Letting my tube amp go...

madmax
madmax Posts: 12,434
edited December 2007 in For Sale (FS) Classifieds
The amplifier:
Jolida 502A w/tube cage, Tungsol 6550 power tubes, Electroharmonix preamp tubes, bypassed balance control, 4 and 8 ohm taps, 60 wpc, black w/colored metal flake finish (Jolida standard finish), great condition with no scratches. Early model. $900 shipped US48. Add $50 for Canada. My favorite long term ampliifier. Comes with original Jolida packaging box and materials.


The dribble:
I seriously thought I would never let this one go but times, they change. This amp has been with me for a long time. I've had at least 9 other amps in my system but every time I've always gone back to this one. It has a sound I could never quite obtain from the others, very pure and beautiful. So why now? Well, I finally got the preamp of my dreams and this integrated (amp/preamp together) will no longer fit the bill no matter what I do in the future. Sure, I could keep it for a secondary system but I think its time for someone else to enjoy it.

The tubes:
I've tried boxes of tubes in this amp. They all sound great but finally I found the right combo. Luckily they are readily available production tubes. This preamp/power tube combination plays together perfectly with the Jolida circuitry. I have 6550 Tungsol power tubes and Electroharmonix 12AT7's/12AX7's installed. Seriously, I looked for years to hit this combination and if I ever needed to replace I would choose the same ones. I don't know how much time is on the present tubes so I won't guess. I know they should last for many more years and will be available when needed.

History:
My first tube amp was a Jolida 302A. I loved it so much I bought another, then another. I saw this one and figured it may give a little extra power but thought the 6550's may not sound as good as the EL-34's used in the 302A. I was right about the power and found the 6550's to sound close but not quite as good as the EL-34's. Thats when I started tube rolling. It seemed I could make it sound like anything I wanted. Finally, I hit the right combination. Oh yea, better than the EL-34's AND more powerful. I sold off the other Jolidas after a time. Not this one though. A mod everyone was talking about at the time was bypassing the balance control. It was easy so this amp has that mod. Other more complicated mods looked interesting but I was really afraid I would mess up a good thing. I stuck with the simple stuff.

The rig:
This amp was used mostly with my SDA-SRS and 1.2's. I also used it for awhile with my 1C's. It drives any of those with plenty of volume. I also went through most of my "Analog" period with it using an Audible Illusions preamp as a phono preamp, then a dedicated Jolida preamp. Oh, and that nasty digital stuff with the Theta/AudioNote DAC. :D

This is an awesome amp. I hope someone here in the family wants it.

madmax

Edit: Lowered the price because I found some going for less. No cage or special tubes or anything on the others but anything to make a quick sale. :)
Vinyl, the final frontier...

Avantgarde horns, 300b tubes, thats the kinda crap I want... :D
Post edited by madmax on

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