DESCRIPTION :

Jadis consists of a small band of valve devotees who have one over-riding philosophy: love for a job well done. And there is no denying that their passion is reflected in the many amplifiers, preamplifiers, CD players and DACs that have delighted thousands of music-lovers for more than three decades.

Although their products go through various circuitry updates over the years, it is perhaps the changlessness - Jadis means 'in olden days' -  that personifies this small French company in Carcassonne that was started in the early 1980s by André Calmettes, a self-taught expert in the technology of valves.

The factory has only 12 employees, but each year announces new creations and rarely discontinues any older ones. With the addition of the recently-introduced I-88, there are now no less than seven integrated amplifiers in the Jadis catalogue.

This beautiful device, which is so unmistakably Jadis, features the new KT150 valve - four per channel - and pumps out 90 Watts of pure Class A music each side, so has more than enough wallop to drive most speakers to satisfying levels. And to keep abreast of the digital age, there is a digital input as well as four analogue line inputs, including one marked 'Tape'. Now just how retro and loveable is that? There is also a pair of single-ended outputs and enough binding posts to cater for bi-wiring.

Jadis amplifiers manage to capture the splendour and vitality of music in a unique way, and this quality was recognised when Calmettes built his very first valve amplifier before the days of Jadis. He couldn't afford to buy one, so learned the technology himself and after doing some tweaking and devising various modifications asked some friends round for a listen. There was clearly some magic afoot, for word soon spread far and wide. He had found something special and so the story of Jadis began.

That special way of making music is intrinsic to every Jadis product, and you will find it in the I-88, which represents a compact answer for those who cannot easily accommodate separate pre- and power amplifiers. At 40kg it is no lightweight, and it will delight you with a performance that could only be created by people who love their work and love their music.