The Jungson 88D ($1,500) looks terrific, sounds great, and costs a third of what you’‘d expect. This may be the best electrical value in hifi since the NAD 3020.

 

I. Cave Drawings

 

Chinese electronics do not come with the baggage of American and European gear. No long-winded papers on how the product has the only circuit that runs faster than light; no tedious inventories of exotic components; no lengthy reports of performance. There is no biography of the designer, who modestly admits that he invented the Internet while working as a concert pianist. The Chinese products arrive without a manual, quality control documentation, or letters telling the consumer how astute he is. The box contains an amp and a power cord: you figure how to put them together.

 

The audio critic writing about these products, therefore, doesn’‘t waste his time or yours on a recitation of the product’‘s innards ("cryo-treated perfect crystal goulash wire" and "rhodium-plated pure kryptonite transducer"). The situation is analogous to the art critics who analyzed the cave drawings of Western Europe: since the primitive images of men and animals were over 20,000 years old, it was impossible to write about the artists’‘ influences, where they studied, or their early struggles and later successes. Writing about art instead of the artist led to the New Criticism, which swept a bunch of vacuity off the library shelves. If nothing else, the Chinese gear will get us to focus on the sound, instead of the story.

 

II. Beauty is only deep skin

 

The first thing you appreciate about the Jungson 88D is mass: about sixty pounds of it. The next thing, as you heave it onto your amp stand, is that it’‘s a lot better looking than average. It’‘s not flat black or champagne gold (for which I am grateful), and the front fascia plate sits about a quarter inch forward of the dual VU meters. The power switch is in the center of the plate, with smaller buttons to adjust power level and input selection flanking it. The amp selects the active input automatically, so there’‘s no mode switch. One button allows you to turn off the meters, turn off the lights, or illuminate only the power level (which reads 0-99). Late at night, the display is remarkably attractive. I know you don’‘t listen with your eyes, but this is one amp that doesn’‘t look like it was born and raised in a lab run by antiaesthetic technogeeks. At this point you would be justified in guesstimating the price of this unit above $4,000; and you don’‘t know about power output or class of operation.

 

The back of the unit has one balanced and three single-ended inputs, a power cord receptacle and two pairs of the largest wire terminals I have encountered on gear intended for home use: so large that my Harmonic Tech spade lugs couldn’‘t fit around them. If you’‘re using DeWulf/Lowe’‘s wire, just run the naked end in and turn the heavy knurled knob tight.

 

The remote control is a slender piece of cherry wood which is contoured to rest comfortably in your hand. It’‘s nice to have something warm and organic instead of coldly industrial - and it looks more expensive than a reprogrammed garage door opener.

 

III. Adventures in the solid state

 

At my house transistor amps are treated about the same as digital sources: convenient but not top-level performers. Solid state amps, even at their best, tend to sound a little hard in the upper octaves and a little more forceful than real life in the lower range. Some designs relieve the treble irritation with a touch or haze or darkness. Transistors often sound dramatic early on, but tend to be tiresome after an hour: I think this is what reviewers call ‘‘listener fatigue.’‘ The Jungson proves that I should always keep an open mind.

 

The sound of a fresh Jungson is a bit dry and dynamically compressed, improves steadily over the first thirty hours, and ultimately becomes smooth, accurate and harmonically rich.

[H. Richard Weiner, MD]This is one transistor amp that I could listen to for hours.  I think the designer has managed to preserve solid state’‘s strength in rendering detail without going too far and exaggerating detail.  I never had the familiar sense that the Jungson was showing me new aspects of familiar performances at the cost of musical wholeness -- that sort of performance invariably ends in listener fatigue. 

 

    Although it renders the lower octaves faithfully, the amp did not produce "solid state bass": the initially impressive but unrealistic portrayal that audiophiles crave and music lovers get sick from.  The midrange and treble are faithfully reproduced with commendable openness.  Again, this is a unit that does not impose much upon the music.  My criticism, and it’‘s minor, is that the Jungson did not bloom as tube units do: but that is the fundamental difference between the two methods of amplifying signal.

 

    Permit me to dilate here for a moment.  Marty spent the last issue demonstrating how reasonably priced components, chosen for sonic neutrality and compatibility, can produce an extraordinary result.  I call this DeWulf’‘s Law: that everything, from the polarity of the power cords in the wall to the siting of the loudspeakers in the room, contributes to the final effect.  Too often we buy a component because it sounds good in the store or because some authority figure praises it; then we plop it into our systems and hope that it will make magic.  Alas, too often the result of adding a new, much-praised component is worse sound, disappointment, and a retreat to home theater.  My heartfelt advice is to identify how you want music to sound on your system; then spend a lot of time choosing components consistent with those parameters, and yet more time dressing the wires, removing ground loops, getting control of standing waves and all the picky little stuff that makes such an enormous difference.  Only by taking time to understand your priorities and to work with your equipment will you keep your toys out of Audiogon, and get back to the music.   

 

     The JOPC-03 cable [H. Richard Weiner, MD] which comes standard [H. Richard Weiner, MD] with the 88D  is substantially better than a Radio Shack power cord. I used the JOPC on some other equipment and can recommend it as a very good deal for $100, the single unit price. You can make the amp sound [H. Richard Weiner, MD] still better with the MPC-01, which is about $250 and sounds competitive with the Synergistic power cable priced around $400. [H. Richard Weiner, MD]   Although the JOPC-03 is quite good, I strongly recommend the MPC-01 as a highly cost-effective option.  It makes the amp slightly faster and a bit richer.  

 

The unit is rated at 80 watts operating in class A. The unit operates more coolly than other class A amplifiers of my experience, which may result from placing a vast array of heat sinks on the inside of the chassis box. On my stacked Quad 57s, an extremely difficult reactive load and about 85 dB (in)efficient, I achieved high pressure levels with the output at 33 (of 99). I don’‘t know how many watts this puppy can produce, which is one of the advantages of not being bombarded with manufacturers’‘ literature: I have to listen rather than read.

 

It might seem silly to use this powerhouse amp on the (100 dB efficient) Edgar Slimlines, but it’‘s a good test of musical properties, high frequency harshness and noise. I found the Jungson to be reasonably quiet for a transistor amp, but not as quiet as the Pass Aleph series. Again the Jungson proved to be pleasant, and never induced listener fatigue. I turned the display off so that only a faint violet glow came from the face - just the thing for late-night listening.

 

With the modified Cizek One, a sealed-box with a stable four Ohm impedance, the Jungson defied the stereotype which says that solid state amps generate unnaturally taut bass but cast a dark haze over the midrange and treble. The soundstage was broad, with a good sense of rhythm.

 

IV. Exchange rate

 

On the basis of performance, features and construction quality, the logical comparison would be to the KorSun V8i, which also comes from China. If you have trouble finding one, Red Rose Music (http://redrosemusic.com) will sell you an Affirmation amp - which certainly resembles the V8i - for $7,000. (Of course, Mr. Levinson avers that he adds 47 secret herbs and spices to justify this cost.) I think the Jungson is substantially more attractive. You could also consider Jeff Rowland’‘s (http://jeffrowland.com) Concerto integrated [H. Richard Weiner, MD] ($5,900) and Gryphon’‘s (http://www.gryphon-audio.dk) Callisto 2100 ($7,000).

 

The importer has decided to price the Jungson, with improved power cord and delivered free in the U.S., for $1,500. What can you buy for that amount of money? The Creek 5350SE (http://www.creekaudio.com), Arcam DiVA (http://www.arcam.co.uk/) and Bryston B60 (http://bryston.ca) are the competition: [H. Richard Weiner, MD] all competent units praised for their sound and value. I’‘ll give you a minute to make the same calculations I did. I expect you’‘ll come to the same conclusion.