Grizaudio Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 Hi all, I was wondering if there were any users of this power amplifier on stereonet. https://www.china-hifi-audio.com/en/jungson-audio-amplifier-cd-player-c-27/jungson-ja-99c-class-a-power-amp-full-balanced-deluxe-edition-20th-anniversary-p-2104 I am looking to possible dip my toes into class A amplifiers with this beast. An RME ADI2 dac would play preamp, with connections done via XLR. it would be amazing to get some feedback on its performance, and even a comparison vs the ja-88. With the Ja-99 the newer model, I would like to assume it’s an improvement on the older ja-88 integrated. https://www.china-hifi-audio.com/en/jungson-audio-amplifier-cd-player-c-27/jungson-ja-88d-luxury-edition-integrated-amplifier-class-a-80w-with-remote-p-928 A primary concern I have relates to heat management and keeping the amplifier cool in use. Looking forward to see any feedback. Thanks Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jessandkerry Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 Can't comment on the sound or design topology, but these are incredible value if you just take the componentry and what you get for your money. $1215usd luv to put one on the test bench. Jess Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grizaudio Posted February 1, 2020 Author Share Posted February 1, 2020 12 hours ago, jessandkerry said: Can't comment on the sound or design topology, but these are incredible value if you just take the componentry and what you get for your money. $1215usd luv to put one on the test bench. Jess I tend to agree, I'm sure there are a few users/owners on stereonet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thimmy118 Posted February 4, 2020 Share Posted February 4, 2020 I have personally owned a set of these about twelve years ago, which was purchased through Dr Lin the distributor in Australia. It was connected to a pair of Dynaudio 1.3SE. I was running a Stello transport and DAC then with Jungson XLR interconnects. I loved the sound. It had no problem running the Dyns to ear piercing levels without distortion. The sound was 'full' and incredibly smooth and tonally rich almost valve amp like. I owned it for about one and half years when it developed some intermittent 'scratching' noise form the left channel. Sent them back for repairs and they could not replicate so decided to sell them. I am sure quality has since improved. The only few cons I find are: heat from the power amp, electricity consumption (light dims for a millisecond when i switch on the power amp) and rather old fashion or classic looking units (not as modern as the current version). The original Jungson owner and designer died in a car crash probably about ten years ago so not sure if they still retain the same signature sound. All I can say is they sound pretty good to my ears. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon Macfarlane Posted February 4, 2020 Share Posted February 4, 2020 The only negative I have ever heard regarding the Jungson amps is that are not particularly good in the pace ,rythym and timing departments. If you don't believe in PRAT , this should not be an issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grizaudio Posted February 6, 2020 Author Share Posted February 6, 2020 On 04/02/2020 at 8:20 PM, Ozcall said: The only negative I have ever heard regarding the Jungson amps is that are not particularly good in the pace ,rythym and timing departments. If you don't believe in PRAT , this should not be an issue. Thanks so much for taking the time to provide this overview. On 04/02/2020 at 7:56 PM, thimmy118 said: I have personally owned a set of these about twelve years ago, which was purchased through Dr Lin the distributor in Australia. It was connected to a pair of Dynaudio 1.3SE. I was running a Stello transport and DAC then with Jungson XLR interconnects. I loved the sound. It had no problem running the Dyns to ear piercing levels without distortion. The sound was 'full' and incredibly smooth and tonally rich almost valve amp like. I owned it for about one and half years when it developed some intermittent 'scratching' noise form the left channel. Sent them back for repairs and they could not replicate so decided to sell them. I am sure quality has since improved. The only few cons I find are: heat from the power amp, electricity consumption (light dims for a millisecond when i switch on the power amp) and rather old fashion or classic looking units (not as modern as the current version). The original Jungson owner and designer died in a car crash probably about ten years ago so not sure if they still retain the same signature sound. All I can say is they sound pretty good to my ears. Reliability is a key concern when buying gear like this. With no real Australian support, things can get expensive and difficult when repairs are required. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jessandkerry Posted February 6, 2020 Share Posted February 6, 2020 (edited) 8 hours ago, musicbee said: Reliability is a key concern when buying gear like this. With no real Australian support, things can get expensive and difficult when repairs are required. No problem with that. They usually give out the circuit diagram freely with these Chinese/Asian amps, and any tech in Au worth his salt could fix them just as good as if there was a an Au distributor with his own tech. Jess Edited February 6, 2020 by jessandkerry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audiobliss Posted February 7, 2020 Share Posted February 7, 2020 I owned the Ja99 Anniversary ed. for a year or two, bought used. I thought it was pretty amazing to be honest. Better than many other amps l was auditioning at the time, which were worth significantly more than the Jungson. It was bettered by an ME850, and l eventually sold it to another SNAer. They still have it an 3 years later it has been totally reliable for them too. I would strongly doubt that it is 80w class A though. It would have a very strong Class A bias, but not what is claimed. It doesn't matter though, it sounds great, l don't think you would be dissapointed. I had once found some independant measurements of its ouput specs, l'll post them if l can dig them up. From memory, it measured 120 watts at 8ohm - but is sold as 80watt (class A) so that it looks like the watts double at 4 ohms. Jungson is certainly not the only amp manufacturer to do this though. To me, it sounded relatively close to how the ME850 sounds. Mids sounded great with a nice weight to the music throughout the whole freq range. Nicely balanced and a very clean sound. It does get quite hot, but with a reasonable amount of breathing space it was never an issue. Hope that helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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