in France cost the double compared to the US ( people don't earn 2x more money : you actually pay the same amount of salary the worker gets, to pay taxes, unemployment insurance, retirement, health and so on...
Compared to an amp made in the US, the Jadis should cost 9k. So the price versus value of this product is really poor compared to american products.
A pair of 2301 will kick the ass of the Jadis amps all over the Spectrum.
But I would also consider ARC, VTL, CJ and Manley amps if you're into tube amplifiers.

Like all hand made things, the price will be higher I agree. I'm not sure 9k is a fair price though. I can't think of many 9k tube amp monoblocks in the class of a Jadis Class A amp. Not even those that are made by automation. Right now though, my focus is on Air Tight and Kondo stuff but I like the Jadis sound as well. :yes:

Now you have listen to Air Tight .....

Pssstttt, next amps to try .... WAVACS!

Since you are willing to swim all the way into the channel, might as well go for it! Once owned, never look back ... cause the cost prohibit too!

PRT-1 Preamp, LCR X2 Phono Amp & SH833 Ver 1.3 SET 150 watt mono Power! :thumbsup:

I have only tried the Wavac Pre/Power before and although the price is beyond what I can cough out for, and the depreciation is more than I can handle (seriously, I have yet seen one set for sale in the market here though), this combo will drive anything ... beautifully musical!

Its sort of a buy once , end all ... I dare say, unless one have deep pockets to look elsewhere ... but then, at this kind of price, there aint many around to compete either. They are not known as KING of SET Tubes for nothing! Bro, if anyone can afford this, you got to be one of them!

Serious! Go hear ....

Cheers! :thumbsup:

The 833 Wavac amps are just gorgeous sounding and like JCCC mentioned, the last amps anyone would buy ----------- but out of my range.

Look at that 833 tube -- holy mackrel!!!!!!

Bob

833C close up

http://audioaficionado.org/attachmen...1275151671.jpg

Bob

Well today, I had the pleasure of spending two hours listening to an AMR CDP through a Kondo M77 pre amp and a Kondo Ongaku amp and Avantgarde Duo Grosso speakers.

Holy mackeral, those 27 watts can get very loud when you have speakers with 109db :thumbsup:

The sound was pretty mesmerising, not harsh at all, very detailed. The AMR cdp was very nice as well. Built like a brick shxt house and with different filters you could tailor the sound to your song or cd with the press of the remote.

Only problem is the Ongaku will cost me US$57k if I want it. :tears:

Picture nicked from Elberoth's post in another thread.

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...ondoOngaku.jpg

Howie,

I know we are talking the best of the best here, but...

How did the Kondo compare to the Air Tight?

Its interesting. The Kondo has more "air" delicacy and a massive soundstage. The sound is extremly pure if you know what I mean.
You can really sense the singer standing there in front of you. There is was nil background noise even with the duo grossos.
Sometimes I got the impression that the bass could be a little bit lacking but with further listening I realised it basically was there, it was just that there was so much more to listen to that the focus had shifted.
I could almost call the sound from most other brands to be boomy and not focused all in a relative way of course.

The Air tight is the first brand I have heard in a long time that really struck me as having the perfect combination of warmth, timbre and involvement. It is darker than the Kondo. There is less air but more intimacy.

It makes you grin like a crazy cat is how I would put it.I hope that makes sense!

At the moment I am torn between the two but the air tight is considerably less expensive with the Two Box Reference 2001 Preamp and the ATM-3 coming to only half the price of the Ongaku on its own. Even with the Reference Stereo 2001 Power amp it is still cheaper than the ongaku!

Both are extremely satisfying but slightly different flavours. The only proviso at the moment is the Ongaku is to my mind not satisfactory (at this price) without a preamp and that means more cash. which would put it out of reach unless I am willing to tolerate (!)the Ongaku for a while.

Unfortunately the Jadis JPS2 + JA60 doesn't hold a flame to these two brands as it stands even though it is the cheapest, though not by much.

:scratch2::scratch2::scratch2:

Sounds like you should try to listen to the Air Tight a little more.

Were you listening to the Kondo without a pre?

With and Without. Night and Day.:scratch2:

Howie, if you get the Kondo or Air Tight, what speakers are you considering?

Acapellas or Tannoy Prestige or Avantgarde :scratch2: although i would more than welcome suggestions.

howie

Keep the Meridian. :) :)

Jim

Any reason for that? I am heading the way on Meridian ... so your advise seem nice sounding to me :D

You dont like horns? I owned Acapellas and they do sound nice ... not the Avantgardes which we auditioned together when you were here last year! :yes:

Be nice ot know your comments Jim. :thumbsup:

Jerry
I like the sound of all types of speakers because they are all different. Horns, electrostatic, ribbons, planers, etc. can all sound fantastic, and if I was going to have more than one system again, maybe I would build it around one of those alternatives, That said if I am only going to have one system I would stay with a more traditional design.
In my opinion "traditional" speakers do everything pretty good even if they do not do one thing or one type of music as well as those speakers noted above.
I would have liked to have heard your horns driven with all that Rowland power for as you know most people pair horns with low power tubes, so I have a hard time separating one from the other.
Bottom line, what I has suggesting to Howie, if you are going to have one great system for all types of music stick with his Meridians. If he has the room for a second system then add a horn/tube set-up.
Jim

Nothing traditional about your MBL speakers Jim. :D

What do you mean Jerry?? TEll us more!! :naughty:

:laughin:

Seriously guys, think we both done what's seemingly impossible to happen - HAPPENED!!!:D

Jadis Preamp DPL with Manley Ref250 monoblocka and Tannoy Westminster is the best sound I achived in my entire live. I used to have McIntos´h 2301's C200 pre but this is so much better. I am guessing the main problem was the preamp C200, not involving, dead sounding compare musical Jadis. http://www.highendforum.cz/viewtopic...=519&start=480