Sonic difference between the CAT JL2 Sig & CAT JL3

Brian, I spoke with Lucien (PR for Avalon) and he informed me that he had heard the Osiris driven effectively (not high spl's) by the twenty something watt Audio Note Ongaku.
The speakers are a very benign load. I should have spoke with Lucien before pouring through all the agon posts regarding the Osiris. I mistakenly thought the Osiris was a difficult load and rushed to buy something that could drive it so it could be positioned properly when delivered.
I bought a pair of Levinson 436's for sale on agon. This is the first ss amp I have used in over twenty years and not a very good one. After I spoke with Lucien I yanked the Levinson's and put the Manley 350's in. They drove the Osiris with much greater authority than the megawatt Levinson's. They bettered them in all parameters but especially in the bass (that really surprised me). I am trying to put my last system together and so far I have the speakers and cabling (John when you hear the Stealth Indras and Dreams you will know you have found your last set of cables, they are ORGANIC!). I will be trying the Nuforce 9 SE's in about a week. They come with a thirty day money back guarantee so why not. ultraaudio.com has just reviewed them check it out. They might be good summertime amps. If these 7.5 pound monos turn out to be as good as claimed they may save me twenty grand and massive electric bills. By the way they recommend Stealth cables for them. I'll post again when I hear them. If they are not world beaters I will try to pick up a JL2 Sig on agon. I think our sonic tastes are similar John. And since you have done the research I'll probably look for a used Aesthetix Callisto down the road (when funds permit).
I only use cd's (I am confident they will surpass lp's before I die). Louis, I have used several different VTL amps during the last decade and while they are good values, I don't think they will fare well against the CAT's and others. Thank you all for chiming in and I'll keep you posted on my progress. John thanks for the email and let me know how the Stealth audition goes.

Bart

Thanks for that comparison Klinerm. There was another poster, David Shapiro, who owned Osiris for four years and ended up with the Boulder 2060 amps driven by the ARC Ref3
which he said was a match made in heaven. I guess the Ref3
works well in different settings. It is definitely on my list of preamps to audition. I also haven't ruled out the VTL 750's for an amp audition. I bought the Tice Power Block and Titan combo from Albert Porter about 15 years ago. I agree he is a very nice guy. There must be some audiogoners out there that have compared the VTL 750/450 to the CAT JL2/JL3, maybe they will chime in, or do I need to start a new thread?

Good post John, I am of like mind. I am trying to do this right at the least expense possible (used) and relax and listen to music for a decade or so. I have decided on what amp and pre I will use, the amp: CAT JL2 or JL2 Sig and Emotive Audio Epifania pre. I'll get the amp before this year is out and the pre in about two years or less if I see one used (unlikely). Enough users of Avalons have told me that they will not sound their best with SS (except Spectral)for it to sink in. So I am stuck with the heat of tubes. I'll do my digital last, when people start dumping their Zanden for a reasonable price. Steve Huntley sounds like a good upgrade resource, I'll keep that in mind.

Bart

Sirspeedy, I purchased the pair of Ascents that Michael Gindi used to write a review for Sounds Like magazine. I really liked that mag and Gindi's reviews, too bad they didn't last long. Bill Wells who I think published that mag bought the pair Gindi reviewd and I bought them from him. I know the Rowland amps work well with Avalons and other speakers. I heard Rowlands drive the Eclipse at the 96 NYC show, extremely detailed, delicate and musical. There is a agoner that is selling the ASR Emitter 2 for a good price but it is a 240vac model. I would have to run a 240 line which isn't out of the question. I have emailed him a couple of times. He wants to replace the ASR with a VTL 7.5 and Rowland 302. That Peak Consult sounds like a keeper. It would be nice to have the kind of flexibility in amplification selection that speaker will allow. I expect the next Home entertainment show will be in NYC and I can check out some possibilities. I am working backwards from the speakers and have the cables. The next step is the amp or possibly preamp. I'll due the front end last. I recently bought a tube tester and have learned that a bunch of the NOS tubes I have purchased are bad, another reason to consider SS if I find something that has the liquid presentation that tubes offer. I realize that the Ongaku would not be able to do dynamics and slam factor effectively on the Osiris. I was just relaying the story that Lucien told me to dismiss all the posts I read about the Osiris being a very difficult load, it is not. BTW Sirspeedy have you heard the CAT JL2 Sig and or JL3? There is a dealer in north Jersey I am thinking about visiting. I guess I would suffer with the heat if the tube amps I audition better the SS.

Sirspeedy, I never had my Ascents upgraded (I was never aware there was an upgrade). I know that they made the umbilical cord go directly into the speaker cabinet on later models. I liked the fact that I could remove mine and use three short runs of whatever speaker cable I was using at the time. Back to the thread title. I spoke with Ken Stevens again today and asked the question directly about differences between the Cat JL2 Sig and JL3. He said that the bass was better on the all JL3's but that the JL2 Sig beat the JL3 (not the JL3 Sig MK2)in all other areas.
He said that the JL3 Sig MK2 in addition to having better bass was more transparent than the JL2 Sig. So that is his assessment of these two products. I am thinking that I will opt for the JL2 Sig for the following reasons:Less than half the cost, half the heat, half the power consumption. The order I listed the reasons are probably the order of importance. I may change my mind though since I am trying to assemble a system that will last at least a decade. Incremental changes are costlier in the long term.
Patience is a monetary godsend in this hobby. If you can wait for someone with much deeper pockets than yours to get bored with his JL3 Sigs you can have your cake and a paper plate to eat it off! Jafox if you see this post, which JL3's are you using? I think I understand why there are no direct responses to the JL2 Sig vs JL3 question is that the JL2 Sig is a brand new product and I think the JL3 Sig MK2 is also a relatively new release. Bart