JLTI can any one comment on this?

I have a JLTI from the first Australian production run. My JLTI was part of a phono stage shoot-out at Audio Revelations which is why Audio Revelations now carries the product. I have also lent my unit to friends for them to compare to other phono stages in their own systems. The consensus is that the JLTI is an overachiever. It holds its own with phono stages costing $4,000 or more. It is transparent, dynamic, with good bass slam. Like most solid state units it can not match the three dimensionality that tube phono stages have. But at $1,695 it is amazing. Talk to Jay at Audio Revelations about the outboard power supply. You may not want it as there are trade-offs.

I was under the impression, perhaps incorrectly, that the line Jay carries is made in Switzerland and not Australia. I have heard there are some differences between the two. Can you clarify this? Also, can you expand on the power supply comment. I'm curious about this phono stage so any additional information would be appreciated.

Vacuum State has two locations - Australia/Joe Rasmussen and Switzerland/Allen Wright. The JLTI was originally manufactured in Australia by Joe. The first units (which is what I have) had point to point wiring. Later Australian units were on a circuit board. Production was then switched to Switzerland. The simple cosmetics of the Australian unit were replaced by the more elegant Swiss cosmetics. The external power supply was also added as an option.

I have compared my unit to a circuit board Australian unit. To my ears, and the owner of the circuit board unit, my unit sounded better. I have not heard one of the Swiss units. Jay at Audio Revelations has heard both my unit and the current Swiss made units, though not at the same time.

With regard to the external power supply, I have not heard the current Swiss unit. I know that Jay at Audio Revelations has done comparisons on the Swiss unit with and without the external power supply. He told me that with the external power supply you gain some things and lose others. Depending on your preferences you may or may not prefer the external power supply.

Jay has done more listening to the JLTI than anyone I know. Give him a call and he can give you the details.

However, with or without the external power supply, it is the concensus opinion of our extended listening group that the JLTI in any of its three forms (AU p-to-p, AU cb, or swiss) is a tremendous sounding unit that performs far above its price point.

Many thanks for the information - I really appreciate your taking the time to post your experiences. I am also very interested in this phono stage. Could you possibly elaborate on the other phono stages used in the shoot out. I realize this eventually comes down to personal taste and system matching, but I'm still curious as to what other stages the JLTI compared favourably too. Thanks in advance for the information.

I and three audiophile friends listened to a Brinkmann Balance turntable with Graham Phantom tonearm and Shelter 90X cartridge, through an Airtight ATC-2 preamp, Airtight ATM-2 amp, and Avalon Opus Ceramique speakers. The phono stages included the ASR Basis Executive, the E.A.R. 88PB, the E.A.R. 324, the Art Audio Vinyl-1, the Whest, the Eastern Electric MiniMax, the Vacuum State JLTI, and the Korora. By doing A/B comparisons, we arrived at a consensus about the relative ranking of the phono stages. We tried two different phono cables with each phono stage, choosing the better sounding one for the listening tests.

Based on our listening in this system using only one LP, the JLTI was better than the Art Audio, the Whest, the Minimax and the Korora. The ASR, the two EAR units and the JLTI were different sounding. However, they were all in the same sonic category, quality-wise.