foxwelljsly
Me too, I ate one sour too.
Topping A50 and balanced cable for my HD600's.
Just so. It's an interesting exercise to listen to this amp hot (literally) on the heels of a couple of powerful (250-400WPC) amps / amp-combos which are designed for the lowest possible distortion figures. With the J2, NP freely admits the distortion numbers are dismal by modern standards (e.g. 0.02% 2nd harmonic), but the user manual is begirt with graphs and data that explain the highly rational reasons why he takes the design pathways he does - which boils down to finding the optimal compromise between objectively good on-paper performance with subjectively enjoyable sound.
And he's right. The J2 is inefficient, outputs just 25WPC, and distorts to an extent no-one outside the world of small-scale valve-amp production could possibly tolerate. Yet the result is one that you don't need precious-metal lug'oles to understand. The J2 is not just subjectively more enjoyable, the resolution is significantly better than the alternatives I have here: low-level musical details, ambient cues, tonal shading, vocal-intelligibility, instrument separation, &c are all rendered better, more clearly, more distinctly. It's not a "this picture is prettier than that picture" thing, it's more believable music, closer to what was recorded, but not at the cost of excruciatingly forensic fidelity.
Good stuff.
Nicely put!Just so. It's an interesting exercise to listen to this amp hot (literally) on the heels of a couple of powerful (250-400WPC) amps / amp-combos which are designed for the lowest possible distortion figures. With the J2, NP freely admits the distortion numbers are dismal by modern standards (e.g. 0.02% 2nd harmonic), but the user manual is begirt with graphs and data that explain the highly rational reasons why he takes the design pathways he does - which boils down to finding the optimal compromise between objectively good on-paper performance with subjectively enjoyable sound.
And he's right. The J2 is inefficient, outputs just 25WPC, and distorts to an extent no-one outside the world of small-scale valve-amp production could possibly tolerate. Yet the result is one that you don't need precious-metal lug'oles to understand. The J2 is not just subjectively more enjoyable, the resolution is significantly better than the alternatives I have here: low-level musical details, ambient cues, tonal shading, vocal-intelligibility, instrument separation, &c are all rendered better, more clearly, more distinctly. It's not a "this picture is prettier than that picture" thing, it's more believable music, closer to what was recorded, but not at the cost of excruciatingly forensic fidelity.
Good stuff.
Sadly they are rare in the UK. This model's no longer made, but I'm not sure there's even an active UK importer for First Watt and Pass Labs at the mo.
Sounds like you deserve a treat John. Glad you are still here. Every day above ground is a victory.Loads . Went a bit mad. Present to myself for not dying this year so far. Had a brush with cancer
so 401, 12inch pu7 , acoustic sig cart , record cleaning machine and LDA TT PSU
Nice! Sounding good?Pair of exBBC Spendor LS3/5a, quite some time ago.
Very, very nice. Pleased with it?Katalyst dac upgrade for my Selekt dsm
Sennheiser HD600s.
What you reckon to them John?
Never sell these ! ...................to other persons than me !Pair of exBBC Spendor LS3/5a, quite some time ago.
Yes, really please with it. The lp12 play back is something else now, it’s like that transformation you get when you first go aktiv with your speakers. Everything is cleaner and clearer, more defined, the soundstage has opened up, loads more info coming through which was missed out before. Some of the old vinyl I have been playing recently are from late 60’s early 70’s and they are sounding better than ever. CD player is still my old mimik at the moment, it’s sounding better with the analogue outputs plugged into the line in, than the digital output into the pnp, still saving up for either a Moon 260D T or Naim Uniti Core.Very, very nice. Pleased with it?
What you reckon to them John?
Was very impressed, though they seemed just a tad on the bright side. I seem to be extremely sensitive to this (might be my tinnitus) but otherwise loved them. Great depth, speed, resolution etc. Was surprised how good/natural the bass was too, as many have commented that it lacks in this area. Sounded very well balanced to me. They do clamp like a bastardo though, so will need stretching. It seems the HD650s might be closer to my personal preferences though, so am going to give those a shot instead. Hopefully they’ll retain what I loved about the 600s, but shift the focus just a tad away from the treble and mids.