Joule LA-100 has landed in Verb's house!

verb

That’s better!

verb

tonyb wrote: »

What amp are you pairing with it my man ? I really enjoyed the rhythm and pace/tone she had, very musical without drawing attention to any one area of the musical spectrum. I also used AZ Satori cables and a mix of AZ matrix and WW eclipse 7 IC's with it for some darn good results.

As I noted before, read the manual Judd provided, he was pretty thorough. Wish more pieces came with such a manual.

Will do Tony! I paged through the manual, but it definitely warrants a deep read.

JayCee

verb wrote: »

Right now the soon to be retired Carver TFM35X, yeah I know! I’ll most likely move the CJ over tonight and plug it in! And then the McCormack!

The average Joe..."Man, someday I'd love to have a TFM35x, or, really wishing CJ, or, really wishing, McCormack...oh well, I can dream." @verb, "Hmmmm, think I'll rotate the Carver for a CJ and then McCormack! What? I have to move a shi!ton of gear to get to them. Maybe tomorrow."

verb

JayCee wrote: »

verb wrote: »

Right now the soon to be retired Carver TFM35X, yeah I know! I’ll most likely move the CJ over tonight and plug it in! And then the McCormack!

The average Joe..."Man, someday I'd love to have a TFM35x, or, really wishing CJ, or, really wishing, McCormack...oh well, I can dream." @verb, "Hmmmm, think I'll rotate the Carver for a CJ and then McCormack! What? I have to move a shi!ton of gear to get to them. Maybe tomorrow."

All part of the journey JayCee my man! Oh did I mention there are a ton of enablers on this forum?

JayCee

Ya' think? I say..."My name is John and I'm an audio junkie. It's been 6 months, 3 days and 4 hours since my last major audio purchase."

In the coming months I'll be selling off some of the items I was "enabled" to purchase. Started w/my trip to the CP rabbit hole in 2009. Several pieces have passed through the hands of many a CP members. Ain't life grand?

vcwatkins

Also check the manual re inverted phase if you haven't already. I think most, if not all, are inverted(?) and you may prefer switching the speaker leads.

tonyb

vcwatkins wrote: »

Also check the manual re inverted phase if you haven't already. I think most, if not all, are inverted(?) and you may prefer switching the speaker leads.

Good point, I did try it once with my setup, didn't notice any difference so I left it as normal.

Also try a Sylvania in the mu-follower stage, there is/was an RCA triple mica blackplate in there. Judd seemed to think the Sylvania was better in that position. Give us your impressions after some time.

verb

Been a while, but now since the Cary is out for service and the ultimate upgrade, I decided to rotate the Joule into the main rig.
Gonna play with it over the next week or so, but so far so good! I am getting a little scratchiness from the gain knob, so some deoxit may be in order. Having fun!

Streaming Tidal through my iPad!

verb

Clipdat wrote: »

Dave is living proof that one can never have too many tube preamps!

Lol! You’re right! This thing is a gem! First impressions of detail, soundstage, right there with the VTL!

verb

So I spent about an hour with the Joule today. To sum it up in a single word, exquisite! As in exquisite detail, soundstage, depth, imaging, you name it. Connected to the MC300 amp and the SRS's, the effect was sublime. Wonderful piece here. Absolutely love it! She's a keeper! Also of note is that this thing is dead quiet when no signal is being processed. Truly an impressive pre-amp!

I ran some tunes through the Cambridge 851N, via the NS DAC, and also directly to the Joule from the Cambridge via some WW Oasis IC's. I give the edge to the NS DAC, but more on that in my other thread. I played some tunes from Scann-Tec, Phutureprimative, and Tosca.

Also played a few CD's through the EAD transport, via the NS DAC. In the short time I had so far, played some from Kryptic Minds, Tool FI, and 5FDP.

I'll spend some more time with other genres, more voices, etc., but so far I am impressed.

The only drawback that I see is the gain control. Even cranked at the 5:00 position, I could only muster between 75-80 dbA max. There is no discreet volume control, so I believe it relies on the other components to boost their gain. My CD transport does not have adjustable gain. Not a deal breaker by any means, as this things sounds so wonderful.

I enabled volume control on the Cambridge to see if that would help, but even at the max volume setting on the Cambridge, I got about the same readings.

I'll play around with it some more, as I'm having fun! Did I say, she's a keeper!

Thanks again Jeff @indyhawg and @tonyb for passing this onto me.

juanr1

Compare this Joule to your non-upgraded Cary SLP-05 preamp please....

Viking64

juanr1 wrote: »

Compare this Joule to your non-upgraded Cary SLP-05 preamp please....

tonyb

Funny, I could get crazy volume with the Joule. Gain set at about the 2 o'clock position. You may be experiencing some sort of impedence mismatch with the other gear/cables that is keeping the throttle limited.

Worked extremely well with the Butler 2250 I sold to Kerry. Check the tubes ?

Clipdat

Tony, are the L and R "Balance" knobs to be left at the noon position? Or are those supposed to be manipulated as well and then the volume fine tuned with the master "Gain" knob?

maxward

With my similarly aged Joule fed by the North Star DAC, I get 75-80 dbA with the gain around 10 to 10:30 and both balance controls at noon. So it seems like something is not right. Glad to hear it’s sounding good, though.

erniejade

" WW Oasis IC's. " if you ever got a shot to upgrade to the WW eclipse silver, you will hear a huge difference.

verb

erniejade wrote: »

" WW Oasis IC's. " if you ever got a shot to upgrade to the WW eclipse silver, you will hear a huge difference.

Yep! Always looking for a deal on those!

tonyb

Clipdat wrote: »

Tony, are the L and R "Balance" knobs to be left at the noon position? Or are those supposed to be manipulated as well and then the volume fine tuned with the master "Gain" knob?

I always left them at noon. Try another amp with it.

F1nut

The only drawback that I see is the gain control. Even cranked at the 5:00 position, I could only muster between 75-80 dbA max.

That's not normal, at all.

Clipdat

Supposedly the Joule only has 8db gain? Maybe not a good match for the McIntosh? Put the Conrad amp in instead and see if you notice the same issue.

Clipdat

Specs on the McIntosh:
INPUT IMPEDANCE 20,000 ohms Unbalanced
INPUT SENSITIVITY 1.4V with LEVEL Controls at maximum; 2.5V sensitivity marked.

Check those input sensitivity knobs on the back of the Mac.

verb

Thanks Drew! I found the same thing this afternoon while studying the owner's manual online! Gotta love these McIntosh amps. Turns out, they have variable gain, and were set at the midpoint (there is a detent). I turned them all the way up, to 2.5v, and got a noticeable increase in sound level! Yay!

Yesterday I was consistently getting about 75 dbA max, now with the gain turned all the way up, I got a 10 dbA increase! So consistently getting about 85dbA max. Very much improved, and enjoyable. Sure not ear splitting, but I can't remember the last time I cranked it over 100 db!


Very happy now! Gonna play with is some more, but this pre is no slouch as a stand in while the Cary gets fixed.

I'll probably try this weekend a couple of other amps I got laying around. The CJ, and the McCormack.

pitdogg2

Does the MIT IC's have the adjustable network box as well?
spitballing here as the two might be hand in hand.

verb

Clipdat wrote: »

Supposedly the Joule only has 8db gain? Maybe not a good match for the McIntosh? Put the Conrad amp in instead and see if you notice the same issue.

I'm not sure about this Joule, but the hardcopy information I have says there is a switch inside to increase the gain to 12db. Gotta pop the hood open to find out. IIRC Kerry's Joule had that switch. He mentioned it in one of his threads.

treitz3

Even 85db sounds low, Dave.

Tom

verb

pitdogg2 wrote: »

Does the MIT IC's have the adjustable network box as well?
spitballing here as the two might be hand in hand.

It does! I thought about that too Ivan. Thank you. Right now it's set at the mid setting. I'll play around with that too. Speaker cables (Shotgun S1's) have adjustable network boxes as well, IIRC.

verb

treitz3 wrote: »

Even 85db sounds low, Dave.

Tom

Agree Tom. But incremental improvement at least. Got a few more variables to play with. I can say, I'm learning a lot (never even played with the little gain pots in the back), and having fun.

And most importantly, I appreciate all the advice and support!

Clipdat

Too many variables!

treitz3

So long as the system itself is KISS, having options is never a bad thing IMO/IME. Especially at the level of gear he has. He may find that the sound is better at lower settings with some things, as opposed to getting the maximum out of everything.

It just boils down to trial and error and what HIS ears prefer.

Tom

tonyb

85 db's is still low. Not good juju with something. I could blast that puppy well into 120 with the legacy's, Butler, AZ cables. Seemed like the top volume was unlimited. 🙂