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JADIS DEFY7, can not get it to sing

Hi
I hope some of you old pros can help answer my,,well lets say help me figure out how to get my Jadis defy 7 to sing. I purchased the amp used (like new, as the seller had a  Jadis JA200 mono blocks laready and the Defy sat quiet, So I bought it in 2008. Months later i purchased a  MINGDA tube pre amp, sounded AWEFUL, Not even close to my jadis Orch reference, KT90's EI tubes, that intergrtaed was really all I needed, i made a  huge costly mistake selling and buying the  DEFY 7, I do believe that w/o a  powerful pre, to DRIVE the FQ's into the Defy, the Defy will not respo9nd. 
The sound is flat, lifeless, no dynamics, The Orch Refer had HUGE sound stage, bass, GORGEOUS life like mids, nice sweet highs. 
I wanted more and bought the Defy,. 
I just had the Defy cked in Baton Rouge, had the KT90's brand new EH tuibes biased . 
I have a  ONKYO preamp arriving next week and am about to buy a  Mitshibushi Pre amp, 
I have a  LITE LS9 , chinese tube preamp, and that pre sounds like the,,no worse than the heftier Ming Da. 
This Lite LS9 is suppose to be a copy of the Jadis 200 pre, It weighs only 7 lbs, the trans is light weight.
I get  the idea the jadis Defy needs a  great hefty powerful prem, which is what folks told me back when i bought it, I did not believe them. 

I am low on  cash and will list the Defy for $3500 and i will pay shipping. 
I will then wait fora  great used Jadis intergrated, say a  DA50.

But I 1st want to try the 2 solid state pres to see if i can get the Defy to wake up.
It I can get some better respose , i may keep it and look for a  good used Audio reserach or a  macnintosh.
I do not have $6K for a jadis pre used. 
My budget is $1K
any help is greatly appreacitaed.
I have the uncredibly  SEAS Thor MTM speakser along with the CAYIN tube cd player with upgraded opamps .
As I say I am very close to selling the hge, hardly used (Like New) amp, due to my doubts that I can get the amp to respond like its tiny brother , The Orch Reference. 
btw I am the one who coined the tag *shootout* wayyyy back in 2000, or 2001 
I stared a  thread of speaker shootouts,,,and based on that long thread, i bought the SEAS THor kits. 
I now see *shoot out* is now the common tag for speaker and stereo components comparison.
My old login was Bartokfan.
Look forward to any suggestions in my dilemma.
paul
new orleans
mozartfan
mozartfan OP
2,143 posts
 
here is a  link to the Leaf, not sure if it will load here on audiogon

https://www.ebay.com/itm/HiFi-Tube-Preamplifier-Class-A-Single-ended-XLR-Balanced-Audio-Preamp-ARC-LS22/254012527611?_trkparms=aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20160908131621%26meid%3D54ce26a9163149108d69c76f8aedc39d%26pid%3D100678%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D10%26mehot%3Dpp%26sd%3D254002285514%26itm%3D254012527611%26pmt%3D0%26noa%3D1%26pg%3D2380057&_trksid=p2380057.c100678.m3607&_trkparms=pageci%3Aa768d4d4-f543-11e9-8620-74dbd180deb6%7Cparentrq%3Af69e9d4116d0a4ea9b234e0bfffbedcb%7Ciid%3A1
daveyf's avatar
daveyf
2,999 posts
 
@mozartfan   I don't know anything about the Leaf preamp...but I do know that the little Schitt Freya+ that I suggested before is a very good preamp for the $$ ( friend owns one and drives his ARC amp beautifully!). Any reason why you would not consider the Schitt? ( except for maybe the name, LOL). 
stereo5's avatar
stereo5
6,516 posts
 
Cheap Chinese knock off that will make your Jadis amp sound like crap. You need to spend at least a few grand on a preamp worthy of the Jadis. The Chinese crap you are looking at is just that, crap.
mozartfan OP
2,143 posts
 
At this point, I'm not looking for Class A sound,,I made a  bad move selling my Jadis Orch Refer, which had a amp + pre all in one.

I hold the idea that intergrated are superior to separates. But again, its my opinion. So I have to deal with what i have on the table, with no budget over $600.
I drew a  line in the sand.
I'm tight on audio budget.
I'm past 60, and starting to tighten the audio budget. 
The Leaf will be my final purchase..unless i can get a  buyer for the Jadis Defy and put that cash into a Jadis intergrated,,,but thats all hypothetical. 
Got to deal with the now moment.
I have Class A speakers SEAS Thor
Class A CD Player Cayin CD17, with bugle boys 6922;s. 
Jadis defy7 Class A amp. 
The Ebay descrip says *Class A tube pre amp*. 
From the looks of the guys, she  is nice, with those 6 nice caps , just waiting for Mundorf's. 
The Leaf is on the way, pulled the triger this morning, $600 (includes ship). 
Should be here next week. The Xiang arrived in 3 or 4 days!!! from china, DHL, quicker that my California ebay purchases.
Now grant it, the other 2 chinese pres, did not have the advantge of biwire set up.
My hunch says binding both outs together, somehow interfers(hampers FQ flow patterns) with the xover in the Thor's biwire set up.
additionally , the Jadis's biwire output was *limited* by not utilizing that bi option.
Not sure, 
So the Leaf will have the biwire set up, giving it full possibilities, nothing holding back.
I will  make a  honest UNBIASED>fair>critque of the Leaf, with the cheap stock russian tubes (has 4 6922's) and  rolling  with the Amperex , which i have at least 8+ Amperex on hand, Bugle Boys. I noted how Bugle's made a  nice pop in dynamics with  the Jadis Orch Refer.
...,,I think this Leaf is a  new offer, as the 2 ebay comments are both this year. 
It is based on the ARC LS model. 
jond's avatar
jond
5,953 posts
 
mozartfan at this point I wish you good luck your mind is obviously set on what you want to do. I hope the Leaf is the preamp you've been searching for and perhaps selling the Jadis is not the worst idea. No point in keeping a high end amp and not surrounding it with gear that lets it show its best.
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