French valve-based audio specialist Jadis has released not one but two new integrated valve amps.
The Diapason Luxe is Jadis’s updated entry-level model, while the I-70 is a reference-class integrated amp and one of the first in the world to be built around the new KT170 valve.
Jadis Diapason Luxe
Despite being Jadis’s most affordable integrated valve amp starting at £3,498, the new Luxe looks every bit a statement product.
At its heart glows seven valves, specially selected by Jadis, with one Electro Harmonix ECC82 and two Tung-Sol EC83s for the input/preamp stage, plus four Tung-Sol 6L6s (two per channel) in a push-pull configuration for the output stage. The 6L6s are mounted on a vibration-damping ceramic support and deliver a claimed 15W per channel. Its three hand-wound (in Jadis’ Villedubert factory) transformers are simplified iterations of the company’s top-end designs which maintain crucial attributes, including their vibration-damping resin.
Inputs offered are six line-level RCAs, or for an extra hundred quid you can have one converted to USB.
Jadis I-70
Priced at £11,498, the reference I-70’s nine-valve feature set includes three ECC82s, two ECC83s and four KT170s. Renowned for their high power with low distortion characteristics, the latter give the I-70 a claimed 60W of Class A power per channel.
Other features include independent power supplies for the driver stage and power stage, point-to-point wiring and a hand-made power transformer operating in a single push-pull, ultra-linear, triple-load configuration.
I-70 rear socketry includes 5 line-level inputs, 1 bypass output and 2 pairs of speaker outputs (for bi-wiring)
Both amps look resplendent in Jadis’s trademark non-magnetic stainless steel casing topped off with 24-carat gold plating on the front panel.
Visit Jadis’s website and Absolute Sounds in the UK to find out more.
