I was always boring him with stories about CCI and Grundig, so he decided to send me what he considers is finest Japanese mass produced amplifier in order to compare it against my beloved Grundigs.
Well.. I did compare it and the result wasn't what I was expecting.
After JVC got to right temperature, it could play on same level with anything I put it against (never repaired or opened V7000, V7200, R25, V1700)
To my surprise JVC had rather "familiar sound"; well defined three dimensional space and details, but with pronounced visceral impact, speed and precision compared to Grundig.
On the other hand Grundig had more laid back, relaxed/fluid presentation with somewhat deeper soundstage, but little less precision and clarity.
Timbre was rather similar between two brands, but Grundig had edge in naturalness.
Overall, I didn't expect JVC to preform on nearly the same level with Grundig. But it did!
Grundig has small advantage in realism of presentation, soundstage depth, and timbre, but JVC is so stupidly effortless and precise in presentation that it kind of makes you forget those minor differences.
Differences are so small that it is almost a matter of taste! (I took out 4 amplifiers just to be sure)
I don't know what CCI is, but I know how CCI amp sounds.. and this JVC sounds very very similar.
It's rare but if you can, try one. You will be amazed
Grazie della segnalazione