Parasound JC-1 with B&W Nautilus speakers?

One mans "up front and in your face" is another mans laid back and dull sound, it's all relative. I thought the JC-1 where just right myself, front row seat but not at the expense of loss of dimensionality, soundstage depth, ease or transparency. My neighbor owns a pair of JC-1's, I've heard them many times and in a couple of showrooms and they have become a personal reference, favoring them over $20K+ spectral and Krell amps I heard as well in many ways, not to mention anything I've heard anywhere near or below their price. They are special amps. I heard the JC-1's with the ~$5K tower B&W's (can't recall the model number, not a big B&W fan) and the sound was phenomenal, best I've ever heard B&W's sound....

People need to realize that just because an amp has a $20k sticker tag doesnt mean its going to sound any better. Completely the farthest thing from the truth. When I demo'd the JC-1's I also had on hand a pair of Bryston 7B ST's, Aragon Palladium's, A ML No. 334 on hand. Its quality was right in line with the rest of the auditioned pieces. It just wasnt the sound Im looking for. I think JC-1's would be a good match for speakers like SOnus Faber or VIenna Accoustic speakers, but it wasnt right for my setup. I personally dont/didnt want front row seating for a "presentation". Im already setup for nearfield listening to begin with, plus I found that a few other monoblocks in the same general pricerange category had better dynamics and soundstage presentation for my speakers. The JC-1's to me sounded like a more forward sounding Rotel RB-1090 with better bottom end punch, which I had a few years back. They resembled this amp in SQ very closely which isnt a bad thing at all, just not what I was looking for.

Hello All,

Thanks for your responses to my questions. I just wanted to give you an update so far on the JC-1s in my system. The amps have been installed for a week and running continuously with source material coming from my satellite receiver when I am not listening to miusic or watching a movie. I have listened to Rock, Jazz and Classical music with the JCs and I am finding them to be very versitile. The soundstage is becomming dimensional. Initially, there was height and width but not much depth, but now I am getting good depth as well. On most of the source material I have listend to, the speakers have completely disappeared. I managed to borrow a friends Krell 300CD for a couple of days and that made a big difference compared to my CD player. I had a much better soundstage with the Krell. I have an older model TT, Technics SL-10 that I purchased 20 years ago; I recently purchased an Ortofone cartridge for it and I must say that my vinyl has never sounded better. So far, in my opinion, these amps have been a great match with the N802s.

Hi Tfee,
Would appreciate if you could share with us your thoughts on JC1 a few months after you own them. I am in Bangkok and very much interested in JC-1 to drive my B&W802N. I have been changing power amp and still looking for the one that could handle the 802N. Mark Levenson is out of my league if I need 400wpc. Unfortunately, the exclusive dealer in Bangkok refuse to demo the unit even in their showroom and overcharging the price, so I try to figure out other power amp that could go well with the 802N. I am using 2 sets of power amp - a BAT VK-500 with BATPAK (250wpc), and push-pull tube Antique Sound Lab Hurricanes (200wpc). Keep switching back and forth and end up keeping both. The BAT is a tad too sweet and fat lower mid. The ASL is a tad too analytical, but throw a big 3D sound stage. I am looking for something in between.
Hope that you could share your thoughts and experience in a quest for the right amp for B&W802N.

Som the JC1 are special,for the price they are cheap,
Read Michael Fremmer review,very accurate review.
One thing I like about the JC1,they put the instrument
in the right place.I prefer them than the Levinsons,
Krells, and Pass Lab.Forget about your dealer.