Three years after finalizing the design of their HQS G 7001 monoblocks, brothers Arnaud and Laurent Fusilier of French company JMF Audio completed the design of the JMF Audio HQS G3 9001 amplifiers ($164,000/pair). Alongside other JMF Audio products, the 9001s debuted at the ancillary HiFi Deluxe show in the Munich Marriott, offering a similar sonic signature as their smaller cousins.
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The new monoblocks use the same transformers and capacitors as the 7001s, but with different internal wiring, schematic layout, materials, and power supplies. Like their predecessors, they feature Captive power cables.
"Our gold-plated circuit boards add sweetness," Laurent Fusilier said. "Using gold in the entire audio path forces us to solder everything by hand. Our gold is very thick; it's the nature of the alloy that makes the difference. Signal paths are short, and many components in our products can’t be found elsewhere."
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The G3 9001 uses three output stages in parallel and 42 transistors, allowing large current capability without over-stressing the transistors.
On Gregorio Paniagua's 1980 LP of Spanish folias for Harmonia Mundi France—a recording the Fusiliers’ father and company founder played for them when they were young—the system delivered fetching warmth and softness. Every instrumentalist seemed to stand on a velvet foundation cushioning their sound. When we played a Jennifer Warnes track from her album The Hunter, I appreciated how the equipment rendered the edge of her voice. The system's overriding softness again manifested pleasingly on the percussion and voice of Johnny Clegg & Savuka's "Third World Child."
Also in the room, alongside the HQS G3 9001s: a JMF Audio PRS G 1.5 dual-mono preamplifier ($39,000); a PHS B 7.3 dual-mono phono preamplifier ($44,000); a new PHZ 8.1 phono dual-mono balancing and impedance-matching input interface (approximately $10,000); discontinued HPM 500 loudspeakers ($115,000/pair); JMF Audio cables and stands; and an $18,000 Pear Audio Odar turntable with a Cornet 3 tonearm, fitted with a $6000 Benz Micro LP-S phono cartridge.
The new monoblocks use the same transformers and capacitors as the 7001s, but with different internal wiring, schematic layout, materials, and power supplies. Like their predecessors, they feature Captive power cables.
"Our gold-plated circuit boards add sweetness," Laurent Fusilier said. "Using gold in the entire audio path forces us to solder everything by hand. Our gold is very thick; it's the nature of the alloy that makes the difference. Signal paths are short, and many components in our products can’t be found elsewhere."
The G3 9001 uses three output stages in parallel and 42 transistors, allowing large current capability without over-stressing the transistors.
On Gregorio Paniagua's 1980 LP of Spanish folias for Harmonia Mundi France—a recording the Fusiliers’ father and company founder played for them when they were young—the system delivered fetching warmth and softness. Every instrumentalist seemed to stand on a velvet foundation cushioning their sound. When we played a Jennifer Warnes track from her album The Hunter, I appreciated how the equipment rendered the edge of her voice. The system's overriding softness again manifested pleasingly on the percussion and voice of Johnny Clegg & Savuka's "Third World Child."
Also in the room, alongside the HQS G3 9001s: a JMF Audio PRS G 1.5 dual-mono preamplifier ($39,000); a PHS B 7.3 dual-mono phono preamplifier ($44,000); a new PHZ 8.1 phono dual-mono balancing and impedance-matching input interface (approximately $10,000); discontinued HPM 500 loudspeakers ($115,000/pair); JMF Audio cables and stands; and an $18,000 Pear Audio Odar turntable with a Cornet 3 tonearm, fitted with a $6000 Benz Micro LP-S phono cartridge.
