Octave Jubilee Amplifiers

Willgolf

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Jul 21, 2019
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Gold Canyon, Az
Does anyone have any experience with the Octave Jubilee 300B mono amps and or Pre-amp? I am getting the bug to try something different. I have Canary Audio Grand Reference 300B mono amps with 16 Western Electric 300 B tubes and a C1800 Pre-amp. I have Viking Acoustic Grande Voix Dual horn speakers at 98db with a Lampi Pacific DAC and Lucas Audio Music server.

I have a friend who has the Octave Jubilee Pre-amp and he swears by it. I have no ability to listen locally. Information is rather sparse on Octave. I would appreciate any feedback from Octave owners.
 

audioquest4life

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Sep 23, 2020
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I have the octave jubilee preamp and it is wonderful. By far the best sounding preamp I have ever owned or tested. I think I have reread Anthony Cordesman‘s review of the Jubilee amplifier and preamps A dozen times. These are truly reference products.


I previously owned the Octave 500SE preamp and Octave MRE 130s with Super Black Box and they were also good. I have since sold both the MRE 130 and HP500 SE. I miss that preamp as it was my first tube preamp that I owned. I now have McIntosh MC2301 300 watt tube amps. Now, considering the new MC3500 350 watt amps, that’s another story. Their claim to fame is being used at Woodstock.

My MC2301s were driving B&W 800s, but sold the B&Ws and now have giant Classic Audio LoudspeAkers T1.5 reference field coil speakers.

Other preamps I tried were BAT, Einstein, ASR, and others that escape me. A friend of mine in Europe had both the Jubilee amps and preamp driving B&W 800s. The sound was great and the B&Ws were sounding awesome.

The Jubillee amp is still a great amp, but I am not sure that over the years that other tube amps are finally catching up in performance. Perhaps the reason for new Octave 300b amp.

Anyway, a Jubilee preamp or Jubilee amp used by themselves or together, is well, audio bliss. When I auditioned the Jubilee amp in Europe and heard the Mcintosh MC2301s, I was torn by the sound. Both wonderful sounding, but slightly different. The Jubilee amps at the time were only a few thousand more euro than the 2301 amps. At the time, could not afford either.
 

Willgolf

Well-Known Member
Jul 21, 2019
595
1,006
215
69
Gold Canyon, Az
I have the octave jubilee preamp and it is wonderful. By far the best sounding preamp I have ever owned or tested. I think I have reread Anthony Cordesman‘s review of the Jubilee amplifier and preamps A dozen times. These are truly reference products.


I previously owned the Octave 500SE preamp and Octave MRE 130s with Super Black Box and they were also good. I have since sold both the MRE 130 and HP500 SE. I miss that preamp as it was my first tube preamp that I owned. I now have McIntosh MC2301 300 watt tube amps. Now, considering the new MC3500 350 watt amps, that’s another story. Their claim to fame is being used at Woodstock.

My MC2301s were driving B&W 800s, but sold the B&Ws and now have giant Classic Audio LoudspeAkers T1.5 reference field coil speakers.

Other preamps I tried were BAT, Einstein, ASR, and others that escape me. A friend of mine in Europe had both the Jubilee amps and preamp driving B&W 800s. The sound was great and the B&Ws were sounding awesome.

The Jubillee amp is still a great amp, but I am not sure that over the years that other tube amps are finally catching up in performance. Perhaps the reason for new Octave 300b amp.

Anyway, a Jubilee preamp or Jubilee amp used by themselves or together, is well, audio bliss. When I auditioned the Jubilee amp in Europe and heard the Mcintosh MC2301s, I was torn by the sound. Both wonderful sounding, but slightly different. The Jubilee amps at the time were only a few thousand more euro than the 2301 amps. At the time, could not afford either.
Thanks for your thoughts. Now I have added Solid State amps to the equation. I am looking at Block Audio Mono amps and Pre-Amp. I have always had tube amps so it would be quite the change from my 300B mono amps. I wonder if I am crazy? LOL
 

Thomas 911

Active Member
Dec 2, 2021
41
59
25
61
Germany
I have the octave jubilee preamp and it is wonderful. By far the best sounding preamp I have ever owned or tested. I think I have reread Anthony Cordesman‘s review of the Jubilee amplifier and preamps A dozen times. These are truly reference products.


I previously owned the Octave 500SE preamp and Octave MRE 130s with Super Black Box and they were also good. I have since sold both the MRE 130 and HP500 SE. I miss that preamp as it was my first tube preamp that I owned. I now have McIntosh MC2301 300 watt tube amps. Now, considering the new MC3500 350 watt amps, that’s another story. Their claim to fame is being used at Woodstock.

My MC2301s were driving B&W 800s, but sold the B&Ws and now have giant Classic Audio LoudspeAkers T1.5 reference field coil speakers.

Other preamps I tried were BAT, Einstein, ASR, and others that escape me. A friend of mine in Europe had both the Jubilee amps and preamp driving B&W 800s. The sound was great and the B&Ws were sounding awesome.

The Jubillee amp is still a great amp, but I am not sure that over the years that other tube amps are finally catching up in performance. Perhaps the reason for new Octave 300b amp.

Anyway, a Jubilee preamp or Jubilee amp used by themselves or together, is well, audio bliss. When I auditioned the Jubilee amp in Europe and heard the Mcintosh MC2301s, I was torn by the sound. Both wonderful sounding, but slightly different. The Jubilee amps at the time were only a few thousand more euro than the 2301 amps. At the time, could not afford complete
i thnk i am the friend in europe , kaiserslautern you mentionend:) see my porsche ...i still own the system but reduced to pure analog one, and strong modifed,.. tuned speakers frequency seperating filter replaced by silver coils and condensators , hugh push towards other dimensions .. regarding pre amp jubillee definetly one of the best worlwide..the mono amps upgraded now with KT 150 . they will burn in next months...
i often visit high end in munich,.. and listen to other systems .. i always return with a smile ...
..the monos shows more details, keep always absolt contol. as far you can say so in relation to the 300 B.. which i prefer
the best is the midrange , violin solos etc , i prefere classic and jazz of 50 , 60 ths , its georguos, a lot of dealers visit me and, left speachless.. .....:), acoustic tuning of room... very important!!!! without this,.. you lost ... in annex some pics..
regards thomas
 

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andromedaaudio

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Jan 23, 2011
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I dont know about the Jubilee 300 B amps .
But the Older Octave Jubilee monos with KT88 ( i think it was) sounded terrific .
Together with Zanden ( 9500 -9600) and CAT probably my favourite tube amps so far
 

audioquest4life

Well-Known Member
Sep 23, 2020
327
187
115
60
i thnk i am the friend in europe , kaiserslautern you mentionend:) see my porsche ...i still own the system but reduced to pure analog one, and strong modifed,.. tuned speakers frequency seperating filter replaced by silver coils and condensators , hugh push towards other dimensions .. regarding pre amp jubillee definetly one of the best worlwide..the mono amps upgraded now with KT 150 . they will burn in next months...
i often visit high end in munich,.. and listen to other systems .. i always return with a smile ...
..the monos shows more details, keep always absolt contol. as far you can say so in relation to the 300 B.. which i prefer
the best is the midrange , violin solos etc , i prefere classic and jazz of 50 , 60 ths , its georguos, a lot of dealers visit me and, left speachless.. .....:), acoustic tuning of room... very important!!!! without this,.. you lost ... in annex some pics..
regards thomas
Hello Thomas,
Wie Gehts?
Yes, Nick here. I remember our listening session, it was great.

I like what you did with the crossovers for the 800s, I am sure they sound marvelous.

Do you still own the Transrotor Tourbillion? What arm and cartridge now? I ordered the Transrotor TRA9 in gold and may order the Tourbillion in a few months. I love the Apollon but the FMD seems to be better. Have a Soundsmith Hyperion on one of the SmE v arms, a Benz LPs on the other. My Dark Star has a Soundsmith Sussaro MKII.

The Jubilee preamp brings everything together in a good way. My phono amp, the Aesthetix IO Eclipse with two power supplies works perfectly with the Jubilee. The McIntosh Amps are powerful.

How many watts do you have with KT150 tubes in the Jubilee mono amps? I bet loud enough for your room, LOL.

I changed out my B&W 800 speakers to custom designed Field coil speakers. Classic Audio T1 reference field coil speakers.


Glad you still are enjoying the Jubilee system. It truly is a system for life. Some pics from of mine.

Oh, was going to order a GT3, but now have an order for a C8 Z06….three year wait.

Nick
 

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Thomas 911

Active Member
Dec 2, 2021
41
59
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61
Germany
Hello Thomas,
Wie Gehts?
Yes, Nick here. I remember our listening session, it was great.

I like what you did with the crossovers for the 800s, I am sure they sound marvelous.

Do you still own the Transrotor Tourbillion? What arm and cartridge now? I ordered the Transrotor TRA9 in gold and may order the Tourbillion in a few months. I love the Apollon but the FMD seems to be better. Have a Soundsmith Hyperion on one of the SmE v arms, a Benz LPs on the other. My Dark Star has a Soundsmith Sussaro MKII.

The Jubilee preamp brings everything together in a good way. My phono amp, the Aesthetix IO Eclipse with two power supplies works perfectly with the Jubilee. The McIntosh Amps are powerful.

How many watts do you have with KT150 tubes in the Jubilee mono amps? I bet loud enough for your room, LOL.

I changed out my B&W 800 speakers to custom designed Field coil speakers. Classic Audio T1 reference field coil speakers.


Glad you still are enjoying the Jubilee system. It truly is a system for life. Some pics from of mine.

Oh, was going to order a GT3, but now have an order for a C8 Z06….three year wait.

Nick
dear nick , great i found you here in this really amazing forum ... i like to read and find some different views regarding optimizing my gear..
i remember our sessions,.. still have the vinyl you used for reference .. and your corvette....!!! fast beast indeed.. i still have the tuned 993 bi turbo , make big overhaul last year , beside i ran a new porsche turbo s 991.2 convertibale. and a modified ferrari f 430 by novitec.. so a lot to care ...beside my bike collection of ducati..but thats another topic..
regarding your question . i use the transrotor aquilla, still but modified ..the cable in the tonearme is replaced by kondo silver cable ..cartrige after my koetsu rosewwwod signature which we listend i upgraded to airtight spc1 suprme , this was big step forward..now i will test the opus the top system in comparison . after modifiedtubes are burned in the power with KT 120 is 420 W per bloc ..so more like enough.... its about the controll and soundimpact
the phono preamp i have upgraded 3 times with pass,.. from xono to xp 25 now xp 27...great gear fits also in m gear , connected to turnable with kondo, cables.. also..great kombo ..special for classic ..what i like.. ..
your speakres also looks great including phono pre amp... must say.. but have no deeper knowlege about it ..ronny our ex dealer did the modification in the speaker by the way...

take care my friend , looking forward hearing from you ......
thomas
 
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Addicted to hifi

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Hello Thomas,
Wie Gehts?
Yes, Nick here. I remember our listening session, it was great.

I like what you did with the crossovers for the 800s, I am sure they sound marvelous.

Do you still own the Transrotor Tourbillion? What arm and cartridge now? I ordered the Transrotor TRA9 in gold and may order the Tourbillion in a few months. I love the Apollon but the FMD seems to be better. Have a Soundsmith Hyperion on one of the SmE v arms, a Benz LPs on the other. My Dark Star has a Soundsmith Sussaro MKII.

The Jubilee preamp brings everything together in a good way. My phono amp, the Aesthetix IO Eclipse with two power supplies works perfectly with the Jubilee. The McIntosh Amps are powerful.

How many watts do you have with KT150 tubes in the Jubilee mono amps? I bet loud enough for your room, LOL.

I changed out my B&W 800 speakers to custom designed Field coil speakers. Classic Audio T1 reference field coil speakers.


Glad you still are enjoying the Jubilee system. It truly is a system for life. Some pics from of mine.

Oh, was going to order a GT3, but now have an order for a C8 Z06….three year wait.

Nick
What a stunning system.congrats
 
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audioquest4life

Well-Known Member
Sep 23, 2020
327
187
115
60
dear nick , great i found you here in this really amazing forum ... i like to read and find some different views regarding optimizing my gear..
i remember our sessions,.. still have the vinyl you used for reference .. and your corvette....!!! fast beast indeed.. i still have the tuned 993 bi turbo , make big overhaul last year , beside i ran a new porsche turbo s 991.2 convertibale. and a modified ferrari f 430 by novitec.. so a lot to care ...beside my bike collection of ducati..but thats another topic..
regarding your question . i use the transrotor aquilla, still but modified ..the cable in the tonearme is replaced by kondo silver cable ..cartrige after my koetsu rosewwwod signature which we listend i upgraded to airtight spc1 suprme , this was big step forward..now i will test the opus the top system in comparison . after modifiedtubes are burned in the power with KT 120 is 420 W per bloc ..so more like enough.... its about the controll and soundimpact
the phono preamp i have upgraded 3 times with pass,.. from xono to xp 25 now xp 27...great gear fits also in m gear , connected to turnable with kondo, cables.. also..great kombo ..special for classic ..what i like.. ..
your speakres also looks great including phono pre amp... must say.. but have no deeper knowlege about it ..ronny our ex dealer did the modification in the speaker by the way...

take care my friend , looking forward hearing from you ......
thomas
Thomas,

Glad to hear back from you. Your system has definitely matured over the years. Happy to hear Ronny is still providing technical support. He is a genius. I miss having technical discussions with him.

That is an interesting comment you made about the Octave Jubilee 300B compared to the Octave Jubilee mono‘s where you described the mid range of the Jubilee monos having better midrange and control Over the 300B.

Hmmm, I wish I could test both the 300B and Jubilee monos with my 16ohm speakers. 101 db efficienz.

Here are a few videos of the speakers I bought. I spent a few years looking and listening to many other speakers. First a little history of the field coil speakers and where mine are made, Michigan.







These Octave Jubilee amps, either 300B or Monos only have 2 and 4 ohm speaker posts. How would they work with an 16 ohm speaker, besides, giving more power?

Has Andreas Hoffman continued to host Octave listening days, well, maybe not with Corona. I was at the Capital Audio Fest but did not see any Octave rooms or did not know if anyone was representing Octave.




take care,
 

audioquest4life

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Sep 23, 2020
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Thomas 911

Active Member
Dec 2, 2021
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Thomas,

Glad to hear back from you. Your system has definitely matured over the years. Happy to hear Ronny is still providing technical support. He is a genius. I miss having technical discussions with him.

That is an interesting comment you made about the Octave Jubilee 300B compared to the Octave Jubilee mono‘s where you described the mid range of the Jubilee monos having better midrange and control Over the 300B.

Hmmm, I wish I could test both the 300B and Jubilee monos with my 16ohm speakers. 101 db efficienz.

Here are a few videos of the speakers I bought. I spent a few years looking and listening to many other speakers. First a little history of the field coil speakers and where mine are made, Michigan.







These Octave Jubilee amps, either 300B or Monos only have 2 and 4 ohm speaker posts. How would they work with an 16 ohm speaker, besides, giving more power?

Has Andreas Hoffman continued to host Octave listening days, well, maybe not with Corona. I was at the Capital Audio Fest but did not see any Octave rooms or did not know if anyone was representing Octave.




take care,
dear nick,

thx for the interesting links , a pity now you back in the states..
we would spend somevery interesting time listening with our systems ..

ronny is no longer in the shop,
... richard took over , you may know , but his technical knowledge is still superb, and he still carry out some jobs , like tuning for the speakers..

andreas hofmann did not carry out at time being these listening days ,
related to corona,
i just takled with him 2 weeks ago via phone , he changed location to a bigger building not far away from old one .
...
i dont know if you have plans to return to germany for holday etc, however , if so, let me know ...a meeting would be great!

take care
thomas

p.s what was the name of your girl friend at these days , i rememeber her and her sisiter , she trainds also in the baracks at army terrain
 

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