I recently received a pair of Parasound JC1+ that I had loaned to a client and decided to install them in my main system to get reacquainted with these amplifiers. I have not had them driving the Speakers in my showroom but have listened to them a few times in a clients system and thought they did an excellent job. I wanted to find out under critical listening what they were capable of doing and how far into the music could they take me.
First these amps need from being cold a few days to really settle and fully become ready to play. This is not to say they sound bad but rather like many solid state amps
they take some time to fully stabilize. The JC1+ are no exceptions. Today was day 4 of having them plugged in and playing music. They are being used with Göbel Lacorde Cables, A CH Precision L1 preamp and the Wadax Atlantis Digital System. They were treated the same way I would with any quality amp and they are truly a wonderful product and in todays market an outright bargain.
They easily drive the speakers and have excellent control. They have powerful bass and a large sound stage width. They at first sound a bit "crunchy" in the midrange on horns, vocals and piano when pushed but this sound tends to mostly go away after a few days and playing the amps to get them warm. They may lack the really high frequency extension and some of the ease and warmth of some of the best amps I have played but they do a remarkable job of getting most of it right. These amps in my opinion wont disappoint most listeners and if they haven't listened to some of the top tier products most likely won't be anything but thrilled with the power and performance these guys can deliver. Like most High End Products it is all relative and there are different levels of quality. I have said before there is the Good, Very Good, Excellent and the extraordinary. The last is an ever changing area that will forever be pushed and changed and require huge financial investments to reach. The Parasounds are far better than the entry level into the high end and although they might not have those big meters and really fancy faceplates they sonically are way down the audio path to enjoyment. I think these amps will be more than enough for a load of speakers out there that don't require the cutting edge and a real great choice for most of the entry level high end gear. They are far better than most and less expensive than a whole lot of the competition. They are plain looking, average in finish, really a plain jane product but sonically they are quite good and I believe would make many listeners really happy
First these amps need from being cold a few days to really settle and fully become ready to play. This is not to say they sound bad but rather like many solid state amps
they take some time to fully stabilize. The JC1+ are no exceptions. Today was day 4 of having them plugged in and playing music. They are being used with Göbel Lacorde Cables, A CH Precision L1 preamp and the Wadax Atlantis Digital System. They were treated the same way I would with any quality amp and they are truly a wonderful product and in todays market an outright bargain.
They easily drive the speakers and have excellent control. They have powerful bass and a large sound stage width. They at first sound a bit "crunchy" in the midrange on horns, vocals and piano when pushed but this sound tends to mostly go away after a few days and playing the amps to get them warm. They may lack the really high frequency extension and some of the ease and warmth of some of the best amps I have played but they do a remarkable job of getting most of it right. These amps in my opinion wont disappoint most listeners and if they haven't listened to some of the top tier products most likely won't be anything but thrilled with the power and performance these guys can deliver. Like most High End Products it is all relative and there are different levels of quality. I have said before there is the Good, Very Good, Excellent and the extraordinary. The last is an ever changing area that will forever be pushed and changed and require huge financial investments to reach. The Parasounds are far better than the entry level into the high end and although they might not have those big meters and really fancy faceplates they sonically are way down the audio path to enjoyment. I think these amps will be more than enough for a load of speakers out there that don't require the cutting edge and a real great choice for most of the entry level high end gear. They are far better than most and less expensive than a whole lot of the competition. They are plain looking, average in finish, really a plain jane product but sonically they are quite good and I believe would make many listeners really happy
