And finally, they arrived, and they are wonderful! This very realistic sound is pretty amazing (a word I never use otherwise). No further questions at the moment. :-) |
Thank you! I still havent received the amps, but they have reached a terminal in the city where I live. Have to wait until next week until I get them.
They are equipped with 6CA7 output tubes and Brimar input tubes. I like these tubes very much, but I guess I have to try the amps with my KT88's I also have, in another amp.
I am also considering what cables to use. Personally, I am more into big differences when I try out new hifi, the smallest nuances arent't my cup of tea as the records I listen to vary so much in sound quality anyway. I will try my current more or less no name cables and se what I think about that. If I miss much from what I heard, I might consider upgrading, but I think the acoustics of the room and speaker positioning is much more impotant for me. |
Ditto! Looks like you "get" what the Jadis sound is all about. |
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I just want to report that I listened to the Jadis JA30 amplifiers using the same preamp and speakers I have got at home. The room was of course different, the cd player and cables. I listened many hours with mostly my own records. And to say least, it sounded wonderful! Maybe not the crystal clear and stable bass as from amps from lets say Audio Research or a solid state amp. But the 3D space was fenomenal and the music was exceptionally emotionally involving! I was deeply touched I have to say. Now lets's hope DHL won't treat them badly as I couldn't bring them with me personally. |
Again, no need to add a single word to the above.
I still miss the Jadis' glorious midrange. I was forced to sell my Jadis gear when my fortunes changed for the worse and when they picked up again, I opted for Wavac, Zanden and Atma-Sphere because there was no Jadis distributor near. Haven't regretted my choices, but still...... |
In listening to the JA30s, keep in mind that the brands and types of tubes used can have a decided influence on the sound, especially the small input tubes (I prefer vintage Telefunkens, but others have their favorites as well). Since the 30s can use EL34s, KT88s and 6550s, that choice will also influence the tonal balance and bass response that you hear. Finally, you should try to listen to them with either your speakers or something similar in sensitivity, impedance and frequency range.
With respect to reliability, with the distributor and good repair shops nearby, I think you'll be fine. The only problem I had with my JA80s in my ten years with them was due to some modifications I had done to them, so I can't blame Jadis for that. The amp can eat up output tubes, though. I found that the best and longest lasting tubes in my JA80s were vintage Gold Lion KT88s; 6550s and EL34s tended to go bad and start blowing fuses after a year or so.
Overall, I found that when I first listened to the JA80s I bought there was nothing about them that really stood out and grabbed my attention, it was more a general feeling of "this sounds right". I think that if you get that feeling, then these amps may be the ones you should buy. |
No, I don't live in France. But there is a distributor in the city where I live and several hifi repair firms. I am still interested in specific things to look at when listening and checking the amps. Or is it simple, if I like the sound, it's a good amp? |
I would contact the distributor and find out who will service the amp should a problem arise. You don't want to have to ship it back to France, do you? Unless you live there, of course! Nothing wrong with brands like Jadis, Metronome, Audio Aero - great stuff, but you have to know you can get it serviced within a reasonable distance from where you are located. Best of luck. |
I will listen to a pair of JA30's this weekend. Besides deciding if I like the sound or not with my kind of music, can you give me advice on what else to take notice of or be extra observant to? I guess there are many things that can go wrong with a tube amp over time and I've read people having some trouble with Jadis amps in general. The caps and tubes are quite recently replaced I am told. Thanks! |
I share RCprince's opinion word for word. The Defy has nice punch. So if you listen mainly to Rock or similar, that could be the way to go. The Ja 30s are prefect for voices, small combos, chamber music etc. They are wonderful amps. Small often is better....... |
While the JA-30s certainly won't have the power of the Defy, in my view they are the more refined amplifier by far. The sound of the JA 30s would be more akin to the DA88 thsn the Defy, IMHO. |
Thanks! Right now I am interested in either the Ja30's or a Defy 100. I woud prefer the mono's for the looks but 100 class ab watts might be much better in the end. And it should be a cheaper amplifier. I heard the integrated Da88 the other day, 2x60 class a. I wouldn't mind a sound like that! |
I'm going from years back, as I haven't kept up with current production, but I believe the JA 50 uses KT90 tubes, where you could use EL34s, 6550s and KT 88s with the JA 30s. IMHO the Jadis amps using KT90 tubes sound perhaps cleaner than the other types, but ultimately uninvolving in comparison. With the right speaker, the JA 30s I have heard could be magical, particularly with vintage EL34 tubes, but they probably will not give have as much control on the bass as the KT 90s do. KT 88s in a JA 30 might be a good compromise between bass control and midrange magic. |
Yes I know, I didn't give much info, but it was actually a bit on purpose. I know people will tell me I need more power for my 86db speakers to be able to play loud enough but I have never even been close to miss watts when trying different amps, not even with a 40w class AB tube amp. Not when it comes to playing loud, bass control is another thing. I wanted to know if anybody knew the sound difference of the two amps but I guess it was a long shot. Would still be very interested though! |
You will not get an answer as long as you do not point out what you want to use those amps with. 10 watts more or less generally do nor make much of difference as far as the sound is concerned. There are exceptions, but they are fairly rare. |
