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SET Asylum: REVIEW: Art Audio Jota Amplifier (Tube) by hexenboden Single Ended Triodes (SETs), the ultimate tube lovers dream. |
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170.148.10.42
Model: Jota Category: Amplifier (Tube) Suggested Retail Price: $7995. Description: 20 wpc SET Manufacturer URL: Not Available Manufacturer URL: Not Available
Review by hexenboden ( A ) on September 16, 2002 at 14:18:25
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for the Jota
Last week I purchased my first (and last) issue of the Audio Critic. You know, those are the guys (or guy, since the rag seems to be tightly run by Peter Aczel) who believe reasonably designed electronics all sound the same. So their electronic reviews read like a litany of test bench results, at the end of which the reviewer gives a verdict, either “will work well†or “will notâ€. Believe it or not, the writers never bother to listen to the electronics they reviews! Why not, I wonder. If indeed they are right, then the equipment that tests well should sound good and that which does not test well should not. Either way it would be nice if they continued to prove the relevance of their theory by putting it to test. With their demeanour, they have turned a debatable (but not necessarily absurd) theory into dogma. Needless to say I do not believe in this theory, dogma or whatever you want to call it.I bring this up because amongst other things Mr Aczel feels that Single Ended Triode (SET) amplifiers are “absurdâ€. Meaning, I believe, that if you can design a more powerful solid state amp at a fraction of the cost, which will sound at least as good (if not better, most likely in his view), then why fool around with SETs. And I bring this issue up because the subject of this review is the Art Audio Jota amplifier, a splendid amplifier if there ever was one, which –in my humble opinion—no solid state amp, regardless how refined, can hope to match in the near future in terms of natural, effortless presentation when mated with speakers of decent efficiency and gentle impedance.
What do I mean by this? Basically that even the best solid state amps I am familiar with (Levinson, Krell, Bryston, Marsh etc), which can sound extremely refined and pure, are still not able to recreate in their presentation the immediacy that the Jota can conjure. By immediacy I mean ultimately a greater sense of realism, which is particularly uncanny with voices and string instruments, leading to a greater communication of what’s on the recording. Whereas with the great solid state units I get the impression that they are leaving something out.
The solid state camp will no doubt argue that what their amplifiers are leaving out is not present in the recording, for which I have no counter-argument (nor they any proof). And the hard-core SET enthusiasts could still argue that if the recording left it out, why not fill it back in? And so on, and so forth. But I have come to the conclusion that this debate is barren territory, at least in the context of consumer equipment reviews. Because nobody knows “exactly†what’s on the recording. The closest you can get is to have someone who was originally present, but even then he wouldn’t know for sure how much of what he is hearing is being added or subtracted by the reproducing equipment.
For what it’s worth, I don’t particularly feel that the Jota is filling anything in, and I’ll tell you why I say this. For the last two weeks I have been running a Tact RCS 2.2X in my system, which corrects and flattens out frequency response at the listening position. And even when the system’s response is corrected in this way, and some of its idiosyncrasies are ironed out, the Jota continues to provide a full helping of the music’s “soulâ€. Which means it does not do this by distorting frequency response. I leave other hypothesis to you.
So I don’t think the Jota is unnaturally contributing to the sound, and I’m certain that it is not taking anything out either. The Jota is a full range amplifier indeed, and with the right speakers will deliver excellent bass all the way down except for the last octave, for which in my opinion solid state is always the right amplifying implement (as is the use of separate subwoofers). The Jota’s bass is full and taut, and most importantly, natural sounding. The Jota performs equally admirably on the high end, where you will not detect any shortage of air or detail.
The regular version of the Jota delivers a beefy, juicy, delicate 20 wpc. There is a spiced up version, which can handle higher current tubes and gives you more power. I have not tried it. There have been a number of reviews of the Jota by other, expert professionals (TAS, Soundstage) and I am just trying to add my perspective, rather than fully describe a unit that is already well known in audiophile circles. The room corrected Jota is something worth hearing.
Product Weakness: Not suitable for bottom octave Product Strengths: Immediacy, full range, balanced presentation
Associated Equipment for this Review: Amplifier: Jota Preamplifier (or None if Integrated): Tact RCS Sources (CDP/Turntable): Muse Model 9 Signature Speakers: Silverline Cables/Interconnects: Nordost Music Used (Genre/Selections): all types Type of Audition/Review: Product Owner
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Topic - REVIEW: Art Audio Jota Amplifier (Tube) - hexenboden 14:18:25 09/16/02 ( 3)
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