Jadis orchestra reference or DA50 for Proac D15?


I have a new Proac D15 loudspeaker (88db), driven by a Cayin A-50T integrated tube amplifier. The amp is 35wpc under ultralinear mode using four NOS Mullard EL34 tubes. I am considering replacing the amp with JOR or DA50, but not sure which one should I go ? Thanks a lot for your suggestions !!!
yz_yang

Showing 6 responses by yz_yang

Thanks a lot, Avguy ! The information you provided is very useful to me! I have some concerns with the DA50, because it is only 30 wpc, so is it powerful enough to drive the Proac D15? Since it can drive you Rogers LS3/5a with ease, I guess it should be sufficient for my Proac D15 speakers as well. The other thing is: DA50 is a pure class A amp, does it generate a lot of heat, or the amp itself may become very hot if being played for several hours?
It seens that I should go for the Jadis DA50, but I am still wondering whether Jadis Orchestra Reference with EL34 power tubes (40wpc) will be powerful enough to drive the Proac D15 with ease ??? I have two set of NOS EL34 tubes from Mullard (XF2), and it is a pity that I can not use them in the Jadis DA50 amp.
Hi Trelja, thanks a lot for your useful feedback! I learn a lot about Jadis amps from the comments you made in other audiogon threads.

My Cayin A-50T amp was previously used to drive a pair of B&W 683 speakers (90db). Most of the time the amp was operated in triode mode (16wpc), which produced a clear and lively sound. If switched into ultralinear mode (35wpc), the amp became more powerful with very solid and strong bass, but sounded a little bit harsh to my ears. So for the high sensitivity B&W 683 speakers, 16 wpc was enough to listen to most albums I have.

Recently I updated part of my system. The speakers were replaced with a pair of Proac D15. I like the new speakers, which give a much softer and cleaner sound, better image and a bigger soundstage. Strangely, many albums that sounded lively with the amp operated in triode mode became liveless, lacking of dynamics. Some improvements can be heared when switching into ultralinear mode, but still not good enough for me. I suspect that the amp is not powerful enough to drive the Proac D15 that has a realatively low sensitivity (it is low, but should not be hard to drive???) That is the reason I want to update the amp. The famous Jadis brand is my first choice.

I don't have a chance to pair the Proac D15 with a JOR or D50. If so, it will be much easier decision for me. One attractive thing about JOR is that it accepts both EL34 and KT88 tubes (should sound different). I learned from previous threads that the ONLY thing that needs to be done when swapping between these two different kinds of power tubes is manual biasing, is that correct ??? Tube biasing is not a big issue for me.

For the DA50, it only accepts KT88/KT90/6550 (same tube family), and I can not play around with my NOS EL34 tubes. However, if the DA50 does sound much better than JOR when paired with the Proac D15, I will have no hesitation to go for it !
Hi Trelja, it will be a great thing to use EL34 tubes in DA50 !!! yes, please check with your friend at Jadis to confirm this. Thanks a lot !
Yes, the ProAc D15 is now being driven by a Jadis DA88s integrated amp with 8 Mullard NOS EL34 tubes (XF2, OO getter), and my system sounds wonderful. I like it very much.