Parasound JC1's vs. Sim Audio W10

Hi Shane,

Break-in time with the JC-1s is horrible as it takes right at 30 days for the thinness to go away and almost 60 days for units to open up. Why? Probably the huge Nichicon caps if I had to point a finger, but not certain........

Gladstone, I run my JC-1s in high bias 24/7 and have for a couple years for both my Rockports (an easy load) and my Sound Lab M-1s (tough load) and curious what speakers are a tougher load than the Sound Labs? I chose the parts in the units and will say that those cheap Superior Electric posts cost five times as much as what is normally used by Parasound, are the originals that everyone copied and eat things like the WBT, Edison Price and Cardas binding posts. They were chosen for their performance, not their pricing. The JC-1 is what it is, a very powerful amplifier that can be machine built in Taiwan using specified parts that also sounds very good.........Sure we could do better if the retail pricing was 25K/pr........

Bob Crump
CTC Builders

Hi Shane,

In low bias the unit will go into AB mode at about 10w which is audible with my Rockport speakers and isn't in high bias which allows about 30w of class A. I normally run the amps 24/7 in low bias and flip the switches to high bias when I want to listen to anything above tuner level......This saves a bit on heat and electricity and is a useful feature on this large amp........

Brrgrr, the amps go through ups and downs during break-in, but the worst is the first thirty days whilst they go between brilliant to thin......They settle down after thirty days and go dull and finally wake up at about 55-60 days and stay there........I just leave the tuner on and play the system at a low level 24/7.........

Both the Nichicon and the Black Gate use an unusual electrolyte and there are some oil filled caps that take a while to break-in as well.........JC-1s go through a similar phenomenon as the VR4jrs as imagine they were dull as dirt from 35-55 days and then opened up big time........Had a similar problem with WBT binding posts so lord knows what is the cause, but Curl thinks he has tracked down the severe break-in problem on the JC-1s to the high current Nichicon caps.......Whatever it is on the VR4jrs the way to proceed is to talk to the manufacturer and get his take on break-in as some of the better parts take inordinate times to open up..........I would get the manufacturer's take on break-in times and run with it........Funny, but some of the cheapest parts break in easier than the fancy spreads.......

Hi Jordan......I spent a couple years updating the HCA-3500 before specifying parts for the JC-1s. I spent over ten years working out the passive parts for the CTC Blowtorch.......This included break-in of 30-60 days per change so lots of patience involved.......Circuit analysis is the job of the electrical engineer and voicing the circuit is a job for a listener........I have been taking notes for the past 25 years and keep a book of the changes I hear in parts, but, of course, have my favorites.......It is rare I run into trouble (going backwards) any longer, but I sure did twenty years ago.......It is an experience thing primarily and sure wish Curl could measure parts changes, but that is normally not the case........

The pricing of the JC-1 will go from 6K/pr to 7K/pr effective 5-1-05 due to increased parts costs.....

Bob Crump
CTC Builders