scott0527 Posted May 3, 2005 Share Posted May 3, 2005 I had the chance to sample the Road Show JuicyMusic Blueberry preamp, now its time to hold up my end of the bargain and post my comments in an audio forum of my choice. My review is not very detailed or sophisticated and for those of you that just want the short story, I will be getting a JuicyMusic preamp soon. I liked it a lot. Longer story is below <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /> When the Blueberry first arrived, I hooked it up to the system in my Den so I could get familiar with it. Its about the size of Mac preamps c22 or mx110, not as heavy and probably not as deep. It certainly has a unique appearance and looks good in the audio rack. My den system consists of Craigs NOSValves superduper upgraded ST70, Wright WPL10 preamp, Linn LP12, a Marantz CD player and a set of Heresys. I threw in a familiar CD while reading the manual again. Wilcos Summer Teeth. My immediate reaction was I thought this was the best Ive ever heard this CD. The bass seemed a little lower and more discreet, clearer. Wilco is into experimenting with noise, feedback, distortion. At the same time, they can create an easy going pop song as good as anyone. I cant get enough of them. I was pretty excited but I was sort of just chalking it up to a false perception of a new component being installed. The following night I moved it into the living room with the MC240, Klispchorns, MusicHall Maverick SACD player. I also moved the Linn in there too. My regular preamp in this set up is a McIntosh MX110. Both the Mac pieces were thoroughly (and expensively) reconditioned at AudioClassics so they are in top shape. I thought Id do a little preamp swapping with my wife and seeing what we liked best. Listening to mostly Dire Straits albums and CDs, we quickly figured out that swapping preamps every other song is not the best way to test audio components. Playing the same song through the phono stage, resulted in my wife twice picking the Blueberry as her favorite and twice picking the MX110 as her favorite. She did not know which preamp was playing. Although I did know, I had a hard time picking the better of two. Pretty much the same inconclusive results through the line stage. I think its too much for the mind to handle switching and judging at the same time. So I spent the next several days back in my den just listening to the Blueberry to as much familiar music as I could. Wilco, White Stripes, Zeppelin, Neil Yong. When I was in the mood for females, Id listen to Hope Sandoval, Kate Bush or similar. Not exactly beautiful jazz or classical but its what I listen to. Ultimately what I found out is that, the best thing I noticed about the Blueberry is that I never notice it. It sets up and plays and everything good. No matter where I set the volume it sounded right. Perfectly balanced, clear, clean, nothing to worry about except the music. Occasionally swapping in the Wright preamp, or a Mac 22, I found myself not wanting to waste the limited listening time I have. So Id quickly put the Blueberry back in and just kick back and enjoy myself. All in all I was happy to see that some of my vintage stuff was still pretty damn good. But another advantage the Blueberry has is that its brand new and I dont worry about the fact that at any moment my 40 year old relics might blow some gizmo or another. So I hope to be ordering the Blueberry for my den soon. Ive got to clean out a few items first as Ive accumulated a little too much amp and other stuff Im not using. Thanks to JuicyMusic for the demo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted May 3, 2005 Share Posted May 3, 2005 Thanks for the post. Sweet ain't it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audio Flynn Posted May 3, 2005 Share Posted May 3, 2005 Ultimately what I found out is that, the best thing I noticed about the Blueberry is that I never notice it. It sets up and plays and everything good. No matter where I set the volume it sounded right. Perfectly balanced, clear, clean, nothing to worry about except the music. +++++++++++++++++++++++++= It is just kind of freaky the the "I never notice it" sense. Very effortless. Getting one is still the completion of my wifes' masters degree away... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audible Nectar Posted May 4, 2005 Share Posted May 4, 2005 "Also, I never knew so many people had MX-110's. Nice unit - good to know we are holding our own with the venerable Macs." A LOT of folks have MX-110's, and they are really good units for the money. A recapped MX-110 will hang in there with really good quality preamps at multiples of it's price. I really have a hard time besting this - at least to the extent that I would ditch the 110 for a higher $$$ pre. I have A/B'd my MX-110 against MUCH higher $$$ competition, and didn't really feel that I was "missing out". I didn't bring my MX-110 to A/B against the Blueberry (and I wish I had)....but the Blueberry really has a clarity and natural effortlessness that far exceeds it's price. In other words, the Blueberry sounds VERY expensive - much more so than it is. Many can make gear sound good with an unlimited budget.....but the Blueberry is INCREDIBLE regardless of price - and for the price, even more so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott0527 Posted May 4, 2005 Author Share Posted May 4, 2005 ---------------- On 5/3/2005 9:39:57 PM mdeneen wrote: Hey Scott---"5 Gold Stars" for sitting down at your keyboard and doing a nice job of Road Show reporting there. I have to say, of all the boards I visit - and offered Road Show demos - only the Klipsch folks here on this forum really followed through with their comments. Pretty much everyone else was "Oh yea, I'm going to do it next week...(month....year). Nice folks here. Also, I never knew so many people had MX-110's. Nice unit - good to know we are holding our own with the venerable Macs. mdeneen ---------------- Mark, Oh yea, you're doing more than holding your own against the Macs. I'll probably post this over in AA somewhere although I rarely visit there. I hope to be talking to you soon. Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted May 4, 2005 Share Posted May 4, 2005 ---------------- On 5/4/2005 7:46:02 AM Audible Nectar wrote: "Also, I never knew so many people had MX-110's. Nice unit - good to know we are holding our own with the venerable Macs." A LOT of folks have MX-110's, and they are really good units for the money. A recapped MX-110 will hang in there with really good quality preamps at multiples of it's price. I really have a hard time besting this - at least to the extent that I would ditch the 110 for a higher $$$ pre. I have A/B'd my MX-110 against MUCH higher $$$ competition, and didn't really feel that I was "missing out". I didn't bring my MX-110 to A/B against the Blueberry (and I wish I had)....but the Blueberry really has a clarity and natural effortlessness that far exceeds it's price. In other words, the Blueberry sounds VERY expensive - much more so than it is. Many can make gear sound good with an unlimited budget.....but the Blueberry is INCREDIBLE regardless of price - and for the price, even more so. ---------------- Man we should of thought of that! It would of been fun to compare the 2 preamps on my system. Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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