Jadis Orchestra Reference: comments

I am the proud owner of this product. I auditioned EVERYTHING out there before laying down my money. The following is just one man's opinion... I came to the conclusion that a tube amp(in the right setup) sounded more real to me than any solid state(and I checked them ALL out) amp I had come across. I was not in the market for an integrated amp, but this was the best overall product that I came across(I didn't seriously look at products over my $5000 budget), and that is why I bought it. To me the sound is as good as you can find, without going exotic. Everyday, you see a quote where brand X(usually Jolida, Rogue, etc. - and I am a BIG FAN of those companies) sounds as good as anything else under $5/10/whatever-K. WRONG!!! This amp is levels removed from them. It sounds better than the C - J, VAC, and VTL lines, and will drive loudspeakers the C - J CAV50/MV55 would never even dream of. It is at least a level higher than their own Orchestra, which is a Stereophile Class A rated component. It is, in fact, a much different product, and should be appropriately named to avoid association with a cheaper, inferior product. It is very similar to the $5500 DA-30, but with passive preamp, tone controls, and the new MUCH superior cosmetics(no plastic faceplate or knobs; transformer covers, wood, stainless steel, and vast amounts of 24K gold over very substantial brass faceplate and knobs). This amp features massive transformers wired in OFC(find another integrated with this for less than $10K). It is hard wired. Comes with 4 KT90 output tubes(which a huge number of 6550/KT88 owners are switching to), but will accept EL34/6CA7/6550/KT88. So by not only changing brand, but tube type, the amp can be anywhere on the spectrum from warm and polite tube to neutral and forward. Large capacitance, which combined with the transformers and KT90s, produces the best bass response and power of any tube integrated(short of their $9000 DA-60, which features 8 KT90s), solid state(not Krell) type bass. Passive preamp section is quieter than other tube preamps. Tone controls(nice to see someone not afraid to go against the accepted mantra of what high end products have or don't have), which coupled with the passive preamp actually work, without destroying the sound. And the cosmetics... You simply must see the picture in TAS to get an idea. I don't worry about the way a product looks, but this amp would be at home in the most elegant room. The sound is rich, full, and immediate like an SET amp, yet will drive real world loudspeakers. After 4 months, I upgraded to a solid silver power cord, and a product I didn't think could sound better became blacker, tighter, more focused, etc.(all the stuff they say about power cords). Negatives? Jadis has almost NO US presence these days(shame - if they did, people would be ALL OVER this product). The gold plating is hard to keep pristine(wipe it with a clean cloth, or once in a great while with methylated spirits[95% ethanol, denatured with methanol] - per the factory). And it is harder to bias than other tube amps(you will need two multimeters). I paid $500 more than what a CAV50 lists for. Which would be the better bargain? Well, it is the choice between a simply wonderful amp and an amp you may NEVER have to replace. Some rhetoric: seems like their is a growing tide of European(French, German, Italian, Norwegian, and British companies) products that are leaving their American counterparts in the dust in terms of sound. Ratcheting up the QUALITY of sound, while many of our companies continue to engage in a "horsepower war".

One more opinion(sorry!)... While I originally preferred a separate pre/power amp combination, since living with this amp I have come to see a few advantages of a great integrated: One chassis, which saves cost(dramatically) as well as space. No potential for mismatching pre and power amp. No potential for mismatch of interconnect between those pre and power amps. In fact Mark Levinson now states that their integrated is superior in sound to the same level pre power amps UNLESS a PERFECT interconnect match is achieved(and the price of that pre/power maybe twice as much). And finally, you only need ONE power cord, so you can buy one that is 2X more expensive(not always the true judge of a product) for the same money.

"Knobs and buttons, and gold...etc" How about the sound? Yes, they can "drive" speakers of many sizes and shapes...! But how about microdynamics? You don't mention, WHAT Jadis does better, than other amps...? If you are "reviewing" the amp, give us the real issues, readers are interested in. You've read reviews before...?

This amp was reviewed in issue 58 of UHF magazine.Favorable review.Goo to www.UHFMAG.com.you can order a back issue.

Jeez,tough crowd. Trelja;this is one of the most informative posts I've ever read. I'm blown away by everything in, and about it.Sounds to me like a lot of guys have paid much more to get to the same place;or below. Does it make the coffee too?