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Jadis JP80 Owners - Please Help

Prologue: In a recent thread, I asked for advice on a pre-amp to go with my VTL 450s, Martin Logan SL3s, and Sony SCD777ES (Thanks to all who responded!)

I just found a Jadis JP80 used for what I believe is probably quite a good price (about USD2.2k equivalent in yen) but it comes without a manual. I cannot borrow it to test it in my system nor at the store because it is at the wholesale 'trade-in/used components' branch of a chain of reasonably high-end stores which I trust. I have listened to the JPS2, liked it a lot, and think I would be willing to put up the cash to buy the JP80 based on the Jadis family sound and excellent reputation of the JP80, figuring I could get out without too much financial pain if it just didn't work. My questions to JP80 owners are:
1) Are there other pre-amps you would prefer?
2) This appears to be a JP80 with a non-tube power supply. Has anyone compared the with-tube and non-tube power supply versions? Any comments?
3) Are there versions of the JP80 which have balanced input and outputs? Inputs on this one are all RCA.
4) Phono stage: This unit has one phono input. An early 1990s (matching dates of non-tube power supply) Japanese industry catalog suggests one phono input (sensitivity 500mV). I assume this means the JP80 in question has an MC stage. Would I be wrong in assuming this? Is this phono stage any good? Should it also have an MM stage?
5) Counterfeits: Does anybody know anything about Jadis counterfeits? (which products are counterfeited? any defining visual differences? etc.) I ask a) because I am in Asia, where counterfeits are rife, b) the dealer, while a good guy, probably wouldn't know a c/f Jadis from a real one, and c) my impression was that the more recent JP80MC was essentially unchanged from the JP80 but the front plate has a slightly different setup.
6) Photos: Would anyone be willing to send me a photo of the front/back/top(grills on OK) of their older (let's say early 1990s) JP80 (not JP80MC) by email? I ask because I can find no pictures of the JP80 anywhere, as mentioned the front plate is different from the JP80MCMkII, and the top-open view of the JP80MC on the Jadis website is quite a bit different from the grill-on view of the one I saw today (though as I check it again, it appears to be a 'below-deck' view).
Thanks in advance...
Travis [tslundy@yahoo.com]
t_bone

Showing 1 response by verde88

verde88
2 posts
 
The early JP 80's from around 1986 do not use the tube power supply of the later units. Some may prefer the transistor units since they are "faster" sounding than the tube units. However, they probably are a little leaner sounding. It's a trade off.

Another way to spot an early JP 80 is the fact that they have a balance control and a volume control. The later units had dual volume pots.

The lack of the MC stage is really not anything to get excited about. You can drive a medium output cartridge with the MM stage quite easily. The hot set up with the JP 80 is to use the MM stage with a a good quality transformer such as the Audionote or Expressive. This will easily outperform the units with the MC stage.
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