Jadis DA50 Amps and Others

[tony]

Had a listen to an Orchestra recently and really liked it. Heard a very nice D5 also with a jadis preamp. Has anybody used or got a DA50?
It uses KT88 I believe not EL34's like the orchestra. Really like the looks but the sound on both I have heard is very appealing.
I have over the last couple years heard a couple of Airtights which certainly have a fantastic sound.They seem to be a very hard amp to find secondhand.New jadis and airtight are beyond my reach. Maybe the orchestra but wonder would I be looking to trade up again at some stage.

[Adrian]

Jadis make some great equipment, problem is that they also command high prices and are fairly rare beasts.

I did have a Orchestra Reference once, 4 KT 90's instead of EL34's. Some people prefer 88's or 90's to 34's, but that's not to say the 34 is the poor relation in valves. There are a number of very high end amps out there using 34's.

In my opinion the Orchestra Reference was superior to the Orchestra, both in bass and sound quality / control. But that is just my opinion. In addition the Orchestra Reference looks great and would cost a lot less than a DA 50.

I think there was a DA 50 for sale on the Cloney site some time ago, not sure what happened to it, except to say it did not stay on the "for sale" list for long. Any particular reason why you thought of a DA 50?





If I had to chose one amplifier for the rest of my life, it would be the Reference pictured above.

[tony]

Any particular reason why you thought of a DA 50?

If I had to chose one amplifier for the rest of my life, it would be the Reference pictured above

Hi Adrian
DA50 simply because it is further up the range and most research seems to indicate you are just getting more of the jadis sound the higher up you go. I kinda want to get something that will stop any furrher messing with upgrades and was pondering if it would be better to try and dig out a da50 now and take the hit once.

Reference I agree looks gorgeous and is on the list as well. Noel Cloney seems to suggest the reference has a dry sound and prefers the orchestra. I realise I can use el34's on the reference or kt88's (I think) so certainly see no reason to discount it. Why did you sell the orchestra reference as your quote suggest you made a mistake?

Not hung up on jadis but have found a few da50's, orchestras and reference for sale and really like the look and sound of what I have heard.
Airtights seem impossible to find (ATM1-S) would be the only one I would consider. Other amps and there are plenty I agree not too sure about.
Hope to get quads at some stage in the future and having listen too various tube amps since finding the forum a few years ago will definitely get a valve amp at some stage. There could be a great amp out there be it Unison research,Cary,Synthesis,EAR,Accoustic Masterpiece,ICON,Cayin the list is endless but time aint.

[Ivor]

You know you're more than welcome to my house anytime. Walk down (5 minutes?) some evening and we'll test a bottle as well!

[tony]

Thanks Ivor, I think you know your auld airtight with gigantic quads is very appealing. Will take you up on that when I get back from my holidays.

[DaveF]

Do consider the Leben valve amps too Tony. Don't let the low watt figures put you off either as the Lebens sound a lot more powerful than the figures would suggest. As long as you dont listen to very high volumes the Lebens will be fine. That said I think I came across a comment on another forum that the Leben and Quad ESLs didn't match well for whatever reason.

[Adrian]

the list is endless but time aint

Funny you are the second person in the last few weeks to mention this, "Life's too short"

About the Reference, well I suppose I wanted bigger and better, but sometimes it helps to be happy with what you have. No matter how good a system is, there is always "Upgraditis". As a aesthetic piece of furniture in the room the Orchestra Ref is eye catching and the sound is very good as well.

But beauty is in the eye of the beholder, as everybody knows the matching of a amplifier to the speakers is very important, the same amp can sound very different on different speakers. I think I had B&W 703's at the time I had the Orchestra Reference, and the combination sounded great. Fond memories!!!

Good point about getting things right for the next upgrade, it can save a lot of hassle later on. The problem is that you can spend a long time looking for the right amplifier, then after having found it if you then change something else i.e. speakers then the entire process of getting everything right starts all over again. Appears to be a endless cycle at times!!

As one moves higher up the rankings, the cost of changing becomes prohibitive. Hence before committing big dough one would want to be very certain. For example I would love to have a pair of Advantgarde speakers, but if I did manage to obtain a pair, then that would be the last pair I would ever own as I could not afford to upgrade and I would be loath to take the hit when selling second hand.

The beauty of staying in the 2nd hand market but below big money is that swapping and changing is not too prohibitive, hence it is possible to undergo some variety in great quality hi fi.

The Airtight gear, again very high quality, very well made but lots of loolah!!


ATM 1



ATM 1S

I wonder why the change to the S was made? Any ideas Ivor?

[tony]

Dave: Forget to the list the leben but I was very sorry I didnt get to hear it when they had them in cloneys. Great headphone output as well which I think is a great bonus. Haven't ruled it out but from all accounts the 600 is not worth the extra money. Not an issue as I couldnt afford it anyway (New). It gets rave reviews everywhere but the issue as a main amp would be driving spendors 89db or as you say quads(not a hope I reckon)

Adrian, you covered all the thoughts going through my mind and I would concur. Stay below the radar or blow it all once and never be able to go back and change again. I too would find it hard to take the hit. My cyrus amp is for sale as a tester but relunctant to sell it.

With the airtight in the secondhand market one needed to be there about 3-4rs ago. I dont think they were as valued then. I saw some shand ones then that I regret not pursuing now but I wasnt ready or didnt know anything about valves etc.

[Ivor]

I wonder why the change to the S was made? Any ideas Ivor?

At the launch it was said

Some 20 years later the launch of the ATM-1s, standing for special, has many new design features not least a variable bias option for the consumer to change the characteristics of the tubes and fine tune the sound quality. It also features a line stage amplifier with shunt regulator to make it match the demands for better sound and has a unique buffer stage to help match the timbre from CD.

also a video of an interview with Mr. Atasushi Miura,

http://www.cinenow.co.uk/videos/2341-ai ... s-ces-2010

[Diapason]

Some lovely amps being discussed on this thread, and I love all of them! If you were looking for an amp to go with the ESL, you should also consider a Graaf GM20. They're a fantastic match (I found all my Graaf info on an ESL thread on a forum from the Far East) and there are a good few of them floating around second hand in the UK for sensible enough money.