The JPL MkII preamp is simplicity itself, the mute toggle is very useful and the beautifully weighted, dented volume control is a delight to use. The JPL MkII is really two preamps in one – the four higher gain line inputs employing a pair of ECC83 triodes while the one marked ‘CD’ uses a single ECC82. All the tubes are selected and matched by Jadis – having been chosen after countless hours of auditioning. ‘Voicing’ is a core principle of all Jadis amplifiers.

On some level, SET amplifiers offers a purity of performance and simplicity of design that cannot be achieved by pentodes, push-pull or ultralinear modes of operation. A successful implementation revolves almost entirely around the design – the dance between permeability, inductance, leakage, LF saturation and HF response – of the output transformer. Jadis, by all accounts, has this nailed with proprietary transformers ‘hand-made on a digital winding machine’ before being potted in a vibration-damping resin.

The Jadis and Devore pairing will conjure each of these performers for a very up-close and personal inspection. Every breath, every subtle sibilant, every lick of the lips – ‘vivid’ fails to convey the startingly palpable presence of these voices in the room.

It’s reproduction of ambience and atmosphere is similarly tangible. There was exquisite subtlety here, and delicate shades of colour, the ambience not only immersive but also filled with pin-sharp images. And there was power too, a realistic sense of edge and bite where notes would rise without inertia and decay without haste.

It was at once lyrical, engaging and relaxing while leaving the listener in no doubt that whipcrack percussion or the surge of raw, thrilling strings could pounce at any second. The power was latent while the atmosphere was confidently relaxed – it’s a bewitching engaging combination.

Two-thirds of the way through this 21-minute tour, the room was shaken by African table drums. There was no suggestion that these under-powered SETs had lost their grip or control over the resonant impact of percussion, no loss of puff, just as there was no distorted modulation between the thrilling acoustic strings or background synth.

It’s not magic, but neither is the deeply compelling, emotionally engaging and thoroughly addictive sound of this system entirely predictable by currently received science and engineering wisdom. Which is all part and parcel of the fun and ‘mystery’ of hi-fi.

Negotiate yourself a Hall Pass and spend an evening with this baroque partnership instead. You’re guaranteed a musical experience you’ll not forget.

Paul Miller, Hi-Fi News, April 2021, Outstanding Product Award

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