FirstWatt J2

Is this eventually possible?
 

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Sound of the J2

Hi Jon, How musical and involving (goose bump factor) is J2 compared to several amps you had used before? How is the J2 compared to typical SET like 300B, 45, 845, etc?

Goosebumps? Not a problem. Assuming the rest of the system is up to it. We played a lacquer from DirectGrace recordings of a guitar at RMAF. The common comment - it did not sound like a stereo, it sounded like a guy in the room was playing guitar. And it was (almost) that good.

Comparing it to an SET is difficult because you run into the whole PP vs SE thing. They simply do things differently. Not to degrade SE (I often listen to one, and have a number of them), but in comparison to PP it is time for the Rose Colored Glasses (or beer googles if you prefer). Everything sounds a little more romantic, but not necessarily more accurate. And before you SET guys jump all over me, a good SET is a very lightly shaded rose colored glass, or just a very mellow beer buzz. A touch of flavor that you may love, or your system may prefer, or certain recordings sound better with.

That being said, the one thing I SET fans rave about is low level detail, sometimes referred to as harmonic development of the instruments, or the texture of the music. That which keeps you from believing it is real. The J2 rivals anything I have heard in that regard.

Someone asked what the J2 replaced in my system. Most recently the F5 and a 2A3 SET. Both very nice amplifiers. I have heard all of the First Watt amps in my system. The F1 is perhaps a little more accurate, the J2 has just a touch of that sweetness (like an SET) that makes it better to my ears.