First impression and appreciation thread JL audio BAB I XA and BAB III JE - Page 2

Quote:

Originally Posted by rudi0504 

Yes I like the head amp can drive as all rounder amp fir my iems and headphones 

are BAB 1 has many different type ?

As I know BAB 1 is single core , it's good for iem and low impedance headphone .

first time I am doubt , because of the chip control the SQ , I worry that sound to digital

pas I heard yesterday . Wow is far from digital amp .

i am very surprised and very happy too

Yep, I mostly use IEMs, and only have an HD598 for full-sized, so I didn't think I needed the BAB3; the main advantage of the dual core is that it can calculate faster for better precision in the pulse-width modulation process, so it can amplify better.

The main difference between the BAB1-XA and the BAB1-MC, as far as I know, is that the MC is made in limited quantities for special purposes. For example, there's a special 20-unit run of the MC that is tuned specifically for the Rooth LS8+. My version is tuned for IEMs, but not specifically for the LS8+. The XA is more of an all-around amplifier, similar to the BAB3-JE, but just with less computational power.

I'm curious how they sound against something that's also Class D like the iQube V1/V2/V3.

what is the price for one of those BAB's?

Quote:

Originally Posted by gidion27   what is the price for one of those BAB's?

http://shop.zionote.com/?mode=cate&cbid=1409702&csid=0

Converted at the current rate (the Yen is really weak at the moment, so take the prices with a grain of salt), the BAB1 is listed at ~$300 USD, and the BAB3 for ~$430 USD. Apparently, JL Acoustic Labs plans on getting distributors all over the globe, but the talks have not yet progressed to the point where they are in Japan and Korea.

http://bab1.tistory.com/

http://bab1.tistory.com/

http://bab1.tistory.com/category/BAB1%20Story
 

Hey rudi0504, my BAB1-MC *LE is here, but it's still charging, and I won't have a chance to listen until later this week. Just snapped a few pictures for the blog:

Very interested, subbed. Seems like they are impossible to find! 

Sorry for the slow response, guys; I haven't had a lot of time to listen to them. Here are some quick thoughts:

• Out of the box, the highs seemed a little weird, like there was an invisible wall somewhere; I don't know whether it's really this way, or that my brain is playing tricks on me because I read that Class D amps have problems in the high extension. Usually, I'd say that most SMD devices don't require much component burn-in, but here again comes the age-old debate of capacitor burn-in --- the BAB uses two big Mundorf MCaps... maybe they have a factor, especially if they're in charge of the low-pass that's inherently built into every single Class D. Even though I'm not really a big believer in burn-in, I decided to let it run, and it did seem to get smoother up top over time. Apparently, JL Acoustics recommends at least 200 hours of burn-in.
• However, at the same time, it still seems to lack the really great, boundless extension that I hear out of my TPA6120-based FireyeHD; perhaps it'll always be a big of a limitation of Class D. At the same time, though, its midrange layering is just super unique --- it sounds like layers of music stacked on top of one another, ready to be peeled away, layer by layer. I guess they really weren't kidding about the "transparency" of this amplifier --- I'm gonna nickname this amp "The Onion"
• Overall, very neutral tonality, one of the most neutral-sounding I've heard; lows feel very well-damped, indicating good amplifier control; the dynamics feel nice, like that of an OPA627

• It's a lot more powerful than I expected; I keep the volume pretty low down (~7:30 to 8 o'clock on the pot), and it's already decently loud even though I'm just over the volume imbalance and there's not much volume imbalance to speak of --- but the volume is manageable
• There is basal hiss if you use it with sensitive earphones

That's it for now. Full thoughts to come... er... later. Not sure when. Hopefully, I'll find the time to write them up. In the meantime, I uploaded some more pretty pictures here...