Anyone have/ordered the Job 225?

Looks like Part Time Audiophile just posted a very interesting amp shoot out with the Job up against Pass Labs, SIT, Red Wine Audio, Odyssey, Merril Veritas (Ncore 1200), and Vitus. Speakers were Maggie 3.7's and Tekton SEAS Pendragons.

Job didn't fare as well as I would have thought given my own experience head to head with my Ncore 400's.

Sounds eerily similar to the listening session Klh007 mentioned a while back. He never got back to this thread with impressions, but I wonder if he was over for one of the listening sessions part of this shoot out.

I and many friends have the Job 225. We still stand by our opinion that it's a stellar performer, playing well above its price point. It's one reviewers opinion, and only that. I would never expect the Job to drive Magnepan speakers. It's a wonderful amp and should be seriously considered by someone who likes a three dimensional sound stage, articulate bass, great separation and a slightly sweet natural tone with great vocals.

Hey, I have a Job too and am pretty happy with it. Also, it's true the Maggie's would be a hard load, and he admitted he wasn't able to do an apples to apples comparison with the others due to grounding/noise issues with DAC direct. He also admitted he needs to do more listening and will be doing a more thorough follow up. It was also clearly the most inexpensive amp in the comparison by a wide margin and held its own in some ways, even in an unfair speaker matching. I think I recall that he has Devore Orangutan speakers, and I'd be really curious about that pairing.

All that said, I could see his point that speed might be the Job's biggest strength, and not as much tone density. In my own system, I run a different model of Tekton speaker and get my tone from a fine tube preamp and an analog sounding NOS DAC.

In my opinion, the Job doesn't have to be universally perfect to still be a grand bargain. And what it does well it does really well. I just get tired with the back and forth on forums of best amp ever vs. hyped up flawed design. Seems worth characterizing the Job's strengths and letting people know about some ares that aren't quite as strong so they can make educated choices about whether to try it or what other components might help complement its character.

"Genjamon: Also, it's true the Maggie's would be a hard load."

The Magie 3.7 is from what I have found out is very similar to the impedance of the 3.6. That is it's a benign 4ohm load, that even a good reciever will drive.

From Absolute Sounds:
"The speaker’s impedance is 4 ohms. Its load is essentially a resistive one; therefore, driving it doesn’t pose the loading problems"

From Stereophile:
http://www.stereophile.com/content/magnepan-magneplanar-mg36r-loudspeaker-measurements

Cheers George

We still stand by our opinion that it's a stellar performer, playing well above its price point.

Value is good but ultimate performance is more important.

It's one reviewers opinion, and only that.

Agree! Never make purchasing decision based on a professional or amateur review.

I would never expect the Job to drive Magnepan speakers

This is why I'm surprise it can drive a TAD CR-1.