Jolida jd1301 / jd301

MARANTZ

Someone have the Jolida 1301 or Jolida 301?

How the sound of the amp?

Kex

Marantz, welcome to Club Polk. Thank you for your e-mail as well.

I'm not currently using the 1301 that I own, but I did try it quite a lot for a short period of time. I think it is a fantastic piece of equipment, that I would not hesitate to buy again. The whole legal battle with the Maryland outfit vs. the original manufacturer in China was a rather unpleasant episode, and from what I read about the incident, it was difficult to say who was the wrongdoer and who was being wronged, but that's another story. There's a thread about it lurking somewhere around here, and Polker cnh has even visited the original factory at least once. I'll post a link at the bottom of this post.

In short:

• Attractive piece of equipment, thanks to the old style chrome flick switch for on/off and heavy aluminum faceplate. The rest of the body is just average, I suppose.
• Very compact.
• Huge sound from such a small piece of equipment.
• An incredible match with larger speakers such as the RT55, or RT800. You will notice much better, much more, and very controlled bass than usual.
• This statement is valid, in my opinion, not only when compared to any receiver (no matter the cost) but also when compared to separate solid state amplifiers with much greater stated/tested output. To me, this one device completely disproves the claim that people "need" 200w/ch to get the best results.
• For music, the 1301 will also have you wondering if you want a subwoofer, but that can be a matter of taste (and also a matter of budget, since the best subwoofers exceed what some of us are prepared to pay, so I haven't been able to test any of those).

I will hook up the JoLida again at some point, but right now, my most audiophile speakers are not compatible with the JoLida, so I can't (it is only 8Ω capable, not lower). One thing I did not do was roll tubes (even though I bought some to try) so I can't comment on that aspect, unfortunately. Just make sure the speakers used are not too hard to drive. I would insist on 8Ω only, and I would suggest efficiency of 88 dB or better. A lower -3dB limit of 50 or lower is probably preferable also, but that might depend on personal taste.

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?114892