Into the dark abyss I go again....

[manlystanley]

Sweet job that builder in you link did. Of course, he bought the raw board and added the parts himself -- much bigger project than just bolting together one of the complete kits.

I'm thinking from the above site that had the raw boards and tubes ($165 with shipping), that I could build the JP200 for around $300. But you might be right, getting the kit is the easy way to go.

Edit: Tehn I'm looking at all the JADIS kits on Ebay: http://electronics.shop.ebay.com/?_f...IS+&_sacat=293

There are a huge number! It will take a while to figure out which ones best.

Best Regards,
Stan

[JoeE SP9]

The idea of building a Levinson or Jadis clone is very enticing. Those kits look like a really good deal. The casework is especially nice.

One caveat; am I the only one who looked at the shipping charges?

[blackraven]

The idea of building a Levinson or Jadis clone is very enticing.Those kits look like a really good deal. The casework is especially nice.

One caveat; am I the only one who looked at the shipping charges?

Nope!

Feanor, I bought my Hybrid preamp over the full tube preamp because it gave me the tube sound I was looking for and the level of detail and resolution of a solid state pre. And I can change the sound to be more tubey by changing tubes. The same goes for my Hybrid DAC.

[Feanor]

Nope!

Feanor, I bought my Hybrid preamp over the full tube preamp because it gave me the tube sound I was looking for and the level of detail and resolution of a solid state pre. And I can change the sound to be more tubey by changing tubes. The same goes for my Hybrid DAC.

Tube rolling can subtly modify the sound of a tube pre as I discovered with my Sonic Frontiers, also the SF has an extremely resolved sound, so I have no grounds for complaint. A DIY s/s preamp would primarily a hobby undertaking.

Tubes are appealing nonetheless, e.g. manlystanley's interest in the JADIS options. Personally I'm tempted to try a classic Marantz 7. I could get a complete kit from, e.g. DIY Gene for US$295, see HERE, or populated or bare board, or board plus parts from various eBay supplier. You would expect a pre from Frank Van Alstine to be better, but then an AvaStar is $2100 with remote control.

[manlystanley]

Personally I'm tempted to try a classic Marantz 7.

Here is someone who did build it. Generally positive comments.....

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/arc...p/t-93094.html

Best Regards,
Stan

[manlystanley]

Tubes are appealing nonetheless, e.g. manlystanley's interest in the JADIS options. Personally I'm tempted to try a classic Marantz 7. I could get a complete kit from, e.g. DIY Gene for US$295, see HERE, or populated or bare board, or board plus parts from various eBay supplier. You would expect a pre from Frank Van Alstine to be better, but then an AvaStar is $2100 with remote control.

\

Fearnor,
Why do you like the Marantz better then The Jadis JP200??

Thanks,
Stan

[blackraven]

You would expect a pre from Frank Van Alstine to be better, but then an AvaStar is $2100 with remote control.

Frank will still make His T-8 all tube preamp for about $1300. You can find them used occasionally for about $500-800. Frank will even check it out for $25 and see if it is up to spec if you find one used. But the DIY preamp looks interesting. I'd like some one to try it. I would like to get separates for my second system.

[Feanor]

I'm thinking from the above site that had the raw boards and tubes ($165 with shipping), that I could build the JP200 for around $300. But you might be right, getting the kit is the easy way to go.

Edit: Tehn I'm looking at all the JADIS kits on Ebay: http://electronics.shop.ebay.com/?_f...IS+&_sacat=293

There are a huge number! It will take a while to figure out which ones best.

Best Regards,
Stan

Yeah, there are serveral that seem worth a careful look:

• 8Audio
• DIY Gene
• diyaudiokit
• kikitronic

I like that DIY Gene sells complete kits with nice cases; so does diyaudiokit though they seems pricier and/or not as nice. Otherwise it's pretty hard to evaluate, e.g., the quality of the parts or accompanying documentation.

If you want to build from a bare board, a couple sell those and I think a couple sell boards plus the components. I suspect buying the board + components is cheaper than buying just the board, then ordering parts from say, Newark, or Mouser. I'd guess this is true even if you want to upgrade to a few super quality parts from say, Parts ConneXion.