Jadis JA30 Mk2, how great???

gwat, yes, they did change the transformers to accomodade kt150. Non kt150 amps come with the exact same new transformer. You can go back and forth between tubes via small modification. 

I will certainly let you know!  Just took a delivery on i50, it already managed to warm my heart :). 

Kyomi Audio, yes please post when you receive the amps.  I may need to take a road trip up to hear them unless you would be kind enough to ship them down to Florida to allow me an audition in my system.........(smiley face emoji here) 

So is the non-KT150 changed drastically from the old models? I realize they did a new transformer or what are the actual changes from the old models? As a dealer could you define that as there could be some interested buyers on this forum.

$12500 with KT150 and $11700 with KT88/KT90/KT120/6550. 

What is the retail price for the pair of monoblocks?

We are Jadis dealers  in Chicago and have the JA30 mkii with kt150 on order. We will be glad to let you know when they arrive. 

Hey Gwalt, appreciate the additional input, sounds like you have that `pride of Jadis ownership’ thing going similar to what Egoben mentioned. I agree that the Jadis transformers are among the best out there from what I’ve seen/heard, and they did indeed modify them to handle the KT150’s. I’m getting to be an old geezer so don’t rock out like the old days (i.e., 60’s, 70's 80’s & 90’s) so these amps would likely work fine for my purposes as you suggest. I’ve also seen some great reviews on that Elrod power cord you have, I may have to try it……

Glad that Daveyf started this thread, hope that someone does chime in who might have heard/own this amp.

I think the new versions of the Jadis JA30 mk2 amps with the KT150’s are probably very different from the older models. The main reason that I posted the OP was because an a’phile friend told me that these new amps are not only the sweet spot of the current Jadis line, but also significantly better than any other Jadis amp that he has heard!
I would very much like to hear anyone’s opinion of these new amps once someone has had a chance to listen to them.

Appreciate your response to the questions I threw at you Egoben, very descriptive! I do think to an extent it might be an apples to oranges comparison as the newer Jadis has likely moved to a bit more universal sound & possibly improved drive capabilities at least where the KT150 equipped amps are concerned, but also may have given up some of that magic you described in the process. But we shall see, that magic is what I am looking for too. Wish there were more dealers here in the states, with a full arsenal of the different models to be able to make comparisons.

Your advice to consider a used JA80 is a good one, and something I will consider moving forward, even though I’m anxious to see what the KT150-based amps would bring to my setup as well. I’ll be in S. California in March where I will get to the Jadis dealer there, Brooks Berdan Ltd - hopefully they will have a few KT150 as well as some of the legacy amps in-house for a nice audition. If you or the others in this thread expressing interest (or anyone else for that matter) is interested I will report back here. Thanks again for all the input.

Hi Butler, my amps are probably from the early 90's and I use Ei 6CA7 power tubes (similar to EL34 but with better bass they say). I have tried 6550, KT90 and KT88 as well but I like the ones I use now. Besides, big tubes doesn't really fit. It's very tight between the tube sockets and the transformers. Jadis must have changed the layout of the amps a bit to be able to use KT150 tubes.

I have tried many different speakers and no matter what speakers I use some factors are the same. I have NOT tried speakers with very high sensitivity, that remains to try some day. Only from 84-89 db which can be very challenging for these tube amps I admit! I listen mostly to jazz and rock (blues based rock too) in a small apartment living room. There's no question about it that these amps are much better with smaller settings, 3-6 piece jazz groups, singer songwriters, soul vocalists, small ensemble classical music and well recorded rock, blues and country bands and albums preferably released before the "loudness war" era, if that makes sense? (Some modern records sounds really awful no matter what amps you use.) These amps are great and can sound really magical, the sound gets very very emotional and real if the parameters are right, trumpets, guitars, vocals etc. That's what Jadis is about I think.

The amps have worked very good with most speakers I've tried but the higher sensitivity and easy load the better, vintage speakers are great for instance. If you hear about speakers that are hard to drive they probably aren't a good match for these Jadis amps. Right now I'm using old small Tannoy Eaton's, it works lovely. I don't know if they work with electrostats. Are yours active in the bass? The bass is good on the Jadis JA30's if the music isn't too complex and if the speakers are not too "slow" in the bass from the beginning, but of course the amps can't be compared with high power solid state amps, it's just not possible and not really fare. The KT150 tubes are probably making the bass a lot better though, I'd love to hear that some day. If you are worried about if these amps are enough you might be better off with the Jadis JA80 power amps, the regular old version can probably be found much cheaper than new JA30 mkII's. I would look for those personally if I where you and worried about the power reserves, but I can't know for sure of course.

My amps have been working pretty much flawless so far during the years I've had them. And I love the looks, the feel, the sound, pride of ownership etc etc. Very cool amps. I also own an integrated Jadis Orchestra amp and it is lovely as well, I like the brand very much, definitely floats my musical boat. :-)

Hi GWALT, thanks for the input on your JA30! You have some really nice equipment and a great-looking room…….appears to be quite a large space as well, does the Jadis have any issues energizing it? Also, I didn’t see what those red power cords are in your system details? Could you also share what type of music you listen to?

My situation is a bit different; smallish medium size room, driving 87db electrostat hybrids (Janszen) currently with a Rowland amp. Some folks have reported finding bliss with these speakers and lower powered tube amps, and I was quite impressed with the Jadis I50 integrated amp equipped with KT150 tubes at the most recent Newport show. Just trying to get some idea as to whether the JA30 MK II with KT150’s would be sufficient in my room, though will likely not be able to audition these mono amps in the USA unless one of the few dealers imports one which, as far as I know, has not happened (yet). As you indicated, correct matching of speakers & amp is critical.

Hi Egoben, thanks for offering input on your JA30. Can you tell us how old it is and what type of output tubes you are using? And if possible, how efficient your speakers are and how well the amp drives them, especially in the bass frequencies? Also what type of music you listen to and how it is handled, particularly if that includes rock/blues. Finally, has it been reliable and does it float your musical boat, so to speak?  

I don't have these mk2 amps but the regular ones, if you have any questions feel free to ask.

Hi Butler, I don't know anybody who actually owns these amps. I do have a couple of a'phile friends who have heard them, and have raved about them, hence my OP. Both of these guys have auditioned them in Europe. 

Its fairly great!!

Sorry it has taken so long to post this, but I did check with the folks at Brooks Berdan audio as to price and availability for the MkII version, and it turns out to be a bit complicated. They do not have a unit in-store for audition, nor do they show it on their price sheet. What they do show is a MkIII edition which is specific to KT120 output tubes priced at $11,700. This is the version that also appears on the US distributor website (Blue Bird Music).

 When I asked about the MkII amp, which should be the latest iteration according to the Jadis website (updated specifically to handle the new KT150 tube, but can also take EL34, 6CA7, KT88, KT90, KT120 & 6550 though a modification is required inside the amp when switching between different tube types), they said it could be special ordered, probably for a similar price to the MKIII. They have no plans at present to order one for the store. They did suggest that since Jadis is a boutique brand the development and advertising for different iterations can be confusing, and that certainly is the case here.

Davey, if your friends do have this amp, I wonder if they auditioned it somewhere prior to buying in the US?

Butler, please do post as to what you find out about the price.
Keith, next time i'm up at Brooks Berdan, I will try and take a listen. I'm a little concerned, as I may be selling a lot of gear to help finance the Jadis after hearing it...

Brooks (R.I.P.) himself loved Jadis products, as does the Brooks Berdan Ltd. tech Tom, who very much approves of their design and build quality.

Yep, I'll be in So Cal in March and Brooks Berdan is the place.  I'll give them a call tomorrow about the retail price.

I think the unit retails for 8000.00.

Brooks Berdan is the SoCal dealer, Davey.  Let me know what you find out.

I have not heard this amp. I have been told from a few friends who have, that it is incredibly good.
As to MSRP, I don't know what it is. Would like to get an idea also.
Jadis seems to be minimally represented here in the US...at least on the West coast. I have no idea if they even have a dealer on the West coast??

color me interested as well...the I-50 and I-35 have sounded superb to me in demos.  what is the mk2 MSRP?

Daveyf, have you been able to audition the Jadis yet?  I won't be able to till March, please report if you are able to do so as well.

Not sure how great it might be, but after hearing the Jadis I-50 integrated with KT150 output tubes I’d be interested in finding out. Appears that Jadis is updating many of their amps to accommodate these tubes, and the JA30 MkII is the latest to do so.

If these lower powered amps can handle my stat hybrids I would be very interested in auditioning them, seems to me that the KT150’s (and updated transformers) have moved Jadis to a more universal sound while retaining the organic goodness they are known for. My only other concern would be, although I listen to a lot of jazz and acoustic based music, is whether this new breed of Jadis can really do justice to blues/rock.