Parasound JC1's vs. Sim Audio W10


I am looking for amps to drive some MBL 101d's and wonder which of these two monoblocks would work the best. Or any other suggestions that you might have.
husk01
Muralman, that is good that the cables are quiet.
Reason for my question is that sometimes with more treble extension there is more noise. That is important to me as I primarily listen to vinyl which is noisier than CD from a background noise level.
oooohhhh yeah.... Yes, they are truth serum. They would have a party on vinyl . :)
Sorry guys, but I have to whole-heartedly disagree with your impressions of the JC-1 monoblocks.
Granted, mine are fully broken-in and I do use Signal Cable Magic Power Cords with them...a big improvement over the stock cords, IMHO. I am also using a Pass Labs X-2.5 preamp, with a Signal Cable Magic Digital Reference shielded power cord. This makes a real good improvement as well.
Gobs of global feed-back or not, I DO NOT find them boring or closed in in the mids and highs at all. They are very smooth, but at the same time they have exceptional speed, transparency, focus, air, detail, and neutrality. Imaging and soundstaging are first rate! Bass extension, control, and extension are also first rate.
They are by a wide margin the best amps I have heard in my system, or in any one elses for that matter.
Michael Fremer and Sam Telling hit the nail on the head when they described the sonics of these amps in Stereophile, and Tellig still uses them as a personal reference.
They MUST be FULLY-BROKEN IN and well WARMED up for at least 6 hours before any real impressions can be made of them.
Sorry guys, but I, along with all of my friends, absolutely love these amps and I have no immediate plans of selling them at all.
Just my 2 cents.
Hello,
I also have to agree with daltonlanny about the JC-1's. I own a pair, and could not be happier! They synergize with my system really, really, well.
The Parasound HCA-3500 does at first sound more transparent, clearer, and livelier than the JC-1's, but over the long haul I could never live with them because they are slightly grainy and etched, and can become very fatiguing because of their high harmonic distortion.
I do feel that there is probably some room for improvement, especially in the mids and highs, cause nothing is perfect.
I however, do not feel that they are "closed in", "boring", or "lacking life" in the mids and highs at all.
In my system, they are all the things daltonlanny described above and more. They are very lively, extremely detailed, exciting, and sort of upfront in my system. Never dull!
If they are not fully warmed up or fully broken-in, they can sound lifeless, dull, and boring or closed down in the mids and highs.
I simply do not have this problem at all in my system with these amps. I luv 'em!
Angela
I can only report on how the JC-1's sounded in my system when I listened to them twice over a 6 mnth period.the second time last week the amps had done approx 500 hours - that should be plenty for any amp to show 95% of what it can do. Both times they were left on for several days, not hours. Standard power cords were replaced with Valhalla cords.
In my system the JC-1's were still towards the bottom of the list with the cj prem 350 just better at sounding more alive and musical compared to any of the bunch. I almost exclusively listen to vinyl, so if you listen to CD that would probably make the JC-1's sound a little more alive in the top end.
This does not discount that they sound great in your system - that is great that you are happy. variety is the spice.
Dalton / audio girl - approx how long before you found the jc-1's sounded getting towards their best?.

Me, living down in Australia can not afford to buy something on the hope that it will get better, you can only buy what sounds better at time of listening. In the US it is a little easier to swap gear if you are not happy via audiogon etc.