I went through the 7 pages on this thread and was disappointed so many were judging the preamp based on specs. How many of you actually heard this preamp and was able to compare it other preamps? Specs are just a small part of how audio gear will perform.
I listened to this JC2 preamp for about 2 years, mostly with the JC5 amp. I thought it sounded very good, relative to what I have heard thru my life. The Chord Hugo TT2 was supposed to be a good preamp plus DAC, but when I tried it during the time I had the JC2, it sounded inferior, so I went back to JC2. I like the JC2 looks, the volume control works very smooth and at the right rate of change for me. I now use the DM7 DAC as DAC and Preamp, and the volume control is not good - you must point the remote more precisely, and if you tap it, it goes too slow, and if you hold it, it goes too fast. Same volume control problems with the Topping A70 Pro, which truly is a preamp and I have used briefly lately. The JC2 is good looking, has nice indicator lights, lots of inputs and outputs. One negative is that it is large, which is why I hoped to replace it with the TT2.
I think the test results here at ASR, in general, are superb info for comparison shopping. It takes time and experience to figure out how to interpret that data, and after many years, I am still not good at it, so your point is well taken. Some, who are experienced with test results, might agree that going beyond the specs of the JC2 becomes difficult to hear. The DM7 and A70 Pro have much better sinad, but to me sound equally as good as the JC2.