Steve:
I have a two more balanced kits enroute to me and have built two (or three?) for other people. Here are a few things to note. You can only use resistor lines that have a large number of values available, and this eliminates a few resistor choices. The kit ships with the nice miniature 0.6W Phoenix MRS resistors and Dale 1/8W resistors will fit. This may not be an issue but something to note.
Of late, I have been annoyed with traditional steppers and am finding them not having enough resolution, especially when dealing with both my K340 and HD650s on the same project (before the K340s, I didn't really have this problem with say my Senns and Audio Technicas, so this "complaint" is definitely system / listener dependent). Now, even with just my Senns (and not taking into considering the AKGs) I miss the extra resolution... it's hard to go back. For example, I have one of the Singlepower steppers on my MPX3 SE, and it really sounds great, but can get annoying when I've rolled in some tubes for the K340 and then have like 2-3 clicks when using the Senns.
After using the JT, I really fell in love with the additional resolution it offers (i.e. 0.5dB increments by default, and more are possible with some reprogramming) and the flexibility. My opinion is that is that it is an upgrade over a normal stepper in fir and function. As for cost, remember it will run around $150 for a balanced setup (including the toroid). I also bought four channels of Dale resistors and I think it was around $20 (plus shipping if you don't have more stuff to buy from Mouser / Newark).
If you would like to try before you buy, I would be willing to excise one of mine and plug it into your project for a while, as they're pretty easy to pull out (just unscrew a few connectors, no soldering). Mini-meet?
The only thing I could possibly think that one might have an issue with is the relay clicking, but once the project is cased up and racked (and enjoying your gear), it's hard to notice!
