Jonathan Scull

Sort By: Post Date | Title | Publish Date
Jacques Mahul of JMlab: Inverted domes & otherwise...
Interviews
Jonathan Scull  |  Mar 31, 1998  |  First Published: Apr 01, 1998  |  0 comments
Jacques Mahul is an interesting, thoughtful man. He's entirely Parisian: international, urbane, and sophisticated. During "HeeFee" '96 in Paris, Kathleen and I sat down with him and spoke about his early years as an audiophile. To accompany my review of the JMlab Utopia, We tried to find out what drives him—to make the drivers he makes today! I asked him when had it all started:
Continue Reading >
Jadis Eurythmie II loudspeaker
Floor Loudspeaker ReviewsAudacious Audio
Jonathan Scull  |  Aug 17, 2012  |  First Published: Mar 01, 1996  |  3 comments
The Jadis Eurythmie speakers ($37,000/pair) arrived in a multitude of oversized boxes. Importer Northstar Leading the Way's Frank Garbie dragged them into our downstairs lobby and broke them open, elevatoring the individual modules up to our door. This happened on one of my office days, but Kathleen pushed me out the door in the morning with a "Don't worry cherie, I can handle it..." She phoned in periodic updates on Garbie's progress. Remember that old Stan Freberg routine? "I got it, I got it...I don't got it!" I arrived home just in time to hook up the amps.
Continue Reading >
Jadis SE300B monoblock amplifier
Tube Power Amp Reviews
Jonathan Scull, Sam Tellig  |  Aug 20, 2012  |  First Published: Mar 01, 1996  |  2 comments
I've never written a love story before, but then, there's always a first time. This romance concerns the stunningly anthropomorhic Jadis Eurythmie II (mostly) horn speakers and the petite, jewel-like and vivacious Jadis SE300B amps—a 10W single-ended triode design with paralleled output tubes.

Kathleen and I, having flung ourselves into single-ended's embrace, have become, to some fashion, quite experienced. I've described the purity of presentation available with the Wavelength Audio Cardinal XS monoblocks when coupled with the Swiss-made Reference 3A Royal Master Controls in these pages (January '96). Using the Eurythmie speakers, which supplanted the 3As in our system, we've listened to Gordon Rankin's Wavelength Cardinal XS monos, the Kondo-san Audio Note Kasai parallel 300B stereo amplifier (next SE review to come), the ebullient and eager-to-please Cary 301SE 300B stereo unit, and the Jadis single-ended triodes, as well as our reference Jadis JA200s (yes, Jadis also does push-pull).

Continue Reading >
JMlab Utopia loudspeaker
Floor Loudspeaker Reviews
Jonathan Scull  |  Mar 31, 1998  |  First Published: Apr 01, 1998  |  0 comments
I first met Jacques Mahul (the JM in JMlab/Focal) when my wife Kathleen and I traveled to Paris to cover HiFi (Hee-Fee) '96. The sound produced by the JMlab Grand Utopias—on a collection of many-chassis'd YBA electronics—got my enthusiastic vote for best of show (footnote 1). JMlab's large demo room was always packed to the rafters with avid listeners. (As a group, melomanes, as audiophiles are called in France, exactly mirror their stateside brethren in appearance and general demeanor. Yes, they're a raucous and demanding bunch!)
Continue Reading >
Judy Spotheim: Seeing & Hearing The Light
Interviews
Jonathan Scull  |  Jan 05, 2000  |  0 comments
Judy Spotheim, maker of the SpJ arm and the gorgeous La Luce turntable that I reviewed a while back for Stereophile (October 1998) and that has subsequently become one of my references for LP playback. She's an intelligent, well-read individual who has a penchant for asking me, "You didn't read that in the manual?!" Ahem. Although the following interview was taped on the phone from her home in the Netherlands, I hope to meet her sometime soon.
Continue Reading >
Koetsu Rosewood Signature Platinum moving-coil cartridge
Phono Cartridge Reviews
Jonathan Scull  |  Mar 03, 2007  |  First Published: Nov 03, 1998  |  0 comments
Among the more intriguing audio-related announcements this year was that Koetsu phono cartridges were once again available in the States. In fact, they're being handmade in limited quantities by the sons of founder Yoshiaki Sugano.
Continue Reading >
Krell Full Power Balanced 350mc monoblock amplifier
Solid State Power Amp Reviews
Jonathan Scull  |  Aug 10, 2000  |  0 comments
With its latest series of FPB (Full Power Balanced) amplifiers, Krell is taking careful aim at the seam between classic high-power two-channel systems and quality multi-channel installations where sound is yet paramount. Nevertheless, Krell founder Dan D'Agostino was adamant: Krell's Class A components were designed for music playback. "I'm a purist, like you, Jonathan!" he told me.
Continue Reading >
Lamm Industries L2 Reference preamplifier
Tube Preamp Reviews
Jonathan Scull  |  May 26, 2001  |  0 comments
The L2 Reference sits at the top of Lamm Industries' preamplifier line. According to the manual, its "unique" circuitry uses specially selected, superlinear, high-voltage MOSFET transistors that ensure class-A operation from input to output, with no overall negative feedback at any stage. All stages, including the high-current output buffers, are single-ended.
Continue Reading >
Lamm Industries M1.1 monoblock power amplifier
Solid State Power Amp Reviews
Jonathan Scull  |  May 04, 2009  |  First Published: Apr 04, 1995  |  0 comments
What is it about a component that makes the blasé High Ender sit up and say, "Hey, this is special!"? What elements of its reproduction reach out to you and won't let go? How does the intrepid audio reviewer find a way to describe these hopefully recurring moments of musical discovery which define the high-end experience? How many times, after all, can you say, "Ooooo, ahhhhh, that's the best [insert some part of the frequency range here]," ad nauseam? How much difference is there, anyway? Therein lies the tale...
Continue Reading >
Lamm Industries ML1 monoblock power amplifier
Tube Power Amp Reviews
Jonathan Scull  |  May 20, 2000  |  0 comments
The last Lamm product I had my hands on was a pair of M1.1 monoblocks (see Vol.18 No.4, Vol.22 No.7). I liked those hybrid tube/solid-state amps quite a lot.
Continue Reading >

Pages

X