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A while back on this forum in a discussion about the Halo JC 1 power amps & JC 2 BP preamp that I am enjoying in my 2 channel music system, Chris D predicted that the next hi-fi component I would buy is the JC 3 phono preamp. At the time I wasn’t sure that was in the cards. I recognized its reputation as a John Curl design and knew first hand the quality of construction and expectations-exceeding performance of Halo gear.
But I gulped at the price for something I wasn’t sure I’d use a lot since my Rega Planar 3 with Grado Platinum cartridge had been collecting dust unused for several years (actually since adopting a preamp that did not have a built-in phono stage, my previous external phono stage, a Lehmann Black Cube, having bitten the dust years ago). And since then, the JC 3+ was announced at an even higher price, albeit with enhanced features.
But recently I got a letter from an authorized online Parasound dealer announcing that they had a couple of the original JC 3 (without the “+“) phono preamps on clearance at a 28% discount from the original price, meaning a cost about 44% less than the newer version. While an updated version of the venerable Lehmann Black Cube is also available, if I was going to invest in something new, I also wanted it to be a step up. There are a number of other impressive phono preamps out there at even higher prices than the JC3 , but that was not the direction I was headed.
Buying the JC 3 (without the “+”) would mean foregoing the “+”version’s variable cartridge loading of 50 ohms to 550 ohms or 47k ohm for moving coil (MC)cartridges/47k ohm for moving magnet (MM) cartridges of the new model, settling for the switchable choice of 100 ohms or 47k ohms for MC / 47k ohms for MM.
Since my current cartridge will work fine with one of those settings, the original JC 3 would be fine with my current equipment. In addition, I am not a cartridge “fiddler” who experiments with the “cartridge of the week”; I find one that I like the sound of, and keep it for quite a while. (I know one fellow who tinkers with the loading for each recording. That is not my hobby.) Looking at specs for other cartridges, the more-limited loading choices for the original JC 3 appear to cover at least 95 % of the cartridges I would consider if I ever decide I need an upgrade (e.g., when the Grado wears out).
So I bought the JC 3 and it is now in my rack connected via XLR cables to the JC 2, thus killing the horrible hum generated when I tried some unbalanced interconnects. The XLR outputs on the JC 3 and on the JC 3+ are a great feature for this, even if use of XLR were to yield nothing else in comparison to unbalanced cables. (By design, the Rega Planar 3 does not have a grounding cable.) The Grado Platinum cartridge mates well with the loading setting for Moving Magnet cartridges and overall, even though not broken in, the JC 3 sounds OK. (Alright, a lot better than "OK".)
With about 600 LP albums I’ve bought over the years, I have plenty of music to enjoy with this new addition to my 2 channel music setup, (which now includes Halo JC 1/2/3 amplification driving Magnepan 20.7 speakers). Some examples:
On Mahler’s"Des Knaben Wunderhorn", Christa Ludwig's and Walter Berry's voices are clearly believable as humans singing in the room I’m sitting in, rather than electronically enhanced, and far better sounding than I remember this recording sounding. Leonard Bernstein on piano might as well be in the room, too. The orchestral performance of the same music with Bernstein conducting the New York Philharmonic (same singers) is stunning. The clarity and positioning of the instruments is convincing and the overall presentation is thoroughly engaging.
Warron Zevon’s “Excitable Boy” album, which includes “Werewolves of London”, sounds like being at a live performance (without the audience coughing or clapping off-beat next to your ears) – the best I’ve heard this music, analog or digital. Ditto for Dire Straights eponymous album that includes “Sultans of Swing”. I’m hearing details never before revealed. Not distractions, but enhancements to the listening experience of this album, which I’ve owned for nearly 40 years.
The album "Mabel Mercer and Bobby Short at Town Hall" is listenable for the first time --a revelatory transformation from previous efforts to sit through it with other record playback set-ups, including the same turntable and cartridge but different phono preamps. Although I have many Bobby Short albums, I had never really enjoyed this one, and used it during set-up this time only because I thought it wouldn't be much of a loss if my turntable and cartridge malfunctioned after years of non-use. Now I'm glad everything worked well.
I guess I'll keep the JC 3 even though now I'm going to have to get up and down from my easychair a lot more. :>)
Burke
But I gulped at the price for something I wasn’t sure I’d use a lot since my Rega Planar 3 with Grado Platinum cartridge had been collecting dust unused for several years (actually since adopting a preamp that did not have a built-in phono stage, my previous external phono stage, a Lehmann Black Cube, having bitten the dust years ago). And since then, the JC 3+ was announced at an even higher price, albeit with enhanced features.
But recently I got a letter from an authorized online Parasound dealer announcing that they had a couple of the original JC 3 (without the “+“) phono preamps on clearance at a 28% discount from the original price, meaning a cost about 44% less than the newer version. While an updated version of the venerable Lehmann Black Cube is also available, if I was going to invest in something new, I also wanted it to be a step up. There are a number of other impressive phono preamps out there at even higher prices than the JC3 , but that was not the direction I was headed.
Buying the JC 3 (without the “+”) would mean foregoing the “+”version’s variable cartridge loading of 50 ohms to 550 ohms or 47k ohm for moving coil (MC)cartridges/47k ohm for moving magnet (MM) cartridges of the new model, settling for the switchable choice of 100 ohms or 47k ohms for MC / 47k ohms for MM.
Since my current cartridge will work fine with one of those settings, the original JC 3 would be fine with my current equipment. In addition, I am not a cartridge “fiddler” who experiments with the “cartridge of the week”; I find one that I like the sound of, and keep it for quite a while. (I know one fellow who tinkers with the loading for each recording. That is not my hobby.) Looking at specs for other cartridges, the more-limited loading choices for the original JC 3 appear to cover at least 95 % of the cartridges I would consider if I ever decide I need an upgrade (e.g., when the Grado wears out).
So I bought the JC 3 and it is now in my rack connected via XLR cables to the JC 2, thus killing the horrible hum generated when I tried some unbalanced interconnects. The XLR outputs on the JC 3 and on the JC 3+ are a great feature for this, even if use of XLR were to yield nothing else in comparison to unbalanced cables. (By design, the Rega Planar 3 does not have a grounding cable.) The Grado Platinum cartridge mates well with the loading setting for Moving Magnet cartridges and overall, even though not broken in, the JC 3 sounds OK. (Alright, a lot better than "OK".)
With about 600 LP albums I’ve bought over the years, I have plenty of music to enjoy with this new addition to my 2 channel music setup, (which now includes Halo JC 1/2/3 amplification driving Magnepan 20.7 speakers). Some examples:
On Mahler’s"Des Knaben Wunderhorn", Christa Ludwig's and Walter Berry's voices are clearly believable as humans singing in the room I’m sitting in, rather than electronically enhanced, and far better sounding than I remember this recording sounding. Leonard Bernstein on piano might as well be in the room, too. The orchestral performance of the same music with Bernstein conducting the New York Philharmonic (same singers) is stunning. The clarity and positioning of the instruments is convincing and the overall presentation is thoroughly engaging.
Warron Zevon’s “Excitable Boy” album, which includes “Werewolves of London”, sounds like being at a live performance (without the audience coughing or clapping off-beat next to your ears) – the best I’ve heard this music, analog or digital. Ditto for Dire Straights eponymous album that includes “Sultans of Swing”. I’m hearing details never before revealed. Not distractions, but enhancements to the listening experience of this album, which I’ve owned for nearly 40 years.
The album "Mabel Mercer and Bobby Short at Town Hall" is listenable for the first time --a revelatory transformation from previous efforts to sit through it with other record playback set-ups, including the same turntable and cartridge but different phono preamps. Although I have many Bobby Short albums, I had never really enjoyed this one, and used it during set-up this time only because I thought it wouldn't be much of a loss if my turntable and cartridge malfunctioned after years of non-use. Now I'm glad everything worked well.
I guess I'll keep the JC 3 even though now I'm going to have to get up and down from my easychair a lot more. :>)
Burke
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