Jadis Fidelity

I am not sure how much that amp will fetch, but I do know it probably sounds wonderful. There are probably buyers. As far as your other questions, I think there are several reasons. One being that the Jadis presence in this country for the last few years has been really small. So, there is not much product out there. Second, when you are happy with what you own, and cannot find better, why sell? You can buy different amps, but can you buy better? Pride of ownership in a Jadis amp has to be among the highest of any brand. They possess everything that most of us are in this hobby for. Finesse, speed, lightness, detail, dynamics, slam, guts, obvious build quality, seemingly rugged build quality along the lines of a tank(at least I hope so, but I have only had mine for a year), and esthetics. Above all else, they are MUSICAL. I find many Jadis owners are also cut from a different cloth than many other audiophiles. Rather than riding on the constant merry go round of equipment upgrades, they often have made a lifetime purchase ala their Jadis. I know that I have made one...

I have a Jadis defy 7(6550) in excellent condition for sale. Interested?

I Have owned a JP80mc preamp for nearly 6 years. Oldest component I own. I have considered change or upgrade. Maybe something new with different signature. More bottom end. Who knows. But, fortunately I have retained this fantastic piece with no regrets, no mechanical problems and a consistency not experienced with other components. It's also beautiful to look at. Previously, I owned a Defy 7, moved up to a JA 200, which I sold when re-evaluating the importance of high fidelity in my life. Since, I purchased a pair of CATs, but would never rue owning another set of Jadis amps. If you do not locate used product on the websites, try dealing with the distributor, Northstar Leading The Way. He has been known to cut deals. Good luck and assure yourself of satisfying listening by properly matching components.

Jadis presence in the US is probably fairly minute. Not so in Europe, but also here you will find practically no offers on the used market. The reason is the reliability of all gear, their policy of not upgrading every three months, ( think of ARC of yore!!) and the musicality of these products, People who own Jadis gear, no matter what, generally see no reason for changing. The sonic signature has something very seductive. Solo instruments and voices have a tremendous, three dimensional presence, especially via electrostatics or the better horn speakers made here in Europe, and last not least there is just that slight euphonic touch, a combination of very subtle warmth with a slightly exaggerated punch, which can give you the illusion of being there. Then of course first class workmanship and very good looks. Who wants more.... to me that's why you practically do not find them anywhere and if at all, then at exorbitant prices.

The above posts are all accurate. I've owned my pair of Jadis JA80s for about 9 years and my JP80 about 7 or 8, and I can say I've heard many pieces of equipment in my system both before and after buying them that will do one thing or another better than these pieces, but none of which sounded as musically "right" as the Jadis equipment. I stretched my budget each time I bought them, and I haven't regretted it at all. They haven't been completely trouble free, they roll the frequency extremes a little (I've had some mods done to improve that), and they don't give you those instant on/off dynamics you can get from other equipment, but they have clearly been designed by a music lover to sound like what you hear in a concert hall in real life and have a naturalness and continuousness to their sound that makes it easier to imagine you're listening to the original recorded event (as opposed to the master tape). Now if only I could find a catche of MO Valve KT88s and Telefunkens to retube them for the next 20 years....

Oh, by the way, Odiomuse, the JA100s really were designed to run with KT90 tubes; that's the tube for which their transformer was optimized. If you want to use EL34s, as I think you were saying, you might want to look for a used pair of JA80s, which I think sound best with NOS KT88s but which also sound excellent with the EL34s. You may lose a little power with the 80s (I think they get about 40-50 watts with the EL34s), but not that much. Good luck!

Good follow ups, and accurate. Jadis stuff offers long term satisfaction, as other gear might offer certain audiophile checklist advantages without ever sounding more "real". Beautiful gear with high pride of ownership.

I recently sold my Jadis JPL. It was perfectly reliable for 7 years and sounded just fine. Can anyone please comment on the Defy 7 vs. ARC tube amps? Also, a very minor point, but I found the silver and gold finish on my preamp a bit dated over time and the gold surfaces became very smudged and cloudy. Maybe there is a secret to restoring it to its like new lustre but warm water, isopropyl alcohol, a little soap etc did nothing.

Cwlondon, try silverpolish, but very carefully and sparingly, that worked with me. You can use it freely on the chrome parts, but must be careful on the gold.

Detlof, have you noticed any damage to the gold finish with the silver polish? My dealer used Maas(supposedly excellent) cleaner on my amp(said Jadis recommended it), and there is some wearing of the gold. I have been searching for a good way to clean my amp. The factory recommends just a cloth(perhaps damp), which is a joke. And for heavy cleaning, they told me to use methylated spirits(95% ethanol, denatured w/methanol). They specifically told me to NEVER use a cleaner made for brass(maybe that's where the problems with the Maas cleaner arose), as it will damage the gold plating. And told me that they have never recommended Maas to anyone(my dealer in a little white lie...) I have found isopropyl alcohol of practically no use. As a chemist, I fail to see how methylated spirits will do anything if isopropanol doesn't. Not that they are identical, but as close as you get in terms of alcohols(functionality would be virtually identical). It is certainly a beautiful piece. One of the most beautiful amplifiers I have ever seen. That is always the first thing people comment on, before I fire it up(then they're really captivated). But keeping it pristine has been a problem for me. Regarding tubes Odiomuse, I would be surprised if the amplifier you were interested in did not accept EL34/E34L/6CA7. Most Jadis amps will run on these, in addition to 6550/KT88/KT90. The more expensive amps are also usually autobiasing. Mine is not, unfortunately. I have heard many a person say that Jadis amplifiers are even better with the EL34 family of tubes. I know that when I retube I will probably move to KT88 or E34L. Currently, I am using the factory supplied Ei KT90. I think the Czech JJ E34L to be the best of the EL34 type.

I used Craig ProGold G5 on the gold finnish and it keeps it shinny and looks like new,there is no wearing of the gold but I need to apply it about once a month to maintain the golden lustre.

Trelja, strangely enough meth works, especially for those nasty fingerprints, which sometimes are so hard to remove. Your caveat about brass polish is dead to the point. It will ruin the gold. Silver polish-don't know what's in it - does so less, but has to applied with extreme caution, tiny portions and not too much rubbing. I am pretty sure, that if not done carefully, the gold will suffer as well. (Been lucky so far)

Odiomuse, as you can see from these posts, the cosmetics of the Jadis equipment are a not insignificant part of their appeal! I admit it too; I've been tempted by the similarly natural sound of the Lamm tubed amps, but I've resisted in part (other than the price) because they don't look anywhere near as nice as the Jadis. I've been bedeviled by fingerprints and some minor discoloring on the gold plated surfaces, so I'd like to thank the above posters for the suggestions. My wife had suggested that, if I'd gotten them new, maybe some of her clear coat nail polish would protect the gold finish, but I didn't have the guts to try that, and she's not a chemist. Any of you try it?

Thanks to all who have posted with help on keeping a Jadis looking new. Hello Rcprince! I have not yet experimented with putting a clear coat on the faceplate, but have thought about it since day one. In one of my e-mails from Jadis, they told me that the products sold in Taiwan do come with a coating(due to the extreme humidity there - don't know why any coastal region around the world would be different...). It is a lacquer based product. The reason they told me this is that the cleaning of these products is different. Just to give me a heads up, in case my amp was from there. These amps do NOT get cleaned with methylated spirits, as it will damage the coating. Samaul, unfortunately I don't think we could ever hope for anything less than a once a month cleaning of these faceplates. I may give the ProGold a try. I remember researching the composition for a thread on this site a few months ago. Perhaps I should revisit that...

Glad to see that the comment on Jadis cosmetics and cleaning was of interest to many of you, but could someone please comment on their experience with the Jadis personality, especially compared to ARC? Thank you.

I replaced a pair of ARC Classic 150s with my JA80s, and an SP-11 MkII with a JPL and then the JP80, and have heard most of ARC's current amplifiers and preamps, so I'll try to give you my thoughts. The ARC equipment is excellent, no question about it, some of the best-designed tube equipment out there, but to me has always been on the bright side, sounding just a little "bleached out" in its harmonic presentation compared to the Jadis equipment, which is fuller and richer harmonically; it is closer to solid state sound (and, many would argue, without too much protest from me, neutrality) than the Jadis equipment--check out Detlof's and my first posts on this. The ARC equipment probably has better transient response, and perhaps more transparency due to its brighter tonal balance (here I can't comment on the new KT90-based amps, only on the older design), but I still feel the Jadis reproduces music more like real music in a real acoustic than the ARC equipment. Best example I can give--when I got a Vendetta phono stage back around 1991 or 92, I decided to replace my SP 11 with an ARC LS2 line stage, as I no longer needed the SP 11's phono stage and I figured the LS2 would sound better than the older model. I went to my dealer, and listened to the LS2 at length; it had tremendous detail, speed, I could hear everything on the recording, easily an improvement on my SP 11. I was set to buy it, but the dealer also had a Jadis JPL on display, for far more money, even as a demo, and I asked to listen to it. Within 5 minutes I knew I was going to blow my budget and get the Jadis. The ARC appealed to my mind, the Jadis to my heart and soul. Sounds corny, but that's the best way I can describe it. You should try to give both an audition if you can-- the differences will be plain, I think, and you can decide which sound really is what you are looking for.

I have not owned ARC, but through demos and auditions at audio shops, my impression of the VT 100 and Ref preamp were not satisfying. A bit more analytical or solid- state sounding. Odd, how some manufacturers of tube equipment strive to attain attributes of solid-state, while solid-state designers try to capture the warmth of tubes. Jadis, often labeled warm and colored, portrays a more visceral presentation ( cables, speakers, etc... synergy ), much more than the blanched sound I heard with ARC. Assessing ARC on my four short term experiences remains unsubstatiated, as many have avowed the sound quality is nothing short of spectacular. You may need to get out and listen. Never discount your ancilliary equipment, your room, and of course, your taste. As a sidebar, being a imaging and soundstage freak, no other amp/preamp has expanded my listening room like Jadis electronics.

Thanks to all of you for the imput.

Tubing? Upgrading? Musicality?

Rcprince, thanks for your excellent input. I was not going to comment on this topic, because my experience with the latest ARC gear is limited, but from what I have listened to, you are-to these ears here - dead right! I can corroberate every word you say ! By the way, I am waiting for an Aesthetics IO to arrive and am very curious to compare it to my Jadis Pre-Pre and JP80 chain. (With Telefunkens NOS ) Shall report here again, if anybody is interested.

Sidhh, you are dead right about what you say about the soundstage too. Its also my experience.

I, too, am soundstage obsessed and this thread is making me wonder if I should have kept my JPL and shopped around for a Defy 7. Is this amp the star of the line up? Could anyone please comment on the Defy 7 and its various versions? Are the Jadis monoblocks better or worse? While this thread praises both the amps and pre-amps, do you think there is even greater musicality using Jadis all the way through? Any ideas for similarly musical cables that match well with these electronics? Thank you.

Detlof, you will probably be VERY happy with the Aesthetix, it is one of the few units I have heard which I would put on the same plane as the Jadis equipment and that I would consider as a replacement if I had the money, the space and the inclination. It will probably be a somewhat different presentation, as I think it is a no feedback unit, so it may be a bit more vivid but perhaps with a little less depth of soundstage (we're not talking a big difference in this respect). It does have that musicality and realism that I like in the Jadis. Cwlondon, actually, I have never been as impressed with the Defy 7, at least in its first two marks, as the JA80s. There was more brute power, but it clearly lacked the finesse, delicacy and intangibles that you got from the JA80s as well as the JA30s and JA200s, and the increased power still didn't bring you much better bass control. Plus, you could only run it with 6550s, at least then, and to my ears that is the least desirable tube I've used in the JA80s, as far as sonics go (they do control the bass better, but give up some of the midrange magic). I've heard that the later marks of the Defy might be closer to the sound of the monoblocks, but haven't made that comparison, and my setup requires I use monoblocks; personally, I have not heard a stereo amp which sounds better than its monoblock counterpart (excluding a bridged stereo amp used as a monoblock, which is another story). Also, my comments only relate to the earlier versions of the Jadis amps, not the newer versions which use KT90s, which may sound different. Since I use both the JP80 preamp and the JA80s, and before used the JPL first with the ARC Classic 150s and then with the JA80s, I do believe that there is a good synergy between the Jadis equipment (as I usually find between the equipment of any fine manufacturer) that leads to an overall greater musicality, although it is certainly possible to mix and match to your taste. As far as cables go, Siltech works very well with Jadis; I use a cable called Full Spectrum, which is no longer made, so it's not much help to you, but is very revealing and slightly sweet in the highs, a good match for this equipment. I'm trying out some NBS Monitor Zero tonight which I just bought; I'm pretty sure that will work well, and in the past I've found good Purist Audio and Kimber silver cables to work well with Jadis equipment. The better and more neutral the interconnect and speaker cables, the more you'll be able to appreciate the special qualities these components possess. Hope this helps a little; good luck in your search.

Cwlondon, I looked at A LOT of products before purchasing my Jadis. Long before that, I came to the conclusion that tubes just sounded more real to me than solid state. And, despite what most say, I find it cheaper to go the tube route. Many of the solid state amps that I enjoy are REALLY big bucks. In contrast, I find many sub - $1000 tube amps pleasing to my ears. I checked out tube amps from Air Tight(my other favorite), ARC, Cary, CJ, Jolida, Quicksilver, Rogue, VAC, VTL, etc. The only one that grabbed me(and my girlfriend!) by the collar and screamed out, "THIS IS THE ONE!" was the Jadis. No, it was not cheap. But, like Rcprince stated above, when I heard it, I knew what I was buying. I took the same CDs around for my auditioning. My girlfriend said she had never heard sound like this from a stereo before(quite a comment for a person who had NO interest in this stuff prior to hearing the Jadis). Dar Williams was actually singing for us in person. Or so we thought... According to Jadis, the Jadis sound is no sound at all. I don't quite agree. But, I can say they sound more like music to me than other brands. I am not a fan of AR power amps. I find them quite solid state sounding. Perhaps selling to people who buy the big names like Krell, Mark Levinson, but want the cache of tubes. Bragging rights, "I have tubes"??? There were other tube amps that caught my ear(especially SETs), but when you look at the balance that Jadis presents, I don't think there is a better product overall(other than Air Tight - but Jadis offers flexibility of using many different tube types). Power, dynamics, great bass for a tube amp(even more so if I jack up the bass controls - for the "club music lovers"), tangibility, and musicality. The fact that it accepts a WIDE variety of tubes(KT90/6550/KT88/6CA7/E34L/EL34) means that it offers almost any sound its owner is after(within reason). From sweet and pure to neutral and forward.

I have owned JA-30, JA-80 and JP-80MC mkIIs. I really think Jadis has a very musical sound. I had this equipment for several years and while I wondered if there was better out there, I experienced many magical listening sessions with the Jadis. I am thinking of buying a used pair of JA-500s right now. I did buy the Aesthetix I/O with Volume controls to replace the JP-80MC. There was know question in my mind that the Aesthetix I/O provided such much more information, better transparency, and music as the Jadis JP-80MC. And all I neede was Phono for my system. I did also replace the JA-80 amps with a pair of Audio Note Ankaru PSE-845 mono blocks because they sounded more transparent and I know the designer Andy Grove. This added to the pleasure of ownership. But, I do admit the I miss that Jadis sound and their looks. Lets face it. Jadis does design and manufacture quality equipment. They also don't kill you with yearly upgrades. You can do far worse than Jadis and you might be buying your last amplifier because they are that good.

Cwlondon, in looking at the cables I mentioned to you, I realized they're all kinda (some might say outrageously) expensive. I should note that Trelja has been using some affordable silver cables with his Jadis with which he is pleased, and that in the past I have used both Dunlavy and Sonoran speaker cables with the JA80s with good results. Gerrym5, I was interested by your post, I had gotten a separate inquiry about the IO and had relayed pretty much the same thoughts about it as you noted. Be careful before you get the JA500s--they are a different beast from the other Jadis older style amps. They run in ultralinear, rather than Class A (they can be factory adjusted to run class A, reducing the power to 225 watts), and as I recall are not auto biasing and only use the 6550 tubes (although I'm sure that Jadis could adjust the bias to take other types of tubes). Still sound excellent, but as I noted above with the Defy, I think they give away a little of the finesse and delicacy of the other Jadis mono amps. But there are times I'd like that extra power in reserve...

Rcprince, I am intreaged by what you say about the IO and very curious. I find you right on the dot again about what you say about the Defy and the Mono 80's. The Defy can be punchier, however the music is less finely woven, a touch less resolved, the width and depth of the soundstage a litttle more truncated in comparison to the Mono 80's, an effect which strangely enough seemed less, when I retubed the Defy with KT 90s. The main effect there was like moving 5 rows closer to the orchestra. Even more direct and forward, but still eminently musical. For cables I have found the XLO top gear to merge well with my front end, was however obliged to resolder all the connections, which I found noisy, because sloppily done by the factory. Someone in the threads above remarked, that Jadis gear does cut off the top end slightly. I thought so too for a long time until I was lucky enough to get a pair of those plasma tweeters which are generally only sold together with very complex and expensive hornspeaker systems. "A capella" has managed to solve the ozone problem, so you can listen safely now, without being slowly poisoned to death. Since there is no moving mass any more, just a "flame", the highs have breathy directness, sometimes a whispering sweetness, sometimes a clear sparkling presence which is hard to believe. So I am lead to believe now, that this slight lack of air "up top" is not to be attributed to the Jadis gear but must come from somewhere else in the chain.

Detlof, now you've GOT to let us know how the IO compares. I think Gerrym5's description of the differences is a good one, based off what I've heard. Still not convinced to give up the Jadis, though--the mods Andy Bouwman's made to mine have made it sound even better, the IO has an awful lot of tubes, and I too have a taste for NOS Telefunkens, it does take up more space and I'm low on funds for audio application. Hope you're right about the new plasma tweeters not poisoning you to death!

Reprince, e-mail your thoughts and questions on the I/O. I'll be glad to share what factual experiences and opinions I have had with the Aesthetix. (Another source) Albertporter is also an I/O fan and has a lot of experience with Aesthetix's products. I asked him a lot of questions after I found out he had an I/O also. He really helped me with NOS suggestions and tweaks to make my I/O even better (my opinion) than the already outstanding factory standard product.

Rcprince, OK I'll report as soon as the unit has arrived, which will be (hopefully) midst next week. Gerrym5: May I get in touch with you about the IO as well? About being killed by the "ATR -ION TW 1S", more about it on www.acapella.de, I would say, what a way to go...but seriously now, the ozone being formed by the burning of the air molecules in the plasma arc, is being oxydised through a catalyst and bound to the copper, the horn outlet is made off. Neat arrangement. Never any ozone in the air.

So the 500's are a different beast altogether and the Defy 7 lacks the subtlety of the other monoblocks? Am I to conclude that the JA 200 is the best for Jadis magical musicality and balls too? How about the pre-amps? Which one is the best and does it have a phone stage?

CWLondon, the 200 is a dream and you are lucky if you can get one. You are right in assuming, that they combine the best of the two worlds. The best Jadis preamp I know is a four chassis job, the JP-200 MC. MC stands for moving coil, so it has a phonostage, you can have a line stage version too. Next to all what has been said above, this gear has even more resolving ability and a wallop and a transient speeed which I have never-ever heard from anything else except in concert. Wonder what Rcprince and Gerrym5 will have to say..

which is the best preamp for Jadis amps,which brands of preamps matches well with Jadis,does it only combine well with a Jadis preamp or can a ss preamp also combine well with a Jadis amps?

Samaul, generally ss and tube combinations in a chain are poor bedfellows, if you want to use them full range. It makes sense here to also look at specs and compare input and output impedances of the gear you want to combine. A mismatch here can have a multitude of strange effects especially in the midrange. If you run multiple amps however and like a fast, tight and well defined bottom end, I've heard excellent results with a Jadis front end and various higher powered SS amps. I think its wrong to generalise. You have to use your own ears- and best another pair of female ears, well disposed to you and our passion -to find out.

If anyone wants to get a glimpse of what a Jadis is all about, please check out the preamp in the feature auction on the Audiogon home page. My amp features cosmetics along these lines. Stainless steel and 24k gold plated brass on the faceplate. Tubes/transformers/caps on top, sitting on a stainless steel bed, transformer covers in black and 24k gold. Side plates are real wood. But take a closer look. At the business end of things, and you will see that a Jadis is not just a pretty face. It is as serious as things ever get. THAT is why they sound so special. I once read a description of Jadis, "must be seen, and more importantly heard(so they say)". NO BS there. I don't think anyone can dispute the fact that Jadis presents a combination seemingly without peer. Those looks AND those parts... WOW!!!

So many questions....Cwlondon, the JA200s, and the more recent versions, the JA250s are the amps that will give you better bass with the rest of the Jadis sound we're all extolling. Again, haven't heard the 250s with their KT90s (probably a leaner sound than EL34s or KT88s), but I have heard JA200s with NOS KT88s and they are beautiful. Actually, though, I think the JA80s sound slightly better than the higher powered ones, just a personal opinion. Their bass is actually pretty good down to about 40-50 hz (I've never heard an amp better at reproducing a cello), it's below that they run out of steam and control. I've solved the problem by getting a 4-piece speaker system where I can use the 80s above the bass and a solid state amp (Meitners, which tonally are a decent match for the 80s) for the bass, although I wish the cut-off was at a lower frequency. As far as Jadis preamps go, Detlof is right, the JP200MC is the best full feature preamp I've ever heard, but its price is astronomical and it is a four-chasis design. They have a new model, the JP800, which is priced like the top of the line but I haven't heard it. The JP80MC, which I use, gives you most of the performance of the 200 and a great phono stage (it looks like the JPS2 Trelja refers to in the featured auctions--that's the line stage only version of the JP80). I had a problem with my preamp for a while recently (related to a mod, not Jadis), so had to make due with other preamps for a while, and can report that the top of the line VAC preamp works well with it and (here's a surprise) so did the new Innersound phono and line stages (my preamp runs into a solid state crossover now, which then goes to the amps; that may be part of the reason it worked so well, as I think Detlof's post is essentially correct, as a general rule). Still prefer the JP80 over both of them, but that Innersound was a shocker! And while I haven't heard them in my system, I think that the Herron and the Aesthetix units would also work well with Jadis amps, as they both were designed for music lovers. Still think that it's better not to mix and match unless you've tried the combination; I think Gerrym5 has with the Aesthetix, though, and he obviously liked it enough to buy it. Gerrym5, thanks for your offer, I'll contact you later.

This thread has developed surprising momentum! I am especially interested in tube and SS biamping and will start a separate thread. Thank you, everyone, for all the info. How about the Jadis CD stuff? Is there UFO like transport or their D/A magical too?

The Io arrived sooner than expected. Its a used unit, already well run in. I used new, unbroken in interconnects with it however, in comparison with the Jadis front end and its cabling. These are first impressions only after a long day's work. I used an LP with a Jazz Combo in a life session, one side Jadis, the other IO. I started off with the IO and found a substantially bigger soundstage, both in depth and width, more space between instruments, a better defined string bass and a much better resolved high hat ( so Jadis perhaps does truncate the highs a bit after all ??!!) I found a stunning silence in those "inbetween-moments" almost CD-like, but without the CD feeling of being in a void, which I dislike. I found the whole presentation "polite" and a little laid back in comparison to the Jadis, the kickdrum lacked that last bit of punch, the xylophone hat a little less bloom on long drawn out notes. The Jadis brought in more atmosphere, you had more the feeling of being in a Jazz-club, you were closer to the players.....the IO presentation seemed musically and spatially very "right" but just a teeny bit uninvolving. Is it a case of that Jadis magic again? Or in other words, am I so used to the colorations, the charming little cheats and seductive exaggerations to the real thing, which my "French mistress" imbues me with, whereas our Greek godddess is so much more true to the recording venue, more "sec" and realistic, musical yes, but I miss those shivers down my spine. Maybe Jadis has softly seduced me through the years into a slightly euphonised land of milk and honey and Lady IO brings me back into reality? And do I like that? I am confused.

Should there be any question in the realm of our hobby that a mistress is better than a wife? Why wouldn't we want to "seduced" every time we listen"? Expensive? Who cares!! When I sit down in my listening chair, I don't want minivans and nappies. I want "shivers" down my spine. Maybe we should all buy Jadis. And it even seems to be a RELIABLE mistress.

Reliable she is indeed!! And ever seductive! You've said it, Cwlondon.

Detlof, this definitely sounds like a right brain/left brain situation! Any way you can use the same cables on each, or is the I/O not one with the separate volume controls? Otherwise, I'd suggest breaking in the cables a bit more and letting the I/O cook a few days and seeing if that makes a difference, it sure does with my JP80. I share your ambivalence, as I've heard the I/O on a few occasions and have thought that it is a piece that can retrieve more information than the Jadis without losing that elusive magic. My interest is more detached, though, as I'm really not in the market to replace my preamp, for space and logistical reasons (a separate phono stage means another line level input, and I don't have one available). On the reliability issue, since I may have touched on it in an earlier post, I will note to all of you that my few problems with my Jadis have stemmed from modifications made to it (mine was one of the early units in which Da Hong put Cardas wiring in the MC stage, and it had some RF problems as a result that fortunately Victor Goldstein was able to fix), not the stock unit.

Rcprince, your suggestions are wise. I wondered myself if I was listening actually to the IO, or rather more to cables not broken in. I'll give it time, let her stew and then we'll see if this here right-brainer will be more happy with IO's presentation.

Cwlondon, I don't have any experience with the transport other than having heard it in a gentleman's system once, for one CD (I was buying some records from him, so we were listening to vinyl), so I'll pass other than to say that it looks great, doesn't it, and that it sounded a little leaner than my Forsell (but everything else I've heard also sounds leaner than that unit, so no help there). The DAC was originally designed by Jerry Ozment, whose Audio Logic DAC I own, so unless it has radically changed from what I've heard a few years ago I'd say it has a very musical quality and is very nice to listen to. I liked the Audio Logic better, though, and it was much less expensive, just not as gorgeous. Hope others have more, and more recent, experience with these units to help you.