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Emperical Audio Mods for Parasound Halo JC-1'S

Has anyone had their Parasound Halo JC-1 monoblocks modified with the $1,800.00 Emperical Audio mods, or heard ones that have been modified by them?
If so, how did they sound, and what all improvements were there over the stock factory JC-1's?
Was it a big improvement, or a so so improvement with the mods in place?
In your honest opinion, are the sonic improvements worth the $1,800.00 asking price for the mods?
All information and opinions would be greatly appreciated.
daltonlanny
rcrump
427 posts
 
You want state of the art for $6K? That isn't possible, but it is possible to build a very good machine made amplifier for that sort of price. I went to the site and it says not one black gate cap was used! Horrors! I don't really care for them preferring the big Nichicon Gold Tune and KZ series instead.....Why don't you be the first to have the mods done and void your warranty and then save about 20K and we'll build you a nice hand-built amp next time? I think what Steve is doing is commendable, but don't pretend that the JC-1 is state of the art as it isn't, merely a very capable rendition of what can be done by machine these days. Funny thing is the JC-1 turned out better than most state of the art amps just plain stock so there isn't much work to do to really make it sing. Curl is ahead of most of the others out there.........I read about the change in topology and figure Steve must have burned some midnight oil as the schematics are not available to the public for the unit and it takes a long time to trace down Carl Thompson's layouts especially with an opaque black solder mask.......The unit sounds as it sounds and I voiced it just slightly sweet, a change from the typical Parasound sound......
daltonlanny OP
301 posts
 
Bob,
I did not say or state that I wanted state-of-the art sound!
I simply wanted to know if anyone out there has had their JC-1's modded by Empirical Audio, and wanted to know what the results were. Their ad claims dramatic improvements from their mods being done, and I just wanted to know how accurate their ad was.
I am not willing or ready to spend $1,800.00 on mods to my JC-1's. I simply wanted peoples opinions on these mods, just in case I might want to have some done a few years down the road.
fiddler
581 posts
 
Bob, whoa...ease up big guy. I don't think he was implying anything negative about the JC-1's. As I read his post he was simply inquiring if the Empirical Audio mods were worth the money. Asking that question doesn't mean he was slamming the JC-1's or looking for "state-of-the-art". It seems his post was one of curiosity more than implication.
audioengr
3,282 posts
 
Bob -
The large Nichicon filter capacitors are not swapped-out. Only the smaller ones. I like to use Nichicons for filtering as well, although I'm not in love with the Muse series.

These monoblocks gathered dust for over a year while I used another amp for my reference. With the mods, they are once again my reference.
daltonlanny OP
301 posts
 
Thank you Fiddler!
No, I was in no way slamming the JC-1's.They are exceptional amps! Just read my review of them. I am just a curious person like any audiophile is, especially when it comes to after-market mods.
I cannot afford to have my JC-1's modded, and do not plan to any time soon. I am VERY HAPPY with their sound as is!
But a few years down the road...you never know.
And I know darn well that TRUE "state-of-the-art" sound is currently unobtainable at any price!
I bought a modded Pioneer DV-47Ai universal disc player from a guy that had been HIGHLY MODIFIED by Rick Shultz at EVS, and was shocked at the improvement over the stock unit!
That is one of the reasons I am always curious about after-market mods.
Bob, if I offended you in any way at all, I'm sorry, and I apologize. I respect your work, products, and hearing abilities VERY MUCH! I also have the utmost respect for John Curl and Carl Thompson.
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