Jolida JD9 Phono Pre
Systems
Posts: 14,873
I've recently purchased one of the Jolida JD9 phono preamps to give it a shot. I've seen where several members are using this phono pre in their systems or have used this in the past. I own several other phono preamps and some of these are not too bad for a budget phono pre. The Rogue Stealth is a favorite of mine. I also own a PS Audio GCPH, Bel Canto Phono 3 and an Ayre P5xe. Since most users seem to use a MM cartridge I decided to install the Ortofon 2M Black to try the Jolida.
Testing Rig:
Preamp - Conrad Johnson PV12L
Amp - Ayre V5xe
Speakers - Dynaudio Audience 72
Turntable - VPI Aries 3 w/ Ortofon 2M Black MM
12ax7 Tubes - Stock Chinese, Telefunken, Mullard, RCA & JJ Gold pins.
Various Cables
Lp's:
Kieko Matsui - A Drop Of Water
Hiroshima - Odori
Patricia Barber - Cafe Blue
Dave Koz - Best Of Dave Koz
John Coletrane - A Love Supreme
Lisa Stansfield - Affection
Chuck Mangione - Feels So Good
Earl Klugh - Magic In Your Eyes
Out of the box:
I opened the box to find it very well packaged. Everything included as advertised and a clean looking piece that matched well with other components in my rack. I took an hour or so to read over the instructions before connecting it up to my system to be used. The instructions aren't very long and detailed but I like to read twice to see if I missed anything the first time around. I set the DIP switches to match the load capasitance and resistance as well as the gain. This was easy to do with the cover off the rear to access the DIP switches using the corner of the cover as a tool to move the position of the switches. My fingers were a little too large to make the adjustments easily.
Initial Settings:
47 kOhm
150 pf
MM Gain
High Output connection to the CJ Preamp.
I won't go into how each LP sounded or how a particular recording from the LP sounded. Rather I'm going to go into how the Jolida perfromed overall and what adjustments I made during the test. I'm sure many of you own, have owned or have sampled some of these LP's. This is in the range of MY music tastes and I opted not to bring in other genres at this time.
From the first time I dropped the stylus on the vinyl and slowly turned the volume up I noticed that the gain was far too high. I barely moved the volume knob to 9 O'clock with a starting position of off at 7 O'clock and the level of volume was far louder than a CD. A CD would have been clocked at approx 12 O'clock for this volume level. The sound was somewhat strained in my opinion due to what seemed like an input gain that was way too high. I managed to back off the volume to approx 8:30 and it got better. I listened to each LP sampling several songs from both sides I liked best. I opted to leave the stock tubes in place for the first round of tests and settings.
Next I turned off all gain by switching the MM setting to off and left all gain switches to the off position. This was still too much gain in my opinion. I am still plugged into the high output of the Jolida to the CJ preamp. I moved the DIP switch to 220 pf and listened again to the selected recordings. The sound both seemed to settle down a little while opening up the soundstage. I know this sounds a little contradictory so I'll say it this way. The noise floor lessened and the recording seemed to be a little more airy. If that makes any sence at all.
Second Setting:
47 kOhm
150 pf
MM Gain
Low Output connection to the CJ Preamp
With these settings the gain was too low in my opinion. I was turning the volume to 12 O'clock to get the level of volume most CD's would be at approx 9 O'clock. However, the recordings sounded much better. Bass was improved on all recordings as well as the overall soundstage. The highs were calmer and not as bright. But the volume level for the position of the volume knob was way too low. If I wanted to really get a good responce from the sound and do a little enjoyable jamming the volume knob was set at approx 2 O'clock. I set the DIP switch to 220pf again and things got only marginal better. The difference was almost unnoticed. Had I not known I made the changes in the DIP I would most likely not noticed a difference at all. This was only a mind trick on my part.
Third Settings:
47 kOhm
220 pf
MC Gain setting
Low Output connection to CJ Preamp
I found it! This seems to be the best setting for this combination of settings. The volume reacts as most any other source would if used with this combination of equipment. The sound is wonderful through the full range of selected recordings. The noise floor is lowered. The soundstage is opened up and there is an airy feeling to the music. I can now hear subtle characteristics of the recordings I was missing. And I knew they should be there due to the fact that my other phono preamps have shown me this in the past. The slight increase in the gain by using the MC High instead of the MM has brought everything into focus. I am now truely enjoying this piece of gear and the music it is delivering. The manual does suggest using the cartridge manufacturer's recommened settings as a baseline and adjustments to the gain, resistance and capsitance loading settings be adjusted to the best possible performance. It only takes a little time and patience to achieve this.
Next I started rolling a few tubes around to see what differences It would make. Since we all have a different ear for the sound we like I suggest that the user decide for himself/herself which is best for them. I opted for the Telefunken 12ax7's for myself. There was a difference between the stock Chinese supplied tubes. However, as I was finding MY best listening performance from the Jolida the stock tubes remained in the mix. After I found what sounded the best through several different settings I then went on to as we might say "fine tune" the quality of the recordings.
Next I will be moving on to both Low Output MC & High Output MC cartridges for a listening comparison. As I stated before I decided to use a MM cartidge since many listeners use this type. But for the time being I am satisfied with the level of performance I'm getting from this new MM cartridge from Ortofon.
In conclusion I'd have to say I'd be willing to suggest this phono pre from Jolida for the budget minded vinyl enthusiast. Its a good starting point for the move into vinyl if an onboard phono section isn't offered in the preamp that is currently in the mix. As a matter of fact I would also suggest the use of this phono pre even if the current preamp in the mix does have an onboard phono section just for the sake of being able to adjust to the listener's needs and likes.
This is simply my .02 cents worth regarding this Jolida JD9 Phono Preamp. And please excuse any typo's made within this writing.
(Edit) FYI: I really enjoyed trying out this phono pre. I find it fun to experience new and different pieces of equipment. I hope this may shed some light on any users that own this piece of equipment and have found the issues and solutions I found and corrections that I made helpful.
Testing Rig:
Preamp - Conrad Johnson PV12L
Amp - Ayre V5xe
Speakers - Dynaudio Audience 72
Turntable - VPI Aries 3 w/ Ortofon 2M Black MM
12ax7 Tubes - Stock Chinese, Telefunken, Mullard, RCA & JJ Gold pins.
Various Cables
Lp's:
Kieko Matsui - A Drop Of Water
Hiroshima - Odori
Patricia Barber - Cafe Blue
Dave Koz - Best Of Dave Koz
John Coletrane - A Love Supreme
Lisa Stansfield - Affection
Chuck Mangione - Feels So Good
Earl Klugh - Magic In Your Eyes
Out of the box:
I opened the box to find it very well packaged. Everything included as advertised and a clean looking piece that matched well with other components in my rack. I took an hour or so to read over the instructions before connecting it up to my system to be used. The instructions aren't very long and detailed but I like to read twice to see if I missed anything the first time around. I set the DIP switches to match the load capasitance and resistance as well as the gain. This was easy to do with the cover off the rear to access the DIP switches using the corner of the cover as a tool to move the position of the switches. My fingers were a little too large to make the adjustments easily.
Initial Settings:
47 kOhm
150 pf
MM Gain
High Output connection to the CJ Preamp.
I won't go into how each LP sounded or how a particular recording from the LP sounded. Rather I'm going to go into how the Jolida perfromed overall and what adjustments I made during the test. I'm sure many of you own, have owned or have sampled some of these LP's. This is in the range of MY music tastes and I opted not to bring in other genres at this time.
From the first time I dropped the stylus on the vinyl and slowly turned the volume up I noticed that the gain was far too high. I barely moved the volume knob to 9 O'clock with a starting position of off at 7 O'clock and the level of volume was far louder than a CD. A CD would have been clocked at approx 12 O'clock for this volume level. The sound was somewhat strained in my opinion due to what seemed like an input gain that was way too high. I managed to back off the volume to approx 8:30 and it got better. I listened to each LP sampling several songs from both sides I liked best. I opted to leave the stock tubes in place for the first round of tests and settings.
Next I turned off all gain by switching the MM setting to off and left all gain switches to the off position. This was still too much gain in my opinion. I am still plugged into the high output of the Jolida to the CJ preamp. I moved the DIP switch to 220 pf and listened again to the selected recordings. The sound both seemed to settle down a little while opening up the soundstage. I know this sounds a little contradictory so I'll say it this way. The noise floor lessened and the recording seemed to be a little more airy. If that makes any sence at all.
Second Setting:
47 kOhm
150 pf
MM Gain
Low Output connection to the CJ Preamp
With these settings the gain was too low in my opinion. I was turning the volume to 12 O'clock to get the level of volume most CD's would be at approx 9 O'clock. However, the recordings sounded much better. Bass was improved on all recordings as well as the overall soundstage. The highs were calmer and not as bright. But the volume level for the position of the volume knob was way too low. If I wanted to really get a good responce from the sound and do a little enjoyable jamming the volume knob was set at approx 2 O'clock. I set the DIP switch to 220pf again and things got only marginal better. The difference was almost unnoticed. Had I not known I made the changes in the DIP I would most likely not noticed a difference at all. This was only a mind trick on my part.
Third Settings:
47 kOhm
220 pf
MC Gain setting
Low Output connection to CJ Preamp
I found it! This seems to be the best setting for this combination of settings. The volume reacts as most any other source would if used with this combination of equipment. The sound is wonderful through the full range of selected recordings. The noise floor is lowered. The soundstage is opened up and there is an airy feeling to the music. I can now hear subtle characteristics of the recordings I was missing. And I knew they should be there due to the fact that my other phono preamps have shown me this in the past. The slight increase in the gain by using the MC High instead of the MM has brought everything into focus. I am now truely enjoying this piece of gear and the music it is delivering. The manual does suggest using the cartridge manufacturer's recommened settings as a baseline and adjustments to the gain, resistance and capsitance loading settings be adjusted to the best possible performance. It only takes a little time and patience to achieve this.
Next I started rolling a few tubes around to see what differences It would make. Since we all have a different ear for the sound we like I suggest that the user decide for himself/herself which is best for them. I opted for the Telefunken 12ax7's for myself. There was a difference between the stock Chinese supplied tubes. However, as I was finding MY best listening performance from the Jolida the stock tubes remained in the mix. After I found what sounded the best through several different settings I then went on to as we might say "fine tune" the quality of the recordings.
Next I will be moving on to both Low Output MC & High Output MC cartridges for a listening comparison. As I stated before I decided to use a MM cartidge since many listeners use this type. But for the time being I am satisfied with the level of performance I'm getting from this new MM cartridge from Ortofon.
In conclusion I'd have to say I'd be willing to suggest this phono pre from Jolida for the budget minded vinyl enthusiast. Its a good starting point for the move into vinyl if an onboard phono section isn't offered in the preamp that is currently in the mix. As a matter of fact I would also suggest the use of this phono pre even if the current preamp in the mix does have an onboard phono section just for the sake of being able to adjust to the listener's needs and likes.
This is simply my .02 cents worth regarding this Jolida JD9 Phono Preamp. And please excuse any typo's made within this writing.
(Edit) FYI: I really enjoyed trying out this phono pre. I find it fun to experience new and different pieces of equipment. I hope this may shed some light on any users that own this piece of equipment and have found the issues and solutions I found and corrections that I made helpful.
Testing
Testing
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Testing
Post edited by Unknown User on
Comments
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I own the Jolida Envoy preamp,which has your phono pre built in .I'll try your settings also to see what sounds best in my rig.So you used the mc setting with a mm cartridge? My Jolida has a mm ,mc low ,mc high.Is yours the same?
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Since the Envoy has the phono stage built into the preamp it may not use the same settings as another preamp made by a different manufaturer. But try different settings anyway.Testing
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187CAM,
How does the Jolida compare to the Rogue Stealth, PS Audio GCPH, Bel Canto Phono 3 and Ayre P5xe?
TIA -
I don't think the jolida can touch the Ayre P5xe, Bel Canto or the Rogue Stealth. ( My Stealth has the Magnum upgrades @ approx $250.00 extra) The PS Audio is the only phono pre that is close to the Jolida IMO. But, there is a HUGE differnce in price between the Ayre, Bel Canto and the Jolida. The Stealth has been upgraded and that puts the retail around $1k. For the money I don't see where you could go wrong with the Jolida.Testing
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