I bought one recently (used on Audiogon) to replace an older Audiolab 8000A. What I really wanted was something of decent quality with a remote; my goal was to get a piece that would be competitive with the Audiolab at a budget price.
What surprised me was how much better the Jungson is sonically. Sounds much more powerful and at the same time more refined than the Audiolab. Superior bass (and "control"), a much more refined and detailed midband with more information. More laid back than the Audiolab; I'd describe the Jungson as more of a "mid-hall" presentation with the Audiolab tending to be more toward the front rows. This appeals to me and allows for less fatigue, but this is a subjective issue and others may prefer more "excitement" and the upfront presentation. To me, the Jungson sounds very natural and much more like live music than the Audiolab. The Jungson sounds superb at lower volumes as well as when you play it loud; in retrospect, I always felt I had to crank the Audiolab a bit to get it to sound good.
I have not had the unit apart, but exterior build quality is exceptional and much more like a $1500 piece than a $400 one. It makes the Audiolab look (and feel) like something from Best Buy. The rosewood remote is very simple: mode, mute and volume controls. The mode button can be depressed to cycle through volume changes more quickly (can be a bit slow in regular remote mode) and the display can be defeated, which, in my opinion, results in slightly better sound quality.
Drawbacks: only 3 outputs, 2 RCA and one balanced. No tone controls for those who are interested (I'm not), and no phono stage (I am, and am still looking for a decent budget phono stage).
If you can live with the minimalist design and limited inputs, I have a hard time believing you will do much better than this amp for at least twice, maybe 3X the price.
What surprised me was how much better the Jungson is sonically. Sounds much more powerful and at the same time more refined than the Audiolab. Superior bass (and "control"), a much more refined and detailed midband with more information. More laid back than the Audiolab; I'd describe the Jungson as more of a "mid-hall" presentation with the Audiolab tending to be more toward the front rows. This appeals to me and allows for less fatigue, but this is a subjective issue and others may prefer more "excitement" and the upfront presentation. To me, the Jungson sounds very natural and much more like live music than the Audiolab. The Jungson sounds superb at lower volumes as well as when you play it loud; in retrospect, I always felt I had to crank the Audiolab a bit to get it to sound good.
I have not had the unit apart, but exterior build quality is exceptional and much more like a $1500 piece than a $400 one. It makes the Audiolab look (and feel) like something from Best Buy. The rosewood remote is very simple: mode, mute and volume controls. The mode button can be depressed to cycle through volume changes more quickly (can be a bit slow in regular remote mode) and the display can be defeated, which, in my opinion, results in slightly better sound quality.
Drawbacks: only 3 outputs, 2 RCA and one balanced. No tone controls for those who are interested (I'm not), and no phono stage (I am, and am still looking for a decent budget phono stage).
If you can live with the minimalist design and limited inputs, I have a hard time believing you will do much better than this amp for at least twice, maybe 3X the price.