I will not be selling my TVC. It is a awesome piece of gear. Nick had put in the Elma switches, stuffed with cotton, etc. It really is transparent.
Most review of the JC-2 are glowing and I plan to audition it in a day or 2 at the local dealer. If I buy the JC-2, it is going to be from my local dealer. I will find out if I have a Ayre dealer around. Thank You for suggesting that. Also I will be requesting a home audition of the JC-2, because I know my system so well. I don't know how the home auditions works though. They might ask for some security deposit, which I am perfectly fine. |
Thanks folks. I did listento the JC-2 in the dealers system. The system as a whole sounded nice.....but that did not mean much to me, since I do not know that system. One thing I am not sure about the JC-2 is - would it be as clean as my TVC?
I have planned to get the preamp on loan and listen to it in my system next weekend. If that does not work, then I might have to look at some higher sensitivity speakers. |
Sdcampbell,
Thank You for the suggestion. But the BP17 does not have XLR in. I want that for my future "source" purchases.
Zd542,
I did not think of connecting an inexpensive line stage to the TVC before. Thank you for suggesting that. Yeah, I do love the TVC so much. |
JC-2 is now in house. Did a brief comparing this morning. I am somehow feeling that my TVC is more transparent than the JC-2. The JC-2 seemed "louder" and I cannot go past 9 O'clock position for my normal listening position. At that position, it is already loud.
Honestly, I am finding it a bit difficult to "like" the JC-2. I had very high hopes for sound improvements. What would you specifically look for when comparing pre-amps? I used the following CDs for comparison:
Eva Cassidy - Live At Blues Alley - Fields of Gold
Norah Jones - Come Away With Me
Big Joe Mahar - Got My Mojo Working
Cassandra Wilson - Lover Come Back to Me & The Very Thought of You
I will continue to listen and compare the pre-amps again tonight, before returning it to the shop tomorrow. |
Just as a fyi, this is a JC-2 BP. After your suggestion, I kept the unit warmed up for several hours and did some critical listening again. I did find that the dynamics were a tad bit sharper than my TVC - but I am really "trying" very hard to find the differences. In fact I called in my wife for 2 songs and after patiently listening to those songs her comments were the same - the JC-2 is slightly "sharper" than the TVC. But this could also have been that the JC-2 was set to higher volume level. The concern is it's volume starts at 7 O'clock position and I cannot go beyond 9 O'clock.
I will keep the unit on for the whole night and see if that makes a difference. I am not sure if that extra circuit for the "BP" in the JC-2 is making it sound different than what the reviews for the standard JC-2 says. On this forum as well as audioasylum, there are folks who swear by active line stage and would never go passive. I was under the impression that when the JC-2 would be introduced in my system, it would really show all those deficiencies of a "passive" line stage.
When I moved from the power amp section of a NAD integrated to my A21, it did not take me more than 2 mins to hear the difference. Same thing when I moved to the TVC from the same integrated amp's preamp section - this was much more prominent. And here I am struggling to find improvements by the $4795 JC-2 BP over my $1675 TVC. |
Chayro/Rsf507,
I guess you guys are right. IF I did not experience a "jump" in performance, I would rather trust my ears than the reviews.
I did get couple of emails from several TVC owners who feel that TVCs, in the right system, are very hard to beat - price/performance ratio. $4K was my max and I cannot stretch beyond that.
Tobes,
You are probably right regarding the BP and non-BP. I did check with Parasound and they have asked me for the Serial number of the preamp I am listening to - I don't know why.
Pass and Jeff Rowland - I might give it a try. Thank You for the suggestions. |
As an update, I found out from Parasound that the JC-2 BP which I had as a loaner had a faulty board and so had a 8db extra gain. Apparently, it also affects the sound quality.
The dealer will get this corrected and I plan to audition it again in my system after that. |
Reviving this old thread. Since getting the new loudspeakers in place, I want to try an active preamp in my system. The reason for this is the new speaker has great resolution and bass depth and I would like to explore if an active preamp can enhance this experience even further. There are 3 preamps that I am considering are:1. Jeff Rowland Capri S22. Bryston BP-17-33. Parasound JC-2And that is the order I have been recommended.Based on that recommendation, I started looking for reviews of the S2 and came across a review that really let me down on this preamp: http://www.hifi-advice.com/blog/review/analog-reviews/amplifier-reviews/jeff-rowland-capri-s2-and-12... The latest Stereophile review of the Bryston is very positive and JC-2 is a well know preamp. What are you guy's experience when it comes to these 3 preamps? Any other preamps to consider in that price range? Unfortunately this time, I cannot travel for any in-person demo. I know that in the past people have recommended a Pass (XP-10/12?). But looks like it is out of my price range. |
Ralph,I have never had any experience with tubes. So never investigated into tubes. I am worried that when a tube goes bad, it might cause some damage to the system. Besides tube rolling is expensive and I have no experience biasing the tubes.What are your preamp suggestions on balanced tube amps in the $3-$4k range? Will they be compatible with the Parasound A21 amp?
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Thanks @timlub
Thank You for the suggestion.
What were your thoughts about the Capri S2? What were the differences you heard between the S2 and the Coda? Curious where the S2 fell short of your expectations. I known that Coda has very high demand in Europe and not in the US. There was one on sale here a couple of days back and I guess someone purchased it. |
Thank You Tim.Yes, it helps. Based on the feedback I got
here and through personal communications, I am thinking of dropping the
JC-2 altogether and more inclined towards the Bryston BP-17, since I am
not sure if I will be able to lay my hands on the SST Ambrosia. It is
beyond my price range.
Will look out for used ones.
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I think I have narrowed it down to the Jeff Rowland Capri S2 Vs the Bryston B-17 cubed. As anyone got a chance to compare these? The Capri S2 is 5 years old vs the Bryston is less than a year old.
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Anyone heard the Merrill Audio Cara? Any feedback, compared to the Bryston/Parasound/Jeff Rowland? |
@jafant ,What is your current preamplifier?
@dbphd ,When I auditioned a JC2 years back, I did not find it harsh. But I found that it had too much gain. Later I found out that that shop demo piece had an issue. My current loudspeakers are far too revealing compared to the previous ones. And that is one of the reasons that I have reconsidered the JC2. For some reasons, I am not in the "Ayre looks". Nothing against them.
@soix ,I have read the Stereophile review as well as James Tanner's opinion on BP-17Cubed Vs the BP26 at audiocircle. He feels that overall the BP17 is an improvement over the BP26.
Do you guys think a used Pass XP-10 would be better than the Parasound JC2 and Bryston BP-17? My dealer is suggesting the Jeff Rowland Capri S2 as his number one choice. His second choice is the Bryston followed by Parasound.I want to make sure that I get a pretty good active preamp. Don't want to keep upgrading over a period of time. So sometimes I feel, if I can stretch a bit, it will be good in the long run. Any other suggestions?
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So, I researched a few tube preamps and I would like to have one with XLR in/out. One such preamp is the Backert Labs Rhumba 1.2. But I believe tubes have their own issues - like hum. http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/review-backert-labs-rhumba-1-2-preamplifier.732674/One reason I like this tube preamp is, it has a top cover to change tubes. I looked at other like BAT, and they don't have covers like this one. One thing I don't know - can you keep the preamp "on" 24X7? Or will that kill the tubes? Another point to note with tube amps is that their output impedance is always higher than a SS preamp. |
@bigddesign3, I am not sure about that. I think the Backert pre would be better than that. I have read enough threads and the Freya has mixed reviews with the users (not pro reviewers).
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@bpoletti Thank You for the recommendation. Yes, I would like to have XLR. No two thoughts on that. If the preamp does not have it, it is a no starter for me. My amp sounds amazing with XLR instead of RCA, even though it is not a "true balanced" design. Don't plan to change the amp in the near future.
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@jnovak ,Thank You for the feedback. Recently another forum member has paired the XP-20 with a Proac and seems very content.
@dbphd ,Yes, it has been 4 years and in between I stopped my search and upgraded my loudspeaker. It took 2 years to finalize a GREAT pair. Picky - you bet I am. I visited dozens of showrooms and a few audio shows to finalize a pair of speakers. What made you think I rejected all the suggestions? I have not yet picked any preamp. I am super picky because once I invest I have to be satisfied to live with it for at least 8-9 years. My last speakers I had for 12 years, current preamp for almost 10 years. You buy on impulse? I suggest that you ignore this thread and move on.
@tweak1 ,I want to experiment with an active preamp. Been using a passive for the past 9 years. They are SUPER transparent and I am pretty happy. I don't hink I will sell my passive if I get the active. Just want to try out something different. You know the itch ;-)
@rsf507 ,While I am a bit considering tubes, that preamp has tons of tubes in it. The Backer Lab Rhumba is something I can consider, since it has 2 tubes and their access is also easy.
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Ralph, Thank You for the correction. Obviously I am not a tube guys and hence probably did not get that fact right, when I looked at the Specifications page. http://www.atma-sphere.com/Products/#MP-3So I am assuming that it uses 2 x 6SN7GT and 2 x 12AU7 tubes? Yes, I don't have a TT, so no phono. This would be interesting. |
Folks,After a couple of years of search, I have landed with the Rhumba 1.3. All I can say is - I love what this preamp is doing in my system. I am glad that I did not loose the "transparency" of my system. At the same time it added some dynamics that I love. While I never missed the "remote volume control" in the past 9 years, it is really nice to have that remote handy. |
