Bryston 7B SST vs. Parasound Halo JC 1 shootout...

Artar 1, you seem to find the strangest things to complain about You complain that the Good Guys won't carry it, but they are like buying from Sears anyway :) Parasound is setting up high end dealers and I'm sure they will have someone in your area shortly. Check with Parasound at richard@parasound.com for a dealer in your area.....I don't think you caught my post as the unit is already successful and another hundred will be completed this month.

let me just chime in on this.

i own the amp that was the precursor to the JC1: CTC's BBQ. now for those of you who know who CTC is, the blowtorch is the last preamp you'll ever need. it is the reference by which others compare. and i do mean all others. and at $15k, it should be (but there's more expensive pre's that can't keep up).

the BBQ is the stereo version of the JC1: the JC1 being monoblocks, w/ increased capacitance, another 20w of class A, more heatsinks, shorter signal paths. the BBQ (which is essentially a hot-rodded parasound 3500) is a dream amp in my system (merlin vsm-ms as the mains, w/ G&D UTP1 > entec 2.2>G&D custom preamp in the front). the BBQ just ate up my belles 350a, and it is very much the last amp i'll own (at least, until it breaks, at which point either parasound will repair, or i'll get the JC1s). neither tubey nor solid state, its powerful, fast, musical, articulate, and clean.

the JC1s are the culmination of three legendary minds---parasound is just the company that put the intellectual capital to work in the design. as it stands, i've heard the JC1s in rcrumps system and they're wonderful uber-amps. it'd be hard to fault them.

i think parasound can be looked at in a new light with this product (but then again, i wouldn't own a parasound product UNLESS it was conceived by CTC and built according to their specs; parasound still makes lots of mid-fi products, but the JC1 isn't one of them). the JC1s are a different direction for the company. maybe they're trying to build the halo brand by introducing it with the rolls royce of amplifiers, i don't know. what i do know is parasound does cover the warranty (5 yrs i think, and much faster turnaround than asking curl or crump to do it ;-). likewise, parasound would be out of business quickly if they started using cheap parts in production units instead of the exact product that was reviewed (akin to deceptive business practices, and possibly fraud).

btw, the CTC BBQ retailed for $7k b/c it was hand built. now if they hand built monos, figure it'd go for at least $14k, and that's w/ no dealers (just direct from mfg). so w/ dealer markup, if CTC built the JC1s and put them through dealers, it'd approach @ $20k.

and from the reports i've heard, it beats amps in that league (per brian and others). for $6k, its a bargain.

rhyno

Oh please! So my musical tastes are pedantic, now? Well did I tell you of the system I just heard this weekend that had the Wisdom Audio Infinite Grande ($600,000) in a specially treated room (35'x 50' x15' @ $250,000) running a Burmester CD 969 Transport, a Burmester 970 SRC D/A Converter (about $69,000 combo), a Boulder 2010 preamplifier, and 24 Krell Master Reference amplifiers ($120,000 each) using specially designed Nordost Valhalla interconnects and speaker cables? The system price was about 4.5 million including tax and installation. I'm sure the JC 1 can trump that combination without breaking a sweat!

With all do respects, Rcrump, the equipment I have heard in the recent past, careful auditions that went for hours I might add, was equipment that I might be able to afford if I were to come into some type of financial windfall. The Krell Master Reference or the Mark Levinson No. 33 are simply too extravagant even if I had a net worth of ten million. I use, as my standards, components I have heard and that have been widely recognized as excellent audio devices that one might be able to afford. How many people you know are rushing out to write a check for the Infinite Grandes, especially in this recession?

Yes, The Good Guys are not better than Sears. Not a complaint, simply my observation. It's too bad they won't pick up the JC 1. If they had, I could have drug my audio junk to their store to give the JC 1 a fair audition. Well, now that's impossible, isn't? I was serious about your headquarters having loaner amps. How do you expect me to hear you new amp, get on an airplane and fly some distant place because you got one good review and your amplifier has good specs? I don't think so. If you want my business, you will have to make your product available. Your channel network for the Halo line leaves much to be desired in California, the home of your corporate headquarters. And I will not buy your product, or anyone else's, based on a magazine review and a lot of Internet hype.

The Halo JC 1 offers a promise to people like me: a music enthusiast who is willing to spend more than one might on an Adcom or a Bryston, but who is unable to buy the big Krells, VTLs, Audio Research, or Mark Levinson amps, the ones you think the JC 1 will bury in head-to-head competition. Those are big words, and maybe your right? But do keep in mind that Krell's cheapest class A amp produces 300 watts in class A with Plateau Biasing, while the JC 1 produces a mere 25 class A watts. Am I supposed to be impressed by that?

If I do get a chance to hear the now famous JC 1, I will be comparing it against the Classe CAM 350, Pass X250, Bryston 7B SST, and BAT VK500 with the Batpack option. I'm sorry in advance if you think this gear is beneath yours, but something tells me you have a lot of competition. Also on my list are other garbage amps like the Classe CA 301, PS Audio Classic 250, Belles 350A, Theta Dreadnaught II, BAT VK6200, Proceed HPA3, and McIntosh MC 352 all to be used with the Magnepan MG 3.6/R, a budget speaker to be sure, and a decent tubed preamp, which wouldn't meet your approval.

In my previous comments, I meant to say that my audio standards are pedestrian, not pedantic, which they very well might be as well. I also noticed at least one or two typos. So it's clear that I can't spell.

The point of this discussion was to compare two amps: the JC 1 and the Bryston 7B SST.

Going on my past experience of the Bryston amps, I would expect the 7B to have a powerful bass, articulated mid-bass, prominent midrange with a touch of brightness and sparkle toward the yang side, and a crystal-clear top end. Sound about right? One can balance this sonic perspective with choice of preamplifier and cabling. I would choose a tube preamp and cables that might be considered slightly warm, but not rolled off. My front end of choice would be a turntable to add more life to the sound, and my speakers of choice would, indeed, be the Maggies.

After talking with Jim Whiney of Magnepan, he told me that he uses a pair of bridged Bryston 4B ST amps to power his MG 20s. Well, he'll have to throw them out to buy the JC 1s, won't he?

For the JC 1, something I have never heard, and may never be able to hear, I would guess that the midrange, compared to the Bryston, would be more relaxed, better focused, maybe more detailed, but more reticent and less exciting. The top end of the unit should be smooth, but maybe a little polite. The soundstage might be a little smaller and have a mid-hall perspective. I would match the JC 1 with an Audio Research LS25 Mark II preamp to increase dynamics and I would use more dynamic sounding loudspeakers, such as the Von Schweikert VR4 Gen III Special Editions. The JC 1's power would be overkill for the VR4s but I think it might be a good match. And for cabling, well there's Acoustic Zen or maybe Nordost. For my front end I might try a SACD player from Sony or Classe.

But alas, I will never get to hear the JC 1 because of where I live, which happens to be only the fourth largest urban center in the country.

$4.5 million? Why? Where's the turntable? I could do better for a tiny fraction of that. Oh well, at least maybe now Dan D. will buy some shoes to go with his outfit.

You might try reading fewer ads. Lighten up a little, come to Chicago for a listen if you'd like, and relax to the music.

Brian Walsh