Lectron JH-30 help

Thanks for the help Seth. I went on past threads mentioning the Lectron and saw your name and if I didn't have any luck, I'd thought about contacting you, because you seemed to know and love the amp.

Yea, the guy I saw selling it seemed to have done sophisticated yet logical mods - which is not always the case in the mod-world of let's-just-find-some-MIT-caps-and-swap-them-in-there, if you know what I mean...

Seth, I know the sound of EL34's pretty well, so, in that context, how would you describe the Lectron? Any reliability problems, or ever here of any from other users? With it from the era of Jadis JA200's and the no distribution in the US (is Lectron gone in France too, its a Hiraga design, right?) these things always concern me (but not too much).

I remember that, at the time of the thread you were on, you were driving ProAc 1SC's (which also told me you knew what you were doing), so my logic was that the 30W's would drive my Spendor LS3/5A's. Also, I know its integrated, but is there an amp out so I could possibly use it as a stand alone amp at sometime?

As I said, just mulling it around right now, but I get these gut feelings sometimes about pieces and systems and I have that feeling about the Spendor/Lectron combo.

Thanks again Seth, I will contact this gentleman.

Any other comments from Lectron present and past owners would be greatly appreciated.

Mark

Seth, spoke to NDoshi. Yes, he was the person, thank you. And he has many ideas on how to mod amp after I find one. He said that he preferred the JH50 stand alone amp to the integrated JH30. Maybe this has to do with the 88db sentitivity of the Sonus Fabers he is driving, but he said you preferred JH 30, so I was wondering how you would characterize their sonic differences. Also, I haven't seen a 50 on the market in about five years, so wondering what you think used price would be sans mods, if you have an idea (I remember LH30 retailed for about $3500 and 50 for $5K then, but I could be wrong...)

Thanks again

Looking for some feedback ? Here is my small experience with the Lectron LH 30.
I once had it home for a weekend and did managed a bit of listening.
I can tell you, to look for it revewed in Stereophile some years ago and accept the very positive result therein, it match's mine.
I always have kept my first tube amp, a modified Dynaco 70 by Joe Cursio using el 34, this amp as remain so much more naturel sounding than all the tube amps that came my way. It is only when a got myself a Cary single ended monoblock amp using the KR 300 BLXS tube that I finally was able to access more refinement without any lost in the natural aspect so dear to me.
In my book, the musical soundind Lectron ( 84 ? ) based tube amp, fall between those 2 unit in term of refinements.
If you need more power than the one present in your Airtight SE this unit will be a natural, convenient and good looking choise. A better match will lead to better sound

Hello,

If anybody wants info about Lectron past, actual and future products, you can mail me as I am in contacts with the present owner of the brand and designs.
Lectron is now swiss owned and engineered, with all the good that it can bring, and a JH-31 is in the works.
JH-60 (EL-34 2x56W) is the actual stand-alone, much more reliable than the JH-50. A beauty.
You can contact me there: stx@ip-worldcom.ch

Aufiofile regards,

Sebastien

Hi ASA. Yes, I also remember seeing that amp for sale here on the GON around the same time. I too contemplated purchasing it to drive my Rogers LS3/5a's. Yes, It was designed by Jean Hiraga and is a truely a honey of an amplifier, mainly due to it's use of the legendary Partridge output transformers and the employment of the 6bq5 output tube. The 6bq5 or el-84 is an incredibly linear output tube and has to be considered one of the best sounding output tubes ever invented.Each and every amplifier I have ever heard that employs that particular tube [vintage, modern or otherwise] seems to possess a very natural tone and nuance the most other push/pull output tubes only hint at.Much akin to the inate beauty a 300b but with more weight and punch in the bottom octaves and micro resolution of imformation and nuance above 10K. The VTL tiny triode mono's are another great modern example of amplifiers that employ the el-84 and these are world beaters as well. The lectron JH-30 would probably be the better investment though, due mainly to the use of the Partridge trannies and it's esteemed pedigree, however I honestly believe the tiny triodes outperform it. What version ls3/5a are you using?8ohm, 11ohm or 15ohm. I do not believe the lectron will have any trouble driving them regardless of impedence issues anyway.