Before performing any measurements, I ran one of the Pass Labs XA60.5s (serial no. 26384) for an hour at one-third its specified maximum power of 60W into 8 ohms. This is thermally the worst case for an amplifier with a class-B or -AB output stage. A class-A amplifier, however, runs hottest when it is idling. By the end of the hour, the top panel was warm, at 107°F (41.8°C), and the side-mounted heatsinks were hot, at 120°F (49°C). With the amplifier idling for another hour, the heatsink temperature had risen to 124°F (51.1°C), the top panel to 108°F (42.3°C). (…
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Last summer, in an uncharacteristic fit of wanderlust, I took an American Airlines flight to London. Two days later, I rode the Eurostar train to Paris in the company of my daughter and my wife, a travel agent, who had secured first-class train accommodations on her professional discount. Our ride was brisk, but the upgrade would have been a waste at any price: The Eurostar food was vile.
That would be my last bad meal for a long time: The food in Paris, from the humblest baguette to the loftiest saumon en croûte, was brilliant, the French apparently having determined long ago that life…
One hookup concern that the I-35's manual does make clear: This amplifier inverts absolute signal polarity. To hear it at its best, the user must swap the speaker connections black for red and red for black, for both channels. Which I did.
I used the Jadis I-35 with my usual source components, supplemented with a Sutherland Engineering Insight phono preamp loaned to me earlier in the year; the Insight was typically set for low gain and high impedance, and preceded by my Hommage T2 phono transformer. Loudspeakers were my Altec Valencias (16 ohms) and our review pair of DeVore Fidelity…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Two-channel, tubed, class-A integrated amplifier. Tube complement: three 12AU7, two 12AX7, four KT120. Line inputs: 5. Rated output power: 30Wpc into 1–16 ohms (14.8dBW). Frequency response: 20Hz–20kHz, –3dB. Line input sensitivity: 100mV. Line input impedance: >100k ohms.
Dimensions: 20" (510mm) W by 8.7" (225mm) H by 13" (335mm) D. Weight: 55 lbs (25kg).
Serial number of unit reviewed: I35008.
Price: $7995. Approximate number of dealers: 7.
Manufacturer: Jadis S.A.R.L., Chemin du Pech, 11800 Villedubert, France. Tel: (33) 04-68-…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog Sources: Garrard 301, Thorens TD 124 turntables; EMT 997, Thomas Schick tonearms; EMT OFD 25 & TSD 15 70th Anniversary pickup heads.
Digital Sources: Meridian Explorer, Wavelength Proton USB D/A converters; Apple iMac G5 computer running Apple iTunes v.11.0, Decibel v.1.2.11 playback software; Sony SCD-777ES SACD/CD player.
Preamplification: Hommage T2 step-up transformer; Sutherland Engineering Insight phono preamplifier; Shindo Vosne-Romanee & Masseto preamplifiers.
Power Amplifiers: Shindo Corton-Charlemagne & Cortese, Fi…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I measured the Jadis I-35 using Stereophile's loan sample of the top-of-the-line Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see the January 2008 "As We See It" and www.ap.com). I carefully installed the nine tubes, as instructed in the manual, but was then faced with the same problem Art Dudley had: Which of the two pairs of unlabeled binding posts were for the left channel, which for the right? And was one of each pair for 4 ohm and one for 8 ohm output transformer taps, as implied by the wiring diagram on the top of the transformers? As Art says, it appears that there is…
"J-10? What's an integrated amplifier?"
It was fall 2000. I'd just begun working at Stereophile, and I clearly remember sheepishly, innocently putting this question to former senior editor Jonathan Scull.
I think the question confused him—not because he didn't know the answer, but because the answer seemed so obvious, the question itself should have been unnecessary. How could anyone not know what an integrated amplifier is? I might as well have asked, "What's a song?"
I was 22 years old, and I believe my ignorance of integrateds was in no way unique. Ask most young people…
The A19 is designed in the UK and manufactured in China, where Arcam has used the same manufacturing plant for nearly 13 years. They've also invested heavily in their subcontract parts suppliers. Each batch of A19s is sample-tested to ensure quality.
Installation and Setup
Unboxing and installing the FMJ A19 was a simple pleasure. It came carefully packed in a substantial cardboard box, all of its pieces intact and nothing rattling around—always a good sign. As Art Dudley said in his November 2013 review of the Luxman PD-171 turntable, "Never underestimate the importance of good…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Solid-state, two-channel integrated amplifier. Inputs: six pairs single-ended, moving-magnet phono, front-panel iPod. Outputs: record, preamp, headphone jack. Maximum power output: 50Wpc into 8 ohms (17dBW), 90Wpc into 4 ohms (16.5dBW). Frequency response: 20Hz–20kHz, ±0.2dB. Signal/noise: 105dB at 50W, ref. 1V. Line-level input sensitivity: 1V. Phono input sensitivity: 5mV at 1kHz. Preamp output sensitivity: 630mV. Headphone output: 4V into 600 ohms. Line-level input impedance: 10k ohms. Phono input impedance: 47k ohms. Preamp output impedance: 230…