Daddy Dee Posted May 16, 2004 Share Posted May 16, 2004 First, thanks to Sheltie Dave for sending the BlueBerry to Little Rock for the Arkansas Gathering. I've been listening to the BB for a week and want to share some impressions. Current setup: Sunfire Classic Tube Preamp driving Wright 2A3 monoblocks on Khorns. Source is AH! Njoe Tjoebs CD. I've been using this preamp for the a little over a year driving the likes of the Cary Rocket 88, Paramours, ST-70 and Wrights. The Sunfire is a FatCat preamp with remote and tone contour controls for bass and treble. In the season that I've had it, I've mostly wondered, man can it get any better than this? It is a very sweet preamp running three 6922 tubes. Sovtek were stock and it sounded great right out of the box. After a few months rolled Mullards in and thought it was significantly improved in smoothness. I've been curious to substitute the Blueberry and see what it sounds like. I've been listening to a few CD's that I know backwards and forwards. The first was Diana Krall, Live in Paris. With gear of this quality, I expected that I'd perhaps be able to discern which one had the edge over the other. What I did not expect was for the BlueBerry to kick the Sunfire in the butt. To my ears, this has been my perception. Now, the Sunfire is not a slouch at all, it does a heck of a good job, but I am hearing elements in music material I have not heard before. With Diana Krall, I'm hearing a depth and texture to strings I have not heard before. I found this somewhat startling. Piano notes are smoother and richer. Bass response is more extended and full. Just clean, tight, bass with more snap than with the Sunfire. I haven't felt like I've missed anything without the Sunfire's tone controls, which I have used with some frequency. The most surprising listening with the Blueberry came with The Who's "I Can See For Miles" when I heard a bass line I hadn't heard before. This was a jaw dropping, and grinning myself silly reaction, since I've been listening to this cut for YEARS on CD and just haven't heard it. This material has been buried somewhere in the mix, unheard by my ears, until the Blueberry seemingly pulled it out and placed a new track on the mix. In this layer it sounds completely live hearing the pluck and slap of the musician's fingers on the strings. There is an amazing mix of resonances and sound in a bass guitar's notes. The BlueBerry comes stock with Yugoslav Ei tubes. Dave has sent some Telefunken replacements to roll in which I will check out this week. One note on the look and feel of this preamp. The case is a nice compliment to the clean looking face plate. The RCA connectors are sturdy enough on the main board. The volume and level controls are smooth and have a good substantial feel to them. Disclaimer: I have no interest in Juicy Music Audio. Mark Deneen has simply hit this one out of the park. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheltie dave Posted May 16, 2004 Share Posted May 16, 2004 Dee, thanks for breaking the ice. I have kept my listening review under wraps, both because I got tired of scurilous attacks on my character by a few, and because I have been tied up with job matters. I would like to respond to one point that Guy brought up earlier in regard to receiving any special consideration from Mark. I did receive a significant introductory price break from Mark, the same as all who partook in his initial offering. I also received a nice CD he has sent out to all who purchased the Blueberry, and a Blueberry T-shirt that Liam likes to use as his security blanket. Best of all, I have gotten to know Mark better. He is a tremendous person, one who stands up for his beliefs, backs his product, and will help anyone who honestly asks for advice or direction. The Blueberry is a direct reflection of Mark. As a straight line concept with tubes, it is accurate, precise, and unwilling to take on compromises that lessen its character and quality. While you have been enjoying it at your abode in Scott, it has given me the chance to run my MC240 bare, and while the sound still is beautiful, it is not as fully there as with the Blueberry. I'll hammer and tong my promised review out tomorrow, but for anyone considering an upper end tube preamplifier up to the $5,000 range, put the Blueberry on your list of candidates. And I'm glad you are enjoying it, Dee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garymd Posted May 16, 2004 Share Posted May 16, 2004 Agreed Dee. Just one note: I replaced the 6DJ8 with a very nice Siemens sent to me by Guy and believe it or not, even more improvement was heard. You're right. This is a KILLER preamp. I'm really looking forward to my new TT which should be arriving next week because as amazing as the line stage is on the BB, the phono stage is even more impressive. I may be sporting my JuicyMusic t-shirt in Indy. I first have to work out an endorsement deal with Mark. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guy Landau Posted May 16, 2004 Share Posted May 16, 2004 Gary, The 6DJ8 replacement was a Siemens CCa and the 12AT7's were GEC CV6091. DS, Get a life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted May 16, 2004 Share Posted May 16, 2004 Dee, When you said "It sounded Live" I knew you had a good ear for the difference! It's great when you plug in a tune you have listened to over and over then it all the sudden sounds brand new again not many pieces of gear can do this ! The Blueberry is a great product for sure. The other day I used its tape outs to record the 200 gram Norah Jones LP to my 24/96 Audiophile card. This function works excellent also. You would swear it was the LP when played directly off the PC and the CD I recorded after shrinking it down the 16/44 sounds very good also. To bad this type of stuff takes so much time. Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshnich Posted May 16, 2004 Share Posted May 16, 2004 Great to hear! I cant wait for my Peachy! Josh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy Taylor Posted May 16, 2004 Share Posted May 16, 2004 I just did a search of Juicy Music Audio and came up with nothing, would like to find out more about these audio products, that I read about, does any one know where on line to find them ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guy Landau Posted May 16, 2004 Share Posted May 16, 2004 http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?preatube&1087333976 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clipped and Shorn Posted May 17, 2004 Share Posted May 17, 2004 I found it here: http://www.juicymusicaudio.com/ C&S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garymd Posted May 17, 2004 Share Posted May 17, 2004 ---------------- On 5/16/2004 10:33:14 PM Guy Landau wrote: Gary, The 6DJ8 replacement was a Siemens CCa and the 12AT7's were GEC CV6091. DS, Get a life. ---------------- You're correct of course. I revised my post. Very confusing hobby. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fini Posted May 17, 2004 Share Posted May 17, 2004 "Blueberry Impressions" Sounds like a breakfast cereal you might find here in California... Someday I will have to invest in one of Mark's beauties! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted May 17, 2004 Share Posted May 17, 2004 Very nice review, Daddydee, now I am really sorry that we did NOT give the Blueberry more of a subjective work-out when I was there at the Klipsch gathering in Arkansas (May, 2004). How does the Wright sound compared to the Bottlehead 2A3 Paramour monoblocks? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted May 17, 2004 Author Share Posted May 17, 2004 Colin, Yep, we had so much going it was hard take in the Blueberry among all the interesting gear. The Paramours will always be close to my heart because they were the first 2A3's I heard. Purchased them from rfiiicrazy (Tom) on this forum. When I heard them I realized that SET was my cup of tea. My take on a head to head with Paramours and Wrights is first, that they both have that distinctive SET 2A3 sound, on which people seem to subjectively run hot or cold. In the Paramours, Bottlehead has nailed a bang for the buck value in the SET world. To my ears, they probably deliver 90% of what the Wrights do... maybe higher than 90%. The Wrights are quieter (not a problem for the Paramours when listening to musical material) and have better bass extension. Most reviewers would also say that the Wrights reveal more detail. Perhaps, and for their price, they should, but I haven't worked hard enough at comparison to make that claim. Before I sold the Paramours I was interested, and in fact had ordered the Bottlehead upgrade with new iron and such. After six or eight weeks of waiting, I cancelled the order and turned my attention elsewhere. People speak so well of that upgrade that it is probably a good deal. BTW Colin, in that season when I was checking out different typologies seeking to find satisfaction for my tastes in tubes, I found your review on the Paramours (out on the internet) before I realized you were a member of the forum. That was a helpful word in finding my way and deciding that I would acquire the Paramours in the first place. For the price it's a no brainer and the Paramours are sweet indeed! This summer I'll be spending some time with my engineer brother in law and will have a brief apprenticeship on slinging solder. Looking forward to a little DIY experience that will be a new adventure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy Taylor Posted May 17, 2004 Share Posted May 17, 2004 Okay now I'am starting to understand what the blueberry is, and it was designed and I'am guessing built by Mark a regular on the forum, I was reading little bits and pieces about the blueberry that everyone was talking about but couldn't really put it all together. I have been running a foreplay and seduction with my power amps and have been happy with it, but I know that someday I will be wanting to get something a little higher end and the blueberry dose have a nice clean look to it also. I was also wondering what kind of resitors and caps it has in it, it's a little hard to tell from the picture and is the volume control a stepped type of control ? I couldn't find any other products other than the blueberry, is the first with maybe more to come, or is there more that I don't know about like maybe a strawberry power amp ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garymd Posted May 17, 2004 Share Posted May 17, 2004 Close Randy. I think the amp will be called "The Cherry." A line stage only preamp (no phono) called "The Peach" is also in the works and should be the next product available. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt1stcav Posted May 17, 2004 Share Posted May 17, 2004 There's no "sour grapes" in this bunch, that much is for sure! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy Taylor Posted May 17, 2004 Share Posted May 17, 2004 What's this peach just half of the blueberry or a completely new animal, and what is the projected price for the peach? This all looks very interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dflip Posted May 17, 2004 Share Posted May 17, 2004 What's this peach just half of the blueberry or a completely new animal, and what is the projected price for the peach? This all looks very interesting. It is a Blueberry without a phono stage. It will be out in a little while. The Peach is more than half a blueberry, so you will save some money, but it will not be half the price of it's bigger brother. Those Hovlands sure do get expensive and contribute to the price. High quality parts cost money and this means that you have to fork more of it over to Mark, if you want the quality he builds into his equipment. If you email Mark he will give you the exact details. I think the price was just under $1400 US, but don't hold me to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy Taylor Posted May 17, 2004 Share Posted May 17, 2004 Mark, It looks like you have a fine product there, so I guess the peach is the same circuit that blueberry but know phono stage? Any Idea on what price range the peach might be ? I love the look of the blueberry, good luck with your new venture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3dzapper Posted May 17, 2004 Share Posted May 17, 2004 I was just listening to Carlos Santana's "Abraxis" album again for the first time. Brought out new goose bumps on the first instrumental, "Singing Winds, Crying Beasts", and more detail to the Conga drums in "Oye como va" than I've heard in thirty five years of listening to this album. Bravo Mark!!!! Rick Equipment tonight: Technics SL1200 (dampened);Shure V15-IV; Juicy Music Blueberry (stock except for tube rolling); Wright Sound Mono 10 2A3 class A PP monoblocks (Stock except for coupling caps); 1977 Klipschorns w/ALK X-overs and damped stock drivers/horns. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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