I had the pleasure of an extended demo of a Juicy Music Blueberry. Not much on describing what I hear. I just know what I like and what I don’t.
I normally use an upgraded vintage solid state pre-amp and a Cadillac of one at that. So I’m use to tone controls and tons of options.
This is going to be a positive review, however things that I didn’t like will be discussed first, because they became apparent before I even turned on the Blueberry. The blue, burgundy and orange faceplate throw many people off, but when hooked up with the system and there for a couple days it starts to grow on you. I would suggest a special addition Blackberry, just replace the blue with black. I think they would be more aesthetically pleasing to many buyers and better match more systems.
Connecting it to my system I ran across a few more things that I didn’t like. The RCA jacks are soldered directly to the circuit board. I think this would be fine for the guy that is going to hook it up and just use it. But if you are the type of guy that is always making changes to your system i.e. changing cables and components I could see problems with solder connections developing. I would much rather see the connections on a metal plate with more support. The connections are laid out horizontally with the labeling above. It was hard stretching behind the rack trying to make connections to right set of jacks. Add to that, the left channel is on the right side and right on the left makes for a bit of confusion and double-checking your connections
The last thing I didn’t like (I promise) was the ground connection. It’s a threaded post with a nylon lock nut on the end, several lock washers and nuts. This made very difficult to connect the ground connection of my turntable. A wing nut or 5-way post would be far easier to use.
As I said I use to a Cadillac type of pre-amp, I gotta love the Blueberry for having 2 phono stages when most new pre-amps don’t have any. Any vinyl junky has more than one turntable hooked up to their system. Add a tape loop and 4 line inputs this pre-amp can accommodate just about anyone’s set up.
The Blueberry has a standby switch that keeps the tube nice and warm when not in use. A very nice option.
I first hooked up a pair of VTL MD-100’s, which are bit underpowered for my speakers and had to use tone controls with my pre-amp to get the sound I like. It was a very nice match and sounded nice a full. Once I hooked up a solid-state amp to power the 12” woofer through an active crossover I was able to get very good volume levels without bass getting flabby.
Played some CD’s, which I usually find fatiguing and give me a headache if I listen for any length of time. I’ve tried different tube setups trying to take the edge off of CD’s before, but ended up losing some of the detail. Not with the Blueberry, I found myself getting very involved and cranking up the volume, when I normally only use CD’s for background music.
Time to spin some vinyl, here’s where the Blueberry really shines. It matched up well with my Benz Ebony H. Surface noise and pops and clicks weren’t distracting, while maintaining good top end and detail, very accurate mid-range and fast full bottom-end. For the price of the Blueberry you get a full pre-amp with two phono inputs that sound as good as phono amps in the same price range.
Additionally you get a hand built unit with very personalized service. Nothing but the highest quality parts are used. If the cosmetics were more mainstream this pre-amp would sell for twice the price. It’s a fine piece and would be a proud addition to anyone’s system.
I normally use an upgraded vintage solid state pre-amp and a Cadillac of one at that. So I’m use to tone controls and tons of options.
This is going to be a positive review, however things that I didn’t like will be discussed first, because they became apparent before I even turned on the Blueberry. The blue, burgundy and orange faceplate throw many people off, but when hooked up with the system and there for a couple days it starts to grow on you. I would suggest a special addition Blackberry, just replace the blue with black. I think they would be more aesthetically pleasing to many buyers and better match more systems.
Connecting it to my system I ran across a few more things that I didn’t like. The RCA jacks are soldered directly to the circuit board. I think this would be fine for the guy that is going to hook it up and just use it. But if you are the type of guy that is always making changes to your system i.e. changing cables and components I could see problems with solder connections developing. I would much rather see the connections on a metal plate with more support. The connections are laid out horizontally with the labeling above. It was hard stretching behind the rack trying to make connections to right set of jacks. Add to that, the left channel is on the right side and right on the left makes for a bit of confusion and double-checking your connections
The last thing I didn’t like (I promise) was the ground connection. It’s a threaded post with a nylon lock nut on the end, several lock washers and nuts. This made very difficult to connect the ground connection of my turntable. A wing nut or 5-way post would be far easier to use.
As I said I use to a Cadillac type of pre-amp, I gotta love the Blueberry for having 2 phono stages when most new pre-amps don’t have any. Any vinyl junky has more than one turntable hooked up to their system. Add a tape loop and 4 line inputs this pre-amp can accommodate just about anyone’s set up.
The Blueberry has a standby switch that keeps the tube nice and warm when not in use. A very nice option.
I first hooked up a pair of VTL MD-100’s, which are bit underpowered for my speakers and had to use tone controls with my pre-amp to get the sound I like. It was a very nice match and sounded nice a full. Once I hooked up a solid-state amp to power the 12” woofer through an active crossover I was able to get very good volume levels without bass getting flabby.
Played some CD’s, which I usually find fatiguing and give me a headache if I listen for any length of time. I’ve tried different tube setups trying to take the edge off of CD’s before, but ended up losing some of the detail. Not with the Blueberry, I found myself getting very involved and cranking up the volume, when I normally only use CD’s for background music.
Time to spin some vinyl, here’s where the Blueberry really shines. It matched up well with my Benz Ebony H. Surface noise and pops and clicks weren’t distracting, while maintaining good top end and detail, very accurate mid-range and fast full bottom-end. For the price of the Blueberry you get a full pre-amp with two phono inputs that sound as good as phono amps in the same price range.
Additionally you get a hand built unit with very personalized service. Nothing but the highest quality parts are used. If the cosmetics were more mainstream this pre-amp would sell for twice the price. It’s a fine piece and would be a proud addition to anyone’s system.
seriously. i'll loan it out but its the only pre i have right now (Jack got my other). 
