Parasound JC-1 with B&W Nautilus speakers?

Ritteri, that is interesting as sure hasn't been my take on them at all and have lived with various versions of prototypes and production units now for about four years.....CTC had nothing to do with the rest of the amps in Parasound's Halo line BTW.....

One mans "up front and in your face" is another mans laid back and dull sound, it's all relative. I thought the JC-1 where just right myself, front row seat but not at the expense of loss of dimensionality, soundstage depth, ease or transparency. My neighbor owns a pair of JC-1's, I've heard them many times and in a couple of showrooms and they have become a personal reference, favoring them over $20K+ spectral and Krell amps I heard as well in many ways, not to mention anything I've heard anywhere near or below their price. They are special amps. I heard the JC-1's with the ~$5K tower B&W's (can't recall the model number, not a big B&W fan) and the sound was phenomenal, best I've ever heard B&W's sound....

People need to realize that just because an amp has a $20k sticker tag doesnt mean its going to sound any better. Completely the farthest thing from the truth. When I demo'd the JC-1's I also had on hand a pair of Bryston 7B ST's, Aragon Palladium's, A ML No. 334 on hand. Its quality was right in line with the rest of the auditioned pieces. It just wasnt the sound Im looking for. I think JC-1's would be a good match for speakers like SOnus Faber or VIenna Accoustic speakers, but it wasnt right for my setup. I personally dont/didnt want front row seating for a "presentation". Im already setup for nearfield listening to begin with, plus I found that a few other monoblocks in the same general pricerange category had better dynamics and soundstage presentation for my speakers. The JC-1's to me sounded like a more forward sounding Rotel RB-1090 with better bottom end punch, which I had a few years back. They resembled this amp in SQ very closely which isnt a bad thing at all, just not what I was looking for.

Hello All,

Thanks for your responses to my questions. I just wanted to give you an update so far on the JC-1s in my system. The amps have been installed for a week and running continuously with source material coming from my satellite receiver when I am not listening to miusic or watching a movie. I have listened to Rock, Jazz and Classical music with the JCs and I am finding them to be very versitile. The soundstage is becomming dimensional. Initially, there was height and width but not much depth, but now I am getting good depth as well. On most of the source material I have listend to, the speakers have completely disappeared. I managed to borrow a friends Krell 300CD for a couple of days and that made a big difference compared to my CD player. I had a much better soundstage with the Krell. I have an older model TT, Technics SL-10 that I purchased 20 years ago; I recently purchased an Ortofone cartridge for it and I must say that my vinyl has never sounded better. So far, in my opinion, these amps have been a great match with the N802s.

Hi Tfee,
Would appreciate if you could share with us your thoughts on JC1 a few months after you own them. I am in Bangkok and very much interested in JC-1 to drive my B&W802N. I have been changing power amp and still looking for the one that could handle the 802N. Mark Levenson is out of my league if I need 400wpc. Unfortunately, the exclusive dealer in Bangkok refuse to demo the unit even in their showroom and overcharging the price, so I try to figure out other power amp that could go well with the 802N. I am using 2 sets of power amp - a BAT VK-500 with BATPAK (250wpc), and push-pull tube Antique Sound Lab Hurricanes (200wpc). Keep switching back and forth and end up keeping both. The BAT is a tad too sweet and fat lower mid. The ASL is a tad too analytical, but throw a big 3D sound stage. I am looking for something in between.
Hope that you could share your thoughts and experience in a quest for the right amp for B&W802N.