Babysitting a pair of Sonus Il Cremonese Ex3me

[thedudeabides]

Are the speakers toed out?

 

[jadis]

Are the speakers toed out?

Yes. Just a teeny weeny bit. Room is small.

 

[Ron Resnick]

Well, I've always been a big tube amp guy, always 100 tube watts up. This 150w Jadis is my largest so far next to my 90s JA200 Class A Jadis that was really only about 130w. This 150w Jadis sounds more like a 200 watter, just what the 86db Maggies needed.

Why did the JA200s give you only about 130 watts? What tubes were in them?

 

[jadis]

Why did the JA200s give you only about 130 watts? What tubes were in them?

The tubes were GE 6550, from the mid 90s. All along I knew and thought it was rated at 160 watts but the in the review of Dick Olsher (Stereophile November, 1993) Thomas Norton made some tests, a lot of tests actually, and concluded that it was giving 135 watts at best. Btw, Dick reviewed it with a few kinds of power tubes. KT99s, EL34, but I was cautioned by our local dealer not to do the switch from 6550 to EL34 without a tech man adjusting something under the chassis. This prevented me from trying out EL 34s which is known for its beautiful and sweet sound. Below is the cut of Thomas Norton's measurements. I still kept that copy since it had the JA200 review.

 

[Ron Resnick]

Thank you very much for your reply! It's a bit puzzling!

Compared to two tubes in the JA30 or four tubes in the JA100, where is the power from 10 tubes going in the JA200?

 

[jadis]

Thank you very much for your reply! It's a bit puzzling!

Compared to two tubes in the JA30 or four tubes in the JA100, where is the power from 10 tubes going in the JA200?

Anytime, Ron.

What is even more puzzling to me, is that, sonically, I felt (which I mentioned already in this thread) that the newer Jadis PA100 (150w rating) sounded like 200 watts when I compared it to the previous amp it replaced - the ARC VS115 (115-120w). The bass power just seemed way more in my perception. The PA100 uses 6 KT88s per channel, compare that to the 10 per channel of the JA200, we really have to wonder where the extra 4 tubes went into.

 

[Ron Resnick]

Anytime, Ron.

What is even more puzzling to me, is that, sonically, I felt (which I mentioned already in this thread) that the newer Jadis PA100 (150w rating) sounded like 200 watts when I compared it to the previous amp it replaced - the ARC VS115 (115-120w). The bass power just seemed way more in my perception. The PA100 uses 6 KT88s per channel, compare that to the 10 per channel of the JA200, we really have to wonder where the extra 4 tubes went into.

That actually is less puzzling to me. The PA100 is a Class AB amplifier.

 

[jadis]

That actually is less puzzling to me. The PA100 is a Class AB amplifier.

I see, so Class A would sound really less powerful than AB.

On another note, one day, I'd still like to try the EL34s on my PA100. I made the order but Jadis canceled my order when the Ukraine war broke out and tubes were hard to get. According to my dealer, definitely, there is a need for adjustment (most likely in the set bias) but I was willing to do all that was needed.