Joule - Electra: Just How Hot??

I own the VZN-100 monoblocks in Musicwood. Build quality is simply suberb- these amps are functional works of art. Reliablity is excellent. I would only advise that the contacts of the driver tubes be occasionally cleaned with fine sandpaper. I say this because I've had one driver tube melt down, but fortunately I caught it before it did any damage to the tube socket. I live in Tucson AZ and therefore only use the amps during the colder months. If your AC is reasonably quiet, you should be fine.

Personally, I could not spend $15-30k on an amplifier that did not absolutely exude the essence of care, craftsmanship, and quality. Simple.

I should add that people buy Jud's OTL's because they want the best tube sound available, at any price. The amps require care and attention, but the sonic and aesthetic rewards are there for the chosen few.

I own a Joule Marianne 300, so I can't speak about Joule amps, although I am very interested in the Rite of passage amps and have read much about the amp, the feedback I have from owners has been nothing less than spectacular for sound quality, build quality has never been an issue anyone has mentioned to me! You would think on private email that would come up if there was a problem.

The 300 preamp is a beautiful unit. I don't think it is as big and impressive looking as say the MBL6010D, which is the other preamp that was in the running when I was preamp shopping! Then again, the 6010 is nearly twice the price. After plugging the 300 in and listening to it, it was obvious the money went into the parts, and that in the end is just where I want it. A while back I purchased a Nagra PLL pre...........my first tube pre. I hated the looks of it, but the sound was undeniable, so I bought it and loved it, the sound quality of the 300 is that much better than the Nagra, and I do feel the built quality "under the hood" is as good as it gets.

Another thing that impresses me with Joule is, when I phone them, you don't get a phone message, or a receptionist who can't get ahold of anyone, or have to leave a message and they'll "get back to you". When you call, Simon answers the phone, and he seems to work 24/7. He has a wealth of audio knowledge, and I trust his audio integrity. I am very happy with my Joule product, would and probably will buy again.

On the other hand, my current amps are the Levinson 33H mono's, which I also love, and are the reference amps in many many systems. However, if you started a thread looking for issues with them, I'm sure you would find lots of people who would step up to the plate and blast them. That being said, if anyone wants to trade their Rite of passage for my Levinsons, drop me an email.

"Which Verity product are you considering Rafael "

- Parcifal Ovation or Amadis but Destiny !!!!!!!!!

Regarding the Simon, he retired year or two ago, and its the 2nd carrer/hobby as long as he lives or capable to work. This is that he says and I can't ask him for more. To the best of my knowledge he and Jud have excellent professional and working relations. Lets not forget that the "man" is Jud - Simon just bring his organization skills as well as whatever engineer/musician brings to the equation in the somewhat secondary manner.

All The Best
Rafael