Excellent bass, lush sounding with a midrange that is by
far better than anything I have experienced thus far.

Are you kidding. None here.

Simply put, If you are in the market for a preamp in the
3-5K range, audition this one! Tubes are not tubes when it
comes to audio. I originally purchased the BAT VK-200 for
amplification and was very pleased with the sound of this
amp, especially for the price I got it for. I thought the
BAT preamp (5i) would do it justice but after hearing the
BAT and Joule side by side there was no comparison. The
BAT sounded more solid state than the Joule. It lacked
the air and and ambience of the Joule. Jud Barber of Joule
Electra is very helpful when it comes to tweaking the unit
for your particular system. My system was a bit on the
warm side anyway, but he sent me some instructions on
adjusting the filament voltages on the 5751 and 6350 to add
more zip on the top end. The filament voltages on the
tubes are actually shipped lower than the specifications
suggest. This tends to add more warmth to the presentation.
It actually blew me away right out of the box although it
was a bit broken in already. After the tweak, it is
simply breathtaking, especially on piano, classical guitar,
and female vocals. Now I am wondering what Jud's OTL's
would do to my system. Hope my audio budget will someday
allow this.

My system:

Joule Electra LA-100 mkIII preamp
BAT VK-200 amp
Harmonic Tech Pro-Silway IC's
Vandersteen 3A speakers
Sony DVP-7700 DVD/CD player
Auditioning (Bel Canto DAC-1/Perpetual Tech P-3A) DAC

Similar Products Used:

BAT VK-5i

Wonderful soundstage, solid bass, gorgious mids, extended highs, excellent remote control. Prompt, friendly and efficient service of Jud and Marianne Barber

None

This is the music lover's preamp, if anything else were to be better than this, then I cannot imagine what that would sound like, because for reaching the ultimate, this does sound to me as being the ultimate.

Huge soundstage, open, musical and natural. The guys below are all totally right in what they say. This is the last preamp you would ever want to buy and maybe even the last one you will ever want to hear...

My equipment :

Joule LA-150 Preamo
Joule Mk 160 Grand Marquis monoblocks
Audio Aero Capitole CD Player
Sonus Faber Amati Hommage speakers
all this running on Zcable

This is the ultimate combination...feel like moving my bedroom down to the living room and live with this equipment

Similar Products Used:

Cary Audio, Manley, Lectron

liquid midrange, completely natural presentation of entire musical performance.

no remote (but i have a Mk2, and the remote is an upgrade option for the Mk3 upgrade---which is a Strength in my book!)

i formerly owned a Stereophile class B preamp (CJ Pf2L) and there is absolutely no comparison. the joule sings, breathes, slaps, claps, stomps and romps all over it!

i routinely use a bill evans XRCD as a test cd (as some of the notes he hits can sound bright given my system). it now sounds natural--like a piano does, without the electrical / digital artifacts that were present with the CJ.

treble information has become much more natural--i think about how cymbals sound in real life, and how they normally sounded through my system--with the joule, they've become much more splashy with all the decay that they normally exhibit live. makes for a very realistic presentation.

i'm quite amazed that the bass (depth, articulation, and speed) has improved considerably moving from a SS pre to the Joule (which is tubes). wonderful lower octaves.

but the midrange is king, and the joule wears the crown. i don't know what to say beyond the fact that this is the most natural sounding midrange i have ever heard (and i've heard pre's that cost $5K+). (well, maybe the CTC Blowtorch is better, but that's it!). vocals have every nuance that you'd expect in real life. guitars have bite but also articulation that i never heard before. horns (sax, trombone, etc)--forget it. clean a permanent space in my rack for this thing. i'm done upgrading

don't get me wrong, the CJ was / is a nice piece. but the joule is amongst the best preamps made (regardless of whether or not its on the stereophile 'recommended components list'). its a one-time buy: get a joule pre, and i'm thinking you won't have the itch to upgrade your preamp for a very very long time.

hat's off to judd barber. genius at work.

system:
merlin VSM milleniums w/ bam
Joule LA 100 mk2
CJ MF 2100
denon DCM 560 cdplayer
mac mr67 tuner
JPS ultraconductor ICs
JPS super speaker wires
SCE HRS & TDS passive audiophile units after cd before pre (helps overcome the cd player's modest quality)

Similar Products Used:

CJ PF2L

musical presentation of all kind of music - bass reproduction

none at the moment

Meanwhile I had the chance to compare the Joule-Electra to different high-end preamps (Lamm, CAT Signature, BAT VK 50 SE) and I really like -better love- the presentation of "my" Joule-Electra.
I cannot divide the preamps into "better" or "worser" - these are all real high-end dream-machines with different advantages depending on set-up and music and individual taste.
But the LA 100 brings to me exactly what I'm looking for: it brings the music to the "point" (how I see it - to be a part of the performance, of the musicians and of the place) and the music touches my heart and my soul. And there is one real extraordinary and very important additional point where the LA 100 is superior: the bass.
I didn't know before how deep and controlled the bass of my Audio-Physik speakers are and if requested by the artists the bass-drums are kicking me into the stomach or elsewhere. Incredible !!!
I'm really happy with my Joule-Electra LA 100 Mk III (and also with the OPS-1, the MC Prepre).

Similar Products Used:

some transistor equipment (e.g. Linn Kairn, ML) and CJ

Quiet, most involving 3D soundfield, solid bass, gorgious mids, extended highs, excellent remote control. Friendly service of Jud and Marianne Barber.

none so far.

I agree with what has been already mentioned. This design seemed to far exceed the Audible Illusions in providing so much detail and involving recreated performances of musicians in space. I have not noticed any deficiency in treble extension, probably due to its complementary behaviour in my system: Coincident Eclypse driven by Cary 300 SE Signature, and Sony Xa7ES. Based on this experience,
I am considering the OPS-2 phono preamp.

Similar Products Used:

AI M3A;

This is an absolutely fabulous product. I don't know how it compares with the very best in the industry (CAT, Lamm, C-J), but I know it blew away the much touted Audible Illusions preamp. So much so that, upon comparison, I was immediately convinced to pay the not negligible difference in price. Great soundstage, great musicality, great depth in reproducing musical instruments. It draws you into the music. If you are looking for a world-class preamp, look no further. And now, I just need the perfect amp....(Actually I found it - Graaf GM-200. Only problem is the price...).

Very musical, always pleasant, surprising how much more natural than even other tube preamps.

Humms, coarse volume control, remote turns volume control like a lawn mower blade.

Runs cirlces around my Sonic Frontiers Line 1 preamp. Far better top end, instruments more fleshed out. But I miss the wonder slow stepping volume control. Humm is not acceptable for a product in this price range. While I am sure that the transformer sounds best as the designer says, he should have doubled them up, which would reduce their load. That would keep the transformer from protesting so much. Doesn't produce the detail or frequency extremes of say the CJ Premier 16, but still immensely listenable.

Similar Products Used:

CJ and SF products

The Joule Electra LA100MKIII linestage is one of the best available at any price. At its $3295 retail price, it is a steal. A beautifully handcrafted linestage with such airy sonics it can take the breath away. It has a full measure of tonal colors and a midrange from heaven. It comes complete with NOS tubes and looks great in its piano black faceplate. By far the best linestage/preamp I've had in my sytem. Jud Barber, designer and head honcho at JouleElectra, also offers great support to his customers. He backs his state of the art products with more than slick ads.

Outstanding sonics, huge soundstage, open, musical and natural. This is a music lover's preamp. Incredible value.

I recently purchased a Joule-Electra LA-100 mk. III to replace myMelos Sha-gold preamplifier. My system includes Proac 3.8's, Levinson 335,
Theta separates and Transparent cabling. The LA-100 added the three dimentional
element the I've been lacking with the Melos. Improvements include MUCH
smoother highs, wonderfully lush yet realistic midrange, and a more athoritative
low end. I would strongly recommend auditionong this product before purchasing
any of the much more expensive preamplifiers. Jud Barber has a winner!!!!