The new Jadis mk2 amplifiers are *much* better than the older versions. They are far more transparent and not as golden sounding, but retain Jadis musicality. They are also considerably more reliable.
+1
As some may know, I just acquired a Jadis JA 30Mk2. Why did I pick this model?...well with Jadis ( and frankly most other tube amp manufacturers) I happen to believe ( strongly) that the sweet spot of their line almost ALWAYS lies in their mid to lower powered amp. The benefits one gets ( if said amp can drive one's speakers) is IME as follows: 1) Less heat output ( less heat almost always means a longer component life), 2) Fewer tubes to acquire --leading to lower expense upon re-tube, 3) Lower probability of tube failure, due to fewer tubes, 4) Easier ability to match tubes, 5) Possibly fewer chassis and therefore fewer parts in the signal path, 6) better ability to transport ( yes, I know this is generally infrequent, but lugging four or more heavy chassis around is not my idea of fun), and lastly 7) An ease of maintenance if one ever needs that.
I have heard the new Jadis JA 200 Mk2, it is an excellent amp, and I would have put it high on my radar "IF" my speakers were fairly inefficient and my room was very large. Although personally, I probably would not own speakers in a large room that are inefficient...thereby doing away with the need for any high output amp. ( and almost always the consequent heat output that these amps typically give off!)
Why do I believe Jadis is far more reliable than in the past...because if we look at the failure aspects of the past, they are typically related to a few products....The Defy 7 range ( due to a poor internal design of the circuit board and parts construction related to how the part attached to said board ) and some of the higher powered models...the JA 200 and the JA 500 ( primarily due to the quality and type of the tube utilized in these models) ( I have no idea about the crazy JA 800--and couldn't care either, why would anybody want a monster heat engine like that???).
Today, Jadis has re-desigend their transformers, are using far superior quality tubes ( the KT120's and the KT 150's) and far superior quality parts in general.
Would I risk a high powered Jadis amp...aka the JA 200 Mk2 model or above....did I???
Not to say that these are bad amps or unreliable---and they will sound great, just not as great as the lower powered versions.
Here's a question, what is the acquisition order for gear, after the room is decided? Speakers first so that everything has to conform to their attributes, or the reverse, all up stream gear first and the speakers have to be synergistic with the upstream gear? Hmmm, perhaps a good topic for another thread..
