I hate that the Aussies thrash us Kiwis at pretty much every sport, but we're used to that now and live our lives knowing our place in the scheme of things.
So it is with audio. Most of the rest of the world knows how good the Aspen Amplifiers gear is. I have the GK-1 and the Nirvana plussed- 55watter.
But Im being courted by a new Aussie mistress. I ran across VSE (Vacuum State Electronics) a bit by accident when trying to find out what a gainclone amp was all about.
Actually, I think the recent TNT review of the JLTI made me inquisitive. This unit is a hybrid, with a tubed input stage and transistors on chips output stage.
Anyway, I picked up a Mark 1 version over the weekend from a guy here in NZ who had a demo unit, and threw it into my main system not expecting a great deal from this 35watt integrated.
Holy crap in a chicken basket
. This was gobsmacking. Better image focus, more dynamic, more there there. Brilliant staging. I AKSEd (sorry) the kids what they thunk and they both said, "just leave it in Dad".
And so it's still there. A new killer (Aussie) amp, and it's an integrated (with outputs for the pre - it can be a stand-alone pre if you want but havent tried this yet with the 55wpc Aspen). Bass isn't quite as intense but is very tuneful. This thing has good PRAT, and a very low noise floor (though the unit hums - a bad tranny perhaps). I can't really fault it, apart from the hum, and in another system one channel picked up radio signals (too close to other gear Im presuming).
It is called the JLTI, for "just listen to it". Damn straight. Now Im going to have to determine whether to buy this one or the just released Mk II version, which is said to be better yet, with a bigger power supply and cryogenically treated tubes.
Strongly recommended for audition. The weird thing is on paper it is no great shakes (primarily class AB -like Aspen amps), though has small amounts of the "right" harmonics.
Anyone heard this and care to comment?
