Small world. Daniel emailed me and said he sold his 88C to someone who was a little apprehensive about the dynamics before buying it.
Actually the dynamics thing was a little out of context. What I basically said on AA was that I had not heard the 88C. Recommended the 88C on what other owners were saying.
He really liked the amp but thought it might not be quite as dynamcic as his old setup. This really had me curious since the 88C like the 88D is suppose to be quite dynamcic.
It really floored me to find out the 88C had replaced his Bryston 2B LP amp/Forte3 preamp combo. Nuff said?
Bw Maxx |
Where did you see a review of the monoblocks? As to the temperature it runs cool for class A. I use it in a 12x13 room and no problem even in the summer.
Maxx |
Thanks, Still using the Cayin Tube amp? I think you'll really like the difference. I had a Jolida 202A which probably isn't quite up to the level of the Cayin. None the less I think you'll probably find the midrange more resolving but probably not quite as warm. Treble more extended and natural. Big difference will be in the bass and slam department. Speakers will probably sound an octave deeper.
These are just guesses, not having heard the Cayin. But I think you'll find music alot more exciting. Should match real well with the Shengya tube CDP.
Looking forward to your impressions once you have it burned in.
All Chinese rig cool!
BW Maxx |
Same here no way I could afford this type of performance with domestic/euro gear. Thats what I had heard about the Cayin. Thats why I think you'll find this alot more exciting amp. Its anything but boring, big big 80wpc.
The owners manuel is intersting. English on the front and back. First page is in English with the same thing in Chinese under it saying be sure to read the manuel. Everything after that is in Chinese. LOL Not that you really need instructions.
One thing I did learn though is if you hold down the mode button on the remote, which is used to select the input source, it allows you to go up and down much faster on the volume control which being a stepped attenuator is fairly slow.
Love to see the Luxury Edition. Andy at Sekei after seeing the LE said he was going to be ordering it as standard rather then the non LE because its such a cool looking amp.
Later.
BW Maxx |
Even smaller world. LOL Hey Daniel :)
If is difficult to describe the midrange using normal audiophile jargon. But I think you've perty much hit the nail on the head. Natural warmth with detail. Funny though seems like everyone who hears this amp hears it the same way; very unusual, as we all tend to hear different.
Still using the E5? In my case the balanced thing didn't work as well as RCA because of the difference in the E5 RCA and balanced output. Like I said before I believe the balanced on the E5 must have been a after though or not worked out as well as the RCA since Eastsound didn't bother to include balanced outputs on the matching S8A integrated.
Hdm not suprised. Seem to be a fair number who are reporting the 88C is equaling or bettering amps in the $1200-1500 range and above in both sound and build quality.
Enjoy guys!
BW Maxx |
Hi Drac, I checked into the Luxury edition when it became available. The reason the dealer dosen't know the internal differences is, there arn't any. External only. Black and Chrome case, upgraded remote and not sure about better binding posts.
Jungson offers Luxury editions on perty much all their equipment: Amps, pre, integrated, CDP and tuner. Option at DEALER COST can run from a little under $50 to multiple hundreds depending on the equipment being upgraded to LE.
In the case of the 88D the general DEALER COST seems to run between $150-160 for the LE upgrade.
Wanted to highlight the dealer cost thing since those who sell the LE seem to be only charging around $200 more. I'm fairly sure the dealer didn't intentionally mislead you. Theres virtually no additional profit and the Internal difference belief is common.
BW Maxx |
Yes it does have upgraded binding posts. Andy has a 88D LE for sale here on Audiogon that hightlights the differences between standard and LE.
Maxx |
Daniel no I have never seen the LE edition. Although Andy says it looks awesome and will be ordering it as his default player rather then the standard.
We checked into it and no differences. Andy is the man when it comes to Jungson perty much got the Jungson thing started here in the states.
However Jungson does do some customization. When looking into the Jungson Moon Harbor CDP, found out the Opamps are welded to the circuit board. Jungson said they could place the Opamps in the outputs and non welded which would allow easy upgrade to different Opamps such as the BB OPA627. So who knows there may be some Jungson products with mods we don't know about.
Have a great Weekend.
BW Maxx |
Drac is tomorrow the day?
BW Maxx |
I've been lucky not having to wait, which has got to be tough.
Got my speakers used from a guy in Singapore. Sent the funds the day before I went on vacation and they were sitting on my kitchen table when I got home.
Jungson wasn't planning on buying. Went to Andy's to order a Mingda tube amp. Listened to the 88D for about an hour or two and took it home.
Called Andy to see if he had any CDP's available in stock. He usually has almost all his inventory sold by the time his order arrives. He only had one CDP that no one had claimed. Eastsound CD-E5. No one knew anything about Eastsound then, including me. Thought it looked cool and the price was right so I bought it. Pure dumb luck!
This one I did wait a few weeks on as his distributor wanted to hear the E5, so back to Florida for a few weeks. Still my Jungson was virtually new so I didn't mind as I wanted to get familar with the Jungson before upgrading CDP's.
Get your muscles ready, its a challenge to even get the 88D out of the box :)
As always BW |
Hi Drac, Yes I did. However I didn't notice it at the time because I was going from a Cambridge Audio A500RC amp and the Jolida 202A was a distant memory.
I really didn't bother to A/B with the CA as everthing was better although the clarity was about the same.
After the 100 hour mark I really noticed the difference and commented to my wife that it sounded like 2 or 3 layers of haze had been stripped away from the music. This suprised me because it didn't even realize it was there initially.
Like the BFS review says the amp requires some break in time. Probably about 200 for full breakin.
The Sony I guess is a cheap player till you get the Marantz and its new as well? Yep there definitly will be some clarity issues especially when going from the Shengya CDP to a unbroken in player. Got another very big jump in performance when my Camabrige Audio CDP was replaced by the Eastsound. Almost on the same magnitude as changing amps.
So yes expect a world of difference once your Jungson and Marantz are broken in. I also found that my speakers needed repositioning to sound their best.
BW Maxx |
Your welcome. Look forward to your email. |
No didn't get it. Have some trouble with Audiogon emails. Just type in Maxxc at Audio asylum you can find it there. Let me know if you can't find it.
BW |
Can't send emails via audiogon. Keep getting the set "Cookies" message. |
Before we get another Myth started. Having a tube like midrange dosen't mean the Jungson sounds like tubes in the highs and lows. Neither does it mean any SS amp with a 'tube like' midrange will sound like tubes thoughout.
From the reviews I have read of the Korsun, it has a typical high power SS sound. Lots of slam and speed with SS sound. Possibly similar to Krell.
The Jungson in comparison probably is slow and lacking in dynamics. But IMO this is in comparison to the Korsun, not in absolute terms. I certainly don't hear any slowness like I did with my CA amp and I don't hear a lack of dynamcics. Much more dynamic then the CA or Jolida tube amps I had before.
Drac has a excellent synopsis of the Jungson sound. Very natural. Not artificially tight or hyped. Some may not like the sound. Some will love it.
Koczkal welcome aboard! I really think if the Jungson is as far from your listening preferences as you say. I really don't think any power cords or IC's will give you what you are looking for. You might need to look for another amp. Nothing wrong with that. Everyone has different taste and its all about enjoying the music.
BW Maxx |
I agree power cords are tweaks. I can't see IC's or power cords transforming a amp or CDP radically.
Bass is very well integrated. It dosen't jump out at you.
I mostly listen to rock. One of my previous amps had very tight puchy bass. At first I thought it sounded great. After awhile it all sounded the same and I realized it didn't sound that natural. The Jungson to my ear really sounds like a bass guitar an instrument I'm very familar with. Bass dosen't sound artificial or hyped as pointed out in the BFS review.
BW Maxx |
For class A it runs cool. Not like class a/b or digital of course. But dosen't seem to be any warmer then a Jolida tube amp I had in the system. No problem holding your hand on it as long as you want.
BW Maxx |
102DB! Man that leaves amp selection wide open. The 88D of course as stated by those who have heard it has a tube like midrange. No brightness, grain or grit in the highs and plenty of power for a 80wpc amp.
Some seem to feel Klipsch are ideal for SET amps. However the 88D is not Euphoric like some tube amps. What amp are you using now? I mean if any SS amp will synergize well with the Klipsch the Jungson would be near top of the list.
So how it would sound to you would be of course based on what you have currently and what you are looking for.
I'm not trying to discourage you from the Jungson. Just trying to get across the point that with speakers like Klipsch and 102DB effeciency there may be better options.
Again though it could be the match you are looking for :)
Hope this helped some.
BW Maxx |
I guess your talking about Sekei? If so its in Columbus. About 70 miles north of where I live and about 30 south of Indy.
I know I hauled my entire system up to Sekei to audition the Jungson. Its definitly worth the effort to pack at least the speakers if you get a chance to audition the Jungson.
You could also look at the Jungson 99C power amp. Suppose to be the same power section as the 88D but this would allow you to use a tube or SS pre.
BW Maxx |
Oh yes Greenwood exit 99 or 103? Sekei is about 10 minutes off I65, exit 64 I think, a touch south of Columbus.
Andy has the 99C/JA1 in his reference. Same as the 88D but in seperates.
BW Maxx |
Sekei isn't at the address listed at the website. Andy has a regular day time job and runs the business out of his house so you need to call to demo.
Except for the primary system there usually isn't much on display. By the time his shipment arrives. Almost everything is already sold. He usually has a few items not already sold. But not many. His next shipment is scheduled to be received in mid July.
BW Maxx |
