This winter on a very snowy night there was a knock at my door and a smiling Duke LeJeune and his wife, Lori standing in the cold with with my Jazz Modules. You can't beat that kind of service since Duke delivered them in a blizzard driving across Wyoming from Duke and Lori's home in Southern Idaho. Getting here was a grand feat in itself. How's that for service. No unpacking or damage, no boxes was OK with me.
Mike Galusha was at my home and we proceeded to set the Jazz modules up for a quick listen. All was well as Duke and Lori drove off into the night despite my concern and an offer to stay with us. This from a guy from New Orleans.
Quite a bit has been written about Duke's designs so I'll get to the heart of this mini review.
The rest of my system will not make Harry Pearson green with envy but I am quite satisfied with it (and, I actually own it).
-32bit Sabre DAC custom built by Mike Galusha with a very nice tube output stage using a HIface from M2tech from Tweekgeek to convert my servers stored recordings to be decoded up to 24/192.
-A deHavilland Ultra Verve 3 with upgrades to caps resistors etc.
-Cyber 845 mono blocks; yes, Mike Galusha rebuilt the power supplies and added some nice AmpOhm caps, new resistors, & hexfreds
-Kaplan power cords and speaker cables.
-Silver interconnects from the source and good old 15 foot runs of Mogami 2549 to the amps
-the usual isolation devices and other dodads that probably just make me feel better
Where these speakers excel:
Value
Cost to build verses selling price is off the charts. Duke sells the speakers for $4500. The retail price of the drivers alone is close to $1800 and the front baffle of the cabinet is solid Walnut!!!!! Duke uses much, much better than average caps, resistors and inductors in the X/overs and the rest of the cabinet is a very nice Walnut veneer. Why is that important? I once owned a pair of JM Lab speakers from frogland that ran about $8K. They had $5.00 Solen caps and $.30 resistors. And while I still eat french fries I appreciate Duke's integrity.
While Duke may drive a mini-van and Dave Wilson a Ferrari, I can tell you who gives you more bang for the buck.
Sound
I cannot stand speakers that seem to get the tone wrong. The Jazz Modules make a piano sound like a piano not a steel guitar; they excel in that area. They also do not have honkitis that seems to be endemic to even expensive horns. They are as neutral as I can image this design can be.
They will blow your brains out as they are free from dynamic compression at sound levels just below those of the Space Shuttle at launch. I have had some very good dynamic speakers and none have ever matched these. I had not heard the "Great Gate at Kiev" in all its Russian splendor until I drank way too much wine one night and lit it up.
Incredibly versatile and tunable thanks to adjustable port length and a simple outboard resistor swap. You really can tailor the sound to your room.
They eliminate the room to a great degree. My room should have lousy bass. It is small, 12'X13', and should have reflection and overload problems and poor bass. With some bass traps, room treatments, finding the right position and tuning the port length I have what is pretty smooth, even bass that goes into the lower 30 cycle range. While I sit near field, not by choice, I am amazed with the Jazz Modules ability to play loud without confusion ( different than dynamic compression).
Service
After having done business with Duke and closely following his response time, friendliness and problem solving skills I'd buy the damn speakers if I didn't like them as much as I do. knowing this has been said before; Duke is a Prince. Lori is a sweetheart.
AudioCircle members who are seriously interested and wish to audition the Jazz Modules in the Denver area can contact Duke an we will set up a time for you to listen. I am willing to do this simply because I love the speakers and, did I say that Duke was a Prince?
Please, do not ask to bring 11 of your audiophile friends, it's an audition not Woodstock. Besides I am getting old and surly and I am heavily armed and occassionally drink too much
I will have these speakers for a long time.
Jerry
