Anyone have/ordered the Job 225?

Klh007, your comments on that session will be much appreciated, coming from a Tekton Lore owner.

Looks like Part Time Audiophile just posted a very interesting amp shoot out with the Job up against Pass Labs, SIT, Red Wine Audio, Odyssey, Merril Veritas (Ncore 1200), and Vitus. Speakers were Maggie 3.7's and Tekton SEAS Pendragons.

Job didn't fare as well as I would have thought given my own experience head to head with my Ncore 400's.

Sounds eerily similar to the listening session Klh007 mentioned a while back. He never got back to this thread with impressions, but I wonder if he was over for one of the listening sessions part of this shoot out.

Hey, I have a Job too and am pretty happy with it. Also, it's true the Maggie's would be a hard load, and he admitted he wasn't able to do an apples to apples comparison with the others due to grounding/noise issues with DAC direct. He also admitted he needs to do more listening and will be doing a more thorough follow up. It was also clearly the most inexpensive amp in the comparison by a wide margin and held its own in some ways, even in an unfair speaker matching. I think I recall that he has Devore Orangutan speakers, and I'd be really curious about that pairing.

All that said, I could see his point that speed might be the Job's biggest strength, and not as much tone density. In my own system, I run a different model of Tekton speaker and get my tone from a fine tube preamp and an analog sounding NOS DAC.

In my opinion, the Job doesn't have to be universally perfect to still be a grand bargain. And what it does well it does really well. I just get tired with the back and forth on forums of best amp ever vs. hyped up flawed design. Seems worth characterizing the Job's strengths and letting people know about some ares that aren't quite as strong so they can make educated choices about whether to try it or what other components might help complement its character.

Yes, yes, we get it. Job is a 100wpc amplifier with a transformer size that limits it's power output. The manufacturer skimped a bit in that area to match production to an inexpensive price point. Not a surprise to anyone who has looked into it a bit. Soooo, you have to match well with speaker power demands. Isn't this the same with any amp? I don't think anyone has claimed this amp defies the laws of physics...

Within those limits, however...

I wanted to comment on the leanness issue. My Job has been on the lean side in my system a good bit in the past. My speakers have some accentuated upper mids, which do things I really like in that region, but also require careful electronics and cabling pairing. When I upgraded to the Lampizator in January, I have never since felt the sound was lean again, but it certainly wasn't lush. And with some cables and preamp pairings, the sound was tilted away from neutral toward higher frequencies and reducing presence in the lower mid and upper bass power region. Again, my speakers are the main culprit there.

I recently finally splurged on the Audio Magic super fuse cited over on audioshark by Joe. This fuse transformed the character of the Job in my system. Much more instrumental tone and lushness. I no longer need cables and a tube preamp that were balancing the character of the Job.

My main point is that it's always about system matching. I've been one of those who had heard leanness with the Job, and I almost gave up and moved on. But I stuck it out and found changing other aspects of my system and the fuse upgrade have made it a keeper for sure.