The difference Dawgfishs former jolida jd9 makes in our system

scottyboy76

Did i say former, boy is my face red.

Anyway, the phono pre Bigdawg loaned us has been very enlightening.

Tonight for example, we spun skynyrds "Second Helping".

In a word "awful", this home finally has a system capable of exposing good and bad recordings.

Then Gino Vanellis "Storm At Sunup", because deb likes the cover,LOL.

Not my favorite album of his, that would be "Powerful People", But we listened to it twice it sounded so good.

Times like these i wish i had the vocabulary, and understanding of audio terminology to speak intelligently.

Just take my word for it, words like alive, dynamic, breathtaking, and stunning come to mind.

When the deep sound of someone chanting "Mama coco" came through, it was real, as in right here with us.

Many many thanks to steve for allowing us to experience this, and letting me know what my next purchase will be down the road, no doubt.

Face

IMO, one of the best audio bargains going. There are DIY upgrades available for it, aside from the coupling cap upgrade, the rest aren't for the weak hearted.

nooshinjohn

I have had a few of these moments in my setup, but I still am looking for that special blend of gear that will take a great recording to the level of realism I desire, as well as be somewhat forgiving of recordings that for lack of a better term, suck. Sadly much of what I enjoy falls into the latter category, but I am much closer now than I have been in years.

I think I was happier when I had the MG-20's in the rig. The Big SDA's are very good, but not quite "alive"...

tonyb

I know what your saying about the big SDA's. They do a lot right, don't get me wrong, but still lack that musicality or "alive" part as you mentioned. Almost a kind of veiled sound. Could be age too, Trey could work on that for ya. Maybe time to search out another in-home speaker demo pal.

nooshinjohn

Already did the crossovers, but I wouldn't mind trying Trey's Monestary XO's...

Just don't have the cash for that yet, as I believe more performance improvements will be found by building modern replacements for the cabinets.

Mike Reeter

scottyboy76 wrote: »

Just take my word for it, words like alive, dynamic, breathtaking, and stunning come to mind.

When the deep sound of someone chanting "Mama coco" came through, it was real, as in right here with us.

That is the drug of this hobby, once you have had a taste, you just want more. When you have your favorite artist giving you a personal performance, it can be quite moving.

'njoy

treitz3

What tubes were used in the JD9?

Tom

Dawgfish

Awesome Scott! I'm really glad you and Deb are enjoying it! If I ever decide to sell it, you get first dibs! I don't see myself having a need for the JD-9 your using anytime soon, unless anything happens with the modded JD-9 I'm currently running in my system.

Face I couldn't agree with you more regarding the JD-9. They are very good stock, but just goe to a whole other level when modded. I couldn't be any happier with them!

Treitz3, the JD-9 that Scott is running is using Groove-tube Mullard reissue 12AX7s. They don't sound that bad for newer Russian tubes. Incidently the JD-9 that Scott is running is the same unit that you heard with Jerry a few years ago. The best sounding tubes I've found with the JD-9 in my set-up are Ken Rad/GE early to mid 50s Black Plate horseshoe getter 12AX7s, RCA Black Plate [] getter, and Raytheon Black Plate 12AX7s. Amperex Holland 12AX7s sound good also. I've tried a lot of different tubes including many of the highly regarded 5751 types in the JD-9 and find they sound best when using a 12AX7. I've read they need the full gain of the 12AX7 to accurately reproduce the RIAA equalization curve and it's been my experience there may be something to this.

TNHNDYMAN

^ Dawgfish- have you ever run any Telefunken 12AX7's thru the JD-9? I've got a couple of pairs that came out of a 1961 Fisher console stereo that I would send to Scott if they might be an improvement over the Russian tubes..

Dawgfish

I have run Tele smooth and ribbed plates in the JD-9. I liked the smooth plates better, but neither tube did it for me the way the others mentioned did in my setup to my ears. Of course Scott may hear something entirely different with his setup......so I say it would be worth a try! That's an awesome gesture.

markmarc

If I ever went with a tube phono pre- the Jolida would be my first choice in that price range.

scottyboy76

Another update, listened to "Wish you were here", the back in black "Gourmet " version, although i do have 2 older versions.

Well, it was very impressive, and as a funny aside, there was a moment at the end of "Welcome to the machine", after the elevator traveled up, the doors open to the sounds of people partying, laughing and such.

At the very end, when all other sounds fade away, there is a sound, the closest i can describe is the sound of a champagne cork popping, twice, or perhaps the sound of two footfals in a large room by someone with hard soled heels.

I have been listening to this album since it came out in the 70s, many times with headphones, and i had never heard this.

A small thing, but an example of the revelation hearing music through a quality phono pre.

Thanks again for the loan steve.

SCompRacer

Congrats on your higher resolution enjoyment! Speaking of PF, off The Wall, Happiest Days of Our Lives...about 20 seconds in occurring about 8 times. The kick drum with choked cymbals. The better the gear, the more you get to hear.

treitz3

SCompRacer wrote: »

The better the gear, the more you get to hear.

.....some may say "experience"......

*smiles* BTW, thanks D.

Tom