opinions on jolida integrated versus pre/amp

faster100

since i sold my parasound amp, and have the dodd pre... been thinking of a tube integrated instead of the 2 separete pieces.. jolida seems to be the cost effective way... but lower in wattage then say the a-23 halo i want.. does it matter? powering sda1's..
what yall think? this will be later on after i recover from buying the boat and will mean selling the dodd.... opinions and theories welcome

jdhdiggs

Dibs on the Dodd..

Actually, I don't know much about integrated, but I do know how much power those SDA's take and it's not a lot unless you need to feel the music more than hear it. The Jolida looks damn nice. If that's a path you're considering, take it...

madmax

I like the JoLida amps a lot! For the SDA-SRS the EL-34 model is just loud enough. The 6550's are more reasonable though. For the smaller SDA's I would recommend the 6550 version for sure because the speakers are less efficient and will need the extra power if you like it loud at all. I think you will find either model at about the same price used.
madmax

faster100

Thanks, was looking at the JD 202A, or the 502 B which is kinda out of my price range.. I will be powering the sda 1's and i do sometimes like it loud, however id rather have it sound lush and accurate then just loud...

madmax

Forget what I just wrote. I thought you were talking about real amps.
madmax

BTW,
Either tube amp will have more useable power than the Halo.

madmax

I don't know man, the 202A is a little weak. Here was a 502A which didn't even get a bid at $450. Seems pretty reasonable to me...

http://cgi.ebay.com/Jolida-SJ-502A-Integrated-Tube-Amplifier_W0QQitemZ5791203202QQcategoryZ3280QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

madmax

faster100

what do you mean real amps? Not a stand alone, a integrated... reasonably priced...

faster100

whats the A versus B in the model # mean?

faster100

Originally posted by madmax
I don't know man, the 202A is a little weak. Here was a 502A which didn't even get a bid at $450. Seems pretty reasonable to me...

http://cgi.ebay.com/Jolida-SJ-502A-Integrated-Tube-Amplifier_W0QQitemZ5791203202QQcategoryZ3280QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

madmax

yeah that is reasonable, i figured 500 -700 max i guess..

jdhdiggs

at 50W/channel, that should be more than enough power for your application unless your deaf.

haimoc

As I recalled "B" is the later model. They discontinued the "A" model.

faster100

yeah, the 202a is 40 watts, max of 50watts....... shoot my sonic impact mod amp pushed the sda's "OK" for 5 or 10 watts... not to what i liked but you get the idea..


I see most on jolida's website are B models...

madmax

I was just kidding about real amps. Originally I thought the Halo and the 202 were tube/pre SS output. (not tube output)...

A vs B

Originally it was just a style change. Small companies like Jolida often upgrade this or that in the circuitry as they find something makes an improvement. They keep the same model number for years though. A really old model may not have some of their changes. Not a big deal unless it was something that caused them to blow up.

madmax

faster100

nah i figured you were messing me with...

Im just wondering the tonal change i'll get /achieve from a dodd elp and ss amp to a all tube int. amp?



edit: also will this get as hot as the dynaco st70 i had? damm that thing was hot with 4 -el34's

madmax

Not considering the Dodd at all, just a tube amp output as compared to SS, I think you would find the same things I did.

I found the sound to be much more envolving. I went from one hour listening sessions (where after 45 minutes I was ready to scream) to multiple hour sessions way into the night (and very sad I had to turn it off). I also found out that I could hear way more delicate sounds than I thought possible. Even on loud **** rock music there were way more tones in the sound. I started hearing the differences in guitars and all the other instruments. Rather than thinking "this guy plays great trumpet" I started thinking "I like the trumpet he plays on this version better than the trumpet he played on the other version. One song I like from Cheryl Crow is the Na Na song or something like that. It has a huge barage of noise throught the song. After I got the tube output it turned out to be a whole bunch of sounds from many instruments. All of a sudden I could hear each one seperately rather than just picking out a blurry overall sound effect. My serious listening time picked up from a few hours a week, if that to a few hours a day.

madmax

faster100

wow, cool... seems you liked the change alot! Ok so we have it can sound better, now what about heat? are the new tube amps just as hot as the old ones? My room is non air conditioned at the present and the st 70 was brutally hot.. cant have that.. Id just get a window unit but these windows are old and sealed shut in the florida room... not up and down windows..


just found a 302 B on the bay reasonable

madmax

Tubes are as hot today as they were in the 60's. My AC comes on after awhile. I've never heard an ST70 but shouldn't that sound somewhat close? What did you notice when you went to the ST70?

madmax

faster100

figured as much on the heat issue, just wondered.. I loved it and hated the heat... plus i found these sda1's and had to sell it to fund the sda's which i figured were harder to find local then a dynaco 70 so i sold it..

Its the heat factor for me... sound was fantastic, however i never did get to hear tubes on the sda's... only on smaller speakers, so that makes it hard to decide

madmax

OK, I see.

With the SDA's and the very wide soundstage tubes make even more difference. Sinces the sounds are more spread out you can tell even that much more about each sound. I tried the tubes with the LSi 7's and then the 9's. They didn't seem to offer much with either one.

Is a small fan vent possible? You could mount a smallish 4" equipment fan in the wall somewhere with a flexible duct somewhere over the amp. It would take very little to vent that heat outside.

madmax

faster100

Good idea and suggestions.... as always a huge help... Thanks

bikezappa

Madmax

You drive the SDSs with a tube amp. Can you briefly tell me if you have enough power for these speakers?

Thanks

peter

marker

You can get the Jolida 100 watt 1501RC for a little over $600 shipped. IMO, that is the best new intergrated you can get on the market today at anywhere near it's price range, and it is well worth the extra bucks over the Jolida 30 and 50 watt versions.

For one thing, you get a remote. Another is that it now has pre-outs for bi-amping, subs, zone 2, etc. Plus, the SS power amp section has a toroidal transformer as well as mosfet amps. The power amp section seems to be very conservatively rated as well. I'm sure it's really more than 100 watts per channel.

This is defintely the way to go IMO.

jdhdiggs

No way, if you are going with a tube front end and SS back end he should stay put. The goal here is to knock the SS peices out of the equation, not add them into one chassis.

Faster, it's your decision, but you have liked every "tube" change you've made so far....

madmax

Peter:

I have the SDA-SRS in a 12'X24' room and have them about 7' apart on the long wall. My ears are about 9' away from the front of the speakers.

With the 6550's at 60 wpc I can just reach a level of live sound. (band with seperate instrument amplifiers and live drummer in about the same size room, standard practice situation, not pushing extremely hard). With the EL-34's at 50 wpc I am a few db's lower and often feel the need for more power but am still satisfied.

The 60 wpc seems to be very close in sound power as previous 325 wpc Soundcraftsmen amplifier.

madmax

pearsall001

faster 100,
I just received my Jolida 502B w/ the mod done by Chris Johnson from Sonic Frontiers. MAN OH MAN I couldn't be happier.

faster100

what did that set ya back?

Early B.

faster --

I have a Jolida 502A and I absolutely love it. My friend has an Audio Research tube preamp and tube amp, and his system sounds no better than my int. amp. I bought an int. amp for cost and simplicity. Like you, I didn't want to spend too much money, and I didn't want to deal with an extra pair of interconnects, power supply, power cord, etc.

At first, the Jolida sounded good, but it seemed like there was something missing. However, after I modded it, the amp sounds superb. So if you're gonna get a used Jolida, consider getting it modded or look for one that has already been modded.

madmax

So what upgrades did you have done EarlyB?
madmax

Early B.

madmax wrote:

So what upgrades did you have done EarlyB?
madmax

Replaced caps with Sonicaps. Replaced volume pot with Alps blue velvet. Replaced some of the resistors with Mills brand. And by-passed the balance knob. Made a big difference. Bought the parts myself and had someone install them. Total cost about $200 - $250.