Parasound JC1 or Spectron Musician 3 se

I'm using the Lamm M1.2 monos with my Kayas. Excellent match and even though the Lamm's are rated at 110wpc in class A @ 4 ohms, I have never felt them run out of steam. My ears give out much sooner ;)

"Parasound has build issues and run hot as hell" (Missioncoonery)

My two Halos JC1s are 4 years old and never had 1 problem
Yes it's true .. they run hot as hell .. but because they sound as a hell! :-))
Never listened my Thiel 2.4 so well driven and so trasparent

The JC1's are a top choice for those that drive Soundlab speakers. I believe the load is similar between the Soundlabs and the Innersounds. You have a beautiful set of speakers, as one member wrote "you probably will love both". It's tough to suggest one is much better than the other when your surroundings, source, connects, etc play such a big role in the sound. Then of course, there is your taste in sound. Unless you are able to set them both up and A/B them, you may just have to pick the best deal and try them.

It seems they are both around the $3500 range used so that is a wash. There is something to be said for monoblocks from a beauty and balance standpoint. The truth is that there are multiple threads regarding both amps are excellent. Both are able to drive a large range in ohm loads. Both have tons of power. Both have excellent build quality. I believe the Halo's are more pleasing to the eye but that is a small point and a personal preference.

If you know of someone local who has one or the other and would allow you to trial it for a day or two you could always purchase one and borrow one if your really wanted to do a side by side testing in your environment.

The great news is that both amps are hot on the used market right now and don't last very long but there are enough of them out there that they come up almost every month. If you have the coin, buy both. Audition them for a week or so, then sell the one you like less! :-)

I am in a similar situation with my Soundlab A-1's. I am refinishing a set right now and need to make a decision on amplification in the next 6 months. The JC-1's are on my short list. I also respect what Dr. Sander's has done with his innersound/sander's sound amps. I am actually suprised his amps were bright on your speakers but it may have been your environment, related equipment or taste (and that's just fine, no offense intended). The spectron equipment rounds out the short list for equipment. The running temp. is definitely a bonus, especially if you have a smaller room, or one that is tight and doesn't have much air movement. In an hour or two you can really bring the ambient temp up.

Good luck with you quest. It's half the fun. You have a couple of great amps to choose from. FWIW, buy both, try them and sell the other. You can't go wrong. Then you can let us know which is best in your setup. I would be interested in your findings.

Good listening.

Hello Lance,

Great post. I also heard Sanders amp (not in my own system) and I am under impression that they are indeed "bright". I looked into their web site and I can see that they use (in moderate amounts)global negative feedback which, according to Simon Thacher from Spectron:

" Negative Feedback
=================
Additionally, when an amplifier has difficulty in delivering required power peaks, other forms of distortions will occur. For example, in transistor amplifiers the increased current drawn by speakers will cause a small voltage drop across the source--i.e., the amplifier itself--which will heavily contribute to the unpleasant so-called "transistor sound.” In that regard, regulated power supplies can be extremely helpful. Many transistor amplifiers use global negative feedback to reduce distortions and widen the bandwidth. The crucial factor in negative feedback is transit time, the amount of time it takes from when an error is detected at the input until it is corrected at the output. For example, a typical transistor power amplifier has three primary sections: a low-noise high-gain differential input stage, feeding a differential-to-single-ended conversion driving a high-current output stage. Each of these three stages is designed for low distortion and noise, but those attributes typically come at the sacrifice of speed. The typical transit time of linear amplifiers is about 2000-3000 nanoseconds, which is too slow for effective implementation of global feedback and error correction. This lagging results in ringing artifacts and enhances odd-order harmonics which are particularly annoying to the human hearing (5) so even the smallest amounts of these distortions are highly noticeable. Long delays in feedback also introduces transient and phase discrepancies, susceptibility to transient overload and vulnerability to disturbances at the output such as reactive speaker interactions.

In contrast, many switching amplifiers don't use low-distortion circuits. Instead, they use much faster digital logic circuits. The Spectron Musician III transit time is 200 nanoseconds. Such an ultra-short transit time allows the amplifier to correct for many small errors; and the control loop can follow the input much more accurately. These characteristics result in a more detailed, transparent sound with less noise and louder yet cleaner musical reproduction. "

This may or may not be explanation... particualrly on the background of Spectron SET magicial midrange.

All The Best
Rafael

Hi Lance, I listened to the innersound amps on my speakers at my dealers before I bought the Kayas. He also had a Parasound A51 which is similar to my A21. I preffered the Parasound. He was using a Parasound surround processor for a preamp which I wasn't to sure about. In my room with my equipment the innersound amps may have faired better.

My room is pretty small and the A21 already heats up the room pretty quick but this is only a issue 2 to 3 months a year here in Seattle.

Your right about trying them both. I have heard that Rogue Zeus would be good combo to. I guess I'll just have to decide which to try first.

Best Sean