Jadis Defy can't sing with super high Fidelity PART 2


Why part 2?
Because she sings now, why?
Just arrived
Shugaung 12AX7T's from HK, dealer Douk audio,
WOWWW, unreal, IMHO no other 12AX7 comes even close to these Shugaung T's,. I mean this Defy in spite of the cheap chinese mock  Jadis 200 pre, the Defy has come to a  glorious resolution. 
I had no idea the front tubes were so so vital toa  sound ofa  tube amp.
I am using new Psvane's 12AU7 in the front, 4 12AX7T's just behind.
UNREAL. 



I will makea  YT vid today, and post it, and try to post a  link here.

https://www.amazon.com/Matched-Shuguang-12AX7-T-Premium-High-end/dp/B01EFYT84U
I put my bet on these Shugaung 12AX7T's in a  shootout with every NOS EU 12AX7, any and all ina  shootout,
in 5 seconds or LESS the Shugaung would blow the entire bunch of  Siemens, Tele, Amperex, Mullards, all with ONE SHOT, .
These Shu are the quickest , most accurate, gun shooter in the west. 
mozartfan
Facts are
1) had not consulted with tech guy
2) Jadis no where says , can not use 150 in Defy
3) had no idea Jadis did not employ a  separate bias screw for each tube
Had  I consulted with randy Cohen,,,I am sure his research would have advised against using the 150,,,Randy kept calling, this is not the tube for this amp,, I had bought the tubes, unaqware of these isssues, = too late to return.
My loss of $400.
anyway.. have perfectly matcherd 6550's comming in 2 weeks from vivatubes. 
Jadis for some odd reason , did not employ a separate bias for each tube.
**Aesthetically it does not look beautifull  tom placea  separate bias screw on top of chassis.** End quote of Jadis engineers.
Well Cayin figured, screw aesthetics,,, its practical and intelligent to placea  bias screw on top of chassis, so owners can decide on which tubes they want,,and all do not absoluetly have to be perfectly matched..,. Which is why i recommend Cayin over Jdais. Cayin is the superior amp. Jadis is 2nd place, by a  mile.
So I am having most electrolytics changed out,,, not sure if Randy talked me into changing the 4 big electros,, have to call him today...Its about 20 electros, not counting the 4 big ones...anyway,,,mods are in proress and hoping for better things  to come.. Have to get over the big loss of the 150's, 
I would never bea  fan of 150's,,  neither 120's. Its a  shootout of kt88 and 6550 for me. 
They both look exactly same construction, The 88's i have are chinese, the 6550's, are russian. so basically its a  shootout between china and  russia. 
My guess  is yhe russian will offer a  sweeter mid range, but missing a  bit of bass puch the chinese 88 can boast.. 
Superior highs will be awarded to the russian 6550.
As I say, I bought the used amp, in 2008, had Svetlanan NOS 6550's, sold those off for $400,,,not some 12 yrs later rebuying at $450,,Sellers page mentions these 6550's are identical to the older 6550's, 
which i believe is the truth. 

Cayin is a superior amp to Jadis.

@mozartfan, as long as you are going to all the effort, you want want to add the Shuguang western electric KT88 plus to your tube list. I have tried just about every 6550 and KT88 made including NOS, and the new Shuguang is now my fav 6550/KT88 tube.
best
@mozartfan So, in your not so humble opinion..Cayin is superior to Jadis and KT88’s are superior to KT`150’s. Even though you rolled into your Jadis amp the wrong tubes( the KT150's)...and were lucky ( probably due to the extreme build quality) that your amp didn’t go up in smoke! IMHO, you sir- are one clueless hobbyist!
I haven't read the whole thread, but my recollection is that, unlike the old generation Jadis mono amps (JA30, 80 and 200), the original Defy 7 was not an autobiasing amp and could only use the 6550 tubes.  To use other tube types in it, you (or, if like me you're not technically inclined, a good tech) would have to go inside the unit to set the proper bias, not an easy job.  So any shootout of tubes will, in my view, not be particularly reliable, and could in fact damage the amplifier. I would caution against it. 

Also, from a quick read it looks like you're changing or looking at changing the internal capacitors, etc. in the amplifier.  You should keep in mind that by doing this you are changing the sound from the Jadis house sound.  You may find you like the new sound better, it may be a more "accurate" amplifier, but please don't call it a Jadis anymore.  I've had friends who got modded Jadis amps and had those mods undone because the Jadis house sound they wanted was lost.  Jadis may not have used the most expensive or transparent components in their amplifiers, but the components were chosen in part because they gave the designers the sound they wanted (and I'm sure cost had something to do with it).  If you change that sound and don't like it, please don't blame Jadis.   
@ davey
well  your are correct,, the roll to a  150, although Jadis does list a  few amps which can accept the 150,, this Defy is ,, maybe cerca 2000, so not built fora  150,,my bad,, now i consult with my tech guy on any mods.
btw each tube has a  fuse,,so  a fuse will blow pre any damage to the  huge beefy trans.
@ reprince,,
I'm sure Jadis placed the finest parts made at that time in their amps, These M caps are designed , 2012, they add to the separation of fq's, boost clarity, I think there is more to be gained from the new cas, which is why i am going back to the Svetlana 6550's,,which vivatubes says are identical to the Svetlana 6550's which came with the amp. 
I sold those off last year for 250/NOS and bought  the new release for close to 500, not a  good move,,, I did not even hear the NOS,, just assumed that I loved the kt90 EI in the JOR so much, that I figured the kt90 was my tube sound. .. sold off the 90's at half price also, new tubes.
,,so yeah, davey is right,, i need to slow down rethink all  mods,, randy has been a  big help now on whicch mods to go with
Right now as i wait on 6550's to come in,, he is chaging all----maybe not the 4 big electrolytics,, can't recall if we are holding on those, as each is $125-- need to write him today,, see what we are going with. 
So all other smaller electrolytics are be chamed to  either Nichicon or F&T's, can't recall  which lab  we decided on. 
Randy changed the electrolytics in his Golden Tube  to Nichicon's and noted a  nice  sonic gain . 
 The power electrolytics are going on 20 yrs now, best to  change out. 
Thats all i am doing,, not  making any mods on the design of the amp, = post mods   will be a  Jadis amp. , same characteristics.
I plan to buy a  meter and Randy will show me how to bias.
Will post a  vid once everything is up N running.