Joule Electra preamps and amps. What is your impression?

inna, I've owned a JE LA-150 with the phono stage for several years.  Most of that time it drove Parasound JC-1 monoblocs.  I never had issues with noise, even with low output cartridges.  I heard several JE amps over the years and always enjoyed their rich, musical presentation with the right speakers.  Most OTLs don't match well with low impendance models.  My speakers dropped to around 3 ohms at two different frequencies so the JE amps didn't work for me.  Also I live in SoCal without AC so heat was a concern.

I would also agree that Jud's retirement should not be an issue.  Rich at Signature Sounds is friends with Jud and has been a dealer for many years.  He continues to service and sell Joule Electra (used) products so prospective buyers and owners can have confidence.

Rich, maybe I'm just lucky but I live within two miles of two Interstates, six miles from a military air station, and within sight of three TV transmission towers.  Still, I never experienced any RFI in my Joule phono stage, in either low or high gain.

And inna, as Rich will likely agree, Merlin speakers are a very good match with JE electronics.  Jud and Bobby demoed together several years at CES.