Jungson JA-88D

The JA-88D sounds clear in a way that no Class AB amplifier can be, with a wonderfully open but brightly lit sound. It's not bright in the sense of harsh or forward, and not even glassy, it's just that it throws the soundstage into sharp relief. It scythes through multi-layered rock music and cuts right to the heart of the music. Vocals are smooth, not in the euphonic, valve-sense, but in the sense that there's no discernible glare, brittleness or grain. Here we have a transparent, smooth and couth transistor amplifier that is both powerful and punchy enough to aspirate big, hard-to-drive loudspeakers. Better still, its midband is truly emotionally articulate, and doesn't shy away from dynamic contrasts. Wound up to really high levels, the JungSon does take on a slightly harder and edgier sound. Happily, the point at which this happens far exceeds normal listening levels. Bass remains truly tuneful, whilst keeping its sledgehammer quality. In essence it sounds like a Sugden A21a on steroids; one that's been working out in the gym for a very long time, and has emerged into a rather different beast. The JA-88D lacks that last fraction of the A21a's joyful tunefulness in the midrange, but the extra dynamic confidence more than makes up for it. A beguilingly clean design right across the frequency band, its treble glint means it shouldn't ideally be used with bright ancillaries, but smooth ones work great especially as the amplifier ages, runs in and smoothes out. At under 900 Pounds in 2006, it had to be one of the best budget audiophile buys in a very long time.

Type: Integrated stereo amplifier Output Power: 80 wpc at 8 Ohm Frequency Response: 20Hz to 20 kHz (-0.2dB) THD: 0.05% @ 1kHz, 1W SNR: 98dB Input Impedance: 100kOhms Output Impedance: 8 Ohms Size: 17 x 7.5 x 19 (WxHxD in inches) Weight: 64 lbs.