Peleg, I wouldn't misinterpret my description of "clean" with sterile or bright. By clean I meant more of a "quiet" sound with a low noise floor which also brings out more subtle nuances deep within a recoding. Sorry if this isn't the widely accepted description of how components sound, it's just how my brain works and how it hears music. :^) The 225 has surprising warmth for a solid state amp. I've NEVER been a solid state guy because in order to do solid state right, IMO you must spend serious dollars. I've never heard a solid state amp that impressed me AT REASONABLE PRICES. The only one I like that has an incredibly beautiful midrange is my friend's amp that he built himself with Mundorf caps the size of soda cans.
Now, in my opinion, the Job is INCREDIBLY transparent. The words "holographic" and "organic" always come to mind. One of the most impressive things about it is the "air" I hear around voices, and instruments. I've never had an amp that was able to "convince" me of where the artist was IN RELATION TO THE ROOM AND THE SIZE OF IT, than the Job 225. Again, this is what my brain hears as being "clean".
Very detailed without being bright. With other amps I've had, these usually went hand in hand. The amp has VERY wide dynamic range meaning it goes from very soft passages to full crescendos instantly without ever feeling the need to adjust volume louder or softer, if that makes sense. In my experience, that is the make of a great product: when you don't have to constantly adjust volume DURING THE SAME SONG.
Bass is easily the most articulate bass I've ever had, and Joe like what you said earlier, this is what I MEANT to type on a previous post, but instead I typed "accurate". Sorry, I had a martini and I messed up! Maybe my amp is finally breaking in fully, but last week I was listening and the bass went deeper than I ever heard it go before. Again, this is what I mean by every day this thing impresses me more and more.
The TONE of the amp seems so "right", which is crucial for me for any component. I listen to a lot of classical and jazz and the tone of unamplified instruments sound so correct. It's not a super warm amp, but like Joe says, it has a touch of warmth,(not E.A.R. warmth but Tim seems to emphasize the midrange a bit on his gear, which is probably why they're so pleasing to listen to). Listening to the 225 never made me wish it was warmer, for what it's worth. Black backgrounds are just as important to me because so much more comes out and the air around voices and instruments just make music sound more real to me.
I guess the amp is slightly on the warm side of neutral.
This may not be how most people describe equipment but it's how I hear music and I tried to be as descriptive as possible saying what I listen for and what pleases me. Hope this helps.
