JOB 225 2-channel Power Amplifier ... update ...

This Job is one of the nicest surprise's in audio today! What a treat, thanks Ozark Tom and Norman you are the two that got me started on this path. Ozark Tom gave me the final push. Dangity dang dang!!!! If audio was to go in this direction you would see a resurgence in the industry. I must retreat back to my ice pack :peace:
 
OzarkTom knows a bargain amp when he hears it! He was also quick onto the $500 TBI amp too.
 
Norman, Tom sent me his TBI to try out (which I still have by the way) and then told me how much better the Job was. I mentioned to Tom that you were trying to get me on the wait list last fall for the Job. He, like you is a great guy and a friend to audio!
 
Hi Guys,

I heard some rumours that job 225 is on leaner / brighter side. How it is with it?

Thanks
 
We are happy you found us too. The only reason that I mention passive is because the Job 225 requires only about .7 volts to reach full volume whereas other amps require twice that to reach full volume. All this means is that a very small change in output makes a bigger change in volume. You will have to basically turn up the volume on the Oppo a small amount. IT's not necessarily a bad thing. Just be careful. I love what my GAT does for the sound but I am using a very small volume range on the preamp.

In techical documentation of my DAC / Pre they state OUTPUT SIGNAL LEVEL RCA : 3.0 Vrms@0dBFS - would it mean I will have problems with volume knob and working out of scale. I am sorry if it does not make sense but I am clueless when it comes to those things.

Thanks guys
 
Hi Sebna,

Welcome to the forum.

The Job is very articulate and open. I would not consider it bright or lean. Voices are very natural. Separation of instruments and voices is amazing. It's not a dark amp at all but very easy to listen to.


Hi Guys,

I heard some rumours that job 225 is on leaner / brighter side. How it is with it?

Thanks

In techical documentation of my DAC / Pre they state OUTPUT SIGNAL LEVEL RCA : 3.0 Vrms@0dBFS - would it mean I will have problems with volume knob and working out of scale. I am sorry if it does not make sense but I am clueless when it comes to those things.

Thanks guys

All that means is that you will not be turning up the volume very much to get full volume.
 
sebna,

I am a bit "clueless" as well when it comes to impedance matching and input sensitivity considerations. The way that I have rationalized it is: "all things being equal" from the source, you get about twice as much increase in volume as a "typically" rated input sensitivity amp would produce. I have run the Job 225 with a passive preamp and direct from the Oppo 105. I like the Oppo better (no preamp). The passive preamp gives you better volume SPL modulation (or is it attenuation), meaning smaller discrete "steps" on the dial. The Oppo is a digital volume control on the DAC chip and has 100 "steps" as a % of the total. I don't know if the Oppo is a logarithmic scale or a standard measure % but it does just fine. Depending on the efficiency of your speakers, it will get louder/quieter more quickly as you turn the volume knob but has not been an issue without the passive pre.

I would also chime in that the sonic character is Not bright or lean (at all). I describe it as transparent, airy, with good detail, nuance, and solid bass performance. It's quite amazing and is easy to listen to all day - as I did today.
 
All that means is that you will not be turning up the volume very much to get full volume.

It means that I will probably be using 25% of the available scale on my Pre and taking in account I have 94db/w speakers I will probably be using like 5 - 10% of the scale in real life situations... such a shame it has shuch big gain and no switch to make it less.

It might be unusable for me :/
 
I guess I'll be getting in line for one of these :S I need the Job225 like I need another armpit. The ATC speakers just sold so I picked up a pair of those Pioneer SB 22 for $89 bucks. And that's my speaker for my 2 channel system. Getting fed from a BMC S1 and soon hopefully, a Job225. Probably end up melting the voice coils.

What's wrong with this picture?
20140208-_DSC5393.jpg
 
It means that I will probably be using 25% of the available scale on my Pre and taking in account I have 94db/w speakers I will probably be using like 5 - 10% of the scale in real life situations... such a shame it has shuch big gain and no switch to make it less.

It might be unusable for me :/

I have used a couple of -10dB inline RCA attenuators to pretty good effect with my 98dB speakers and the Job. My new DAC doesn't have as high an output voltage, so I have recently been able to remove them. I have found it a little bit more transparent without those attenuators, but very minor difference. The magic was absolutely still there with the attenuators in place. And they weren't very expensive at all. Pretty respected brand for around $30-40 used. I haven't shopped around for them new. I might be willing to sell them to you if you're interested, now that I don't need them.

i also might be putting my Job up for sale in the coming weeks due to some TRL Samson's due to arrive. I need to wait for them to arrive and make my final impressions before deciding, but if any of you guys might be interested, let me know.
 
I guess I'll be getting in line for one of these :S I need the Job225 like I need another armpit. The ATC speakers just sold so I picked up a pair of those Pioneer SB 22 for $89 bucks. And that's my speaker for my 2 channel system. Getting fed from a BMC S1 and soon hopefully, a Job225. Probably end up melting the voice coils.

What's wrong with this picture?
View attachment 4859

i used those little pioneer speakers to break in my Job for the first 200 hours, and I actually just hooked them up to the Job again recently for grins. Alongside with my upgraded tranquility SE DAC and Truth preamp (about $3000 of electronics at used prices, much more at full retail). I'd say they sounded pretty good n that small room with no acoustic treatments! Haven't heard them in my main room though. Probably not filling the room like you're used to, but I bet it's still very high sound quality for the money. They do respond to better electronics than their price point suggests.
 
I have sent you a PM.

Did anyone compared 225 to Primare i30. Or maybe someone is familiar with both and can write a word or two about how they compare.

Thanks
 
The Job is such an over achiever you don't feel the need to upgrade, at all! I believe the reason for this is the fear of spending more and getting less compounded by spending a lot more and only getting a few improvements.

They really hit the mark with this guy! What a joy. I can't wait to get a pair of the mono blocks. Come on in the waters fine.
 
I have used a couple of -10dB inline RCA attenuators to pretty good effect with my 98dB speakers and the Job. My new DAC doesn't have as high an output voltage, so I have recently been able to remove them. I have found it a little bit more transparent without those attenuators, but very minor difference. The magic was absolutely still there with the attenuators in place. And they weren't very expensive at all.

Genjamon, that's my experience exactly! I don't have 98db speakers, but even though I have a DAC with 1.25v out (on low and 2.50v on high) I still need the -10db attenuators. Apart from helping volume control on the passive preamp, I had a bit of sibilance that the attenuators seemed to help control. As you say, the magic is still there! I tried the -20db attenuators, which allowed me to use the higher voltage setting out of the DAC, but they seemed to take away a bit too much of the transparency. Besides, I believe 1.25v is more than enough for the JOB 225 (with an input sensitivity of 0.75v. Correct me if I'm wrong). My listening levels are modest in our small, connected town home.

My current system is an Airport Express (with firmware rolled back so it will play nice with the DAC) > Audio-GD 1.32 DAC (DIR module enabled [because it also helps with sibilance]) > Channel Island Audio PLC-1 MKII Passive Preamplifier (HT bypass)> JOB 225 Amplifier > Monitor Audio Silver RX6 Towers. I'm sure it's the cruddy 256Kbps AAC files and the transparent and revealing equipment contributing to the high frequency/sibilance issue I battled with for a time.

My system has NEVER sounded better! I'm not over exaggerating when I say I'm hearing my music library for the first time all over again since pulling two-channel audio out on its own and adding the JOB 225.

JP
 
JP,

I am so happy that you are really enjoying your system. Finding these diamonds in the rough makes all this worthwhile. Keep the updates coming.
 
Please give us your opinion when you hear it. I LOVE mine.
Will do. Not sure how long I'll have it but at least a few days I hope. :)

Well the little amp has come and gone. I received it last Thursday and of course put it in the system that evening and listened as long as I could. I wasn't able to get any time on Friday but had quite a bit of time on Saturday. Unfortunately it was not a good fit with my setup. I can see why a lot of folks love it but in my setup it was fatiguing. Not entirely sure why but ultimately I kept wanting to turn it down and finally just shut it off. The demo amp I had has been in use for several months, so certainly broken in.

Like all amps, it's never just the amp, it's a system. A now departed amp designer once told me he believed the biggest factor in determining how an amp sounded was how bad it misbehaved with a the reactive load of a loudspeaker vs a benign resistive load on a test bench. I didn't fully agree with him but I do believe it has a lot to do with the end result. I've no doubt that the Job is superb with many systems, too many folks like the results for it to be otherwise but with my speaker/crossover setup it wasn't a good match. I didn't have any noise or other problems, just not a good match for the system and my tastes. FWIW my speakers are large two ways using a JBL 2226 15" mid-woofer with a Beyma TPL-150H Air Motion Transformer as the tweeter, about 97dB sensitive.
 
Mike,

Glad you at least gave it a try. Sorry it didn't work out. On to bigger and better.
 
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