PARASOUND JC 3+ PHONOPREAMP

THE SETUP & LISTENING

We dropped the JC 3+ into a system consisting of a Schitt Freya + preamp, an Audio Research VS55 power amplifier, and Acelec Model One monitors. We used two turntables, both the remarkable and recently reviewed Rega Planar 10, and the more modest Rega Planar 6. Both organized sound being picked up by the stylus with even complicated pieces of music.

For example, on a record we use quite often, Traffic’s uberclassic jazz rock masterpiece, The Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys, the attack on the piano was far more realistic. The layers of percussion and the drive had Rega cartridges installed. Cabling was Audio Art Cable. No special tweaks were used aside from an Audio Art Cable power cord on the unit. Everything was plugged into a Bryston power conditioner. We left the unit on at all times.

From the first time I dropped the needle, it was clear to these ears the JC 3+ was several classes above what I was used to. The most obvious areas where I heard very clear differences from every other phono stage I have had in house, either via an onboard module of an integrated amp or a standalone unit, was the separation of instruments, and the absolute precision of the bass frequencies. Another area where the JC 3+ brought listening to vinyl to another level was how it of the rhythm section were unparalleled. One could also hear Steve Windwood’s voice with more character, and even little details like lips parting, and microphone pops. But it all came together as a coherent fabric.

A recent acquisition, a brand new vinyl remaster of Mawood, by the We Want Sounds label, is one of the best known albums by legendary Egyptian singer Abdel Halim Hafez. It is one long performance piece, recorded live, split over two sides. Of note, the album features the great Omar Khorshid on guitar. The somewhat primitive recording came to life via the JC 3+, with the entire band and orchestra laid out across a perceived soundstage. Hafez’s voice was a thing of wonder, and the distinctively tinged oriental