Jolida JD 502B Integrated Amplifier Integrated Amplifiers
Jolida JD 502B Integrated Amplifier Integrated Amplifiers
[May 23, 2002]
sdeuskar
AudioPhile
Strength:
Warm, detailed, accurate and most importantly you are there kind of sound quality.
Weakness:
none I have owned number of amps (integrated ans well as separates) in the past and every amp had its own strenghts and flaws. But clearly this is the best amp I have ever owned for music and the proof is I am no more thinking of amplifier upgrage anymore. Currently using it with Dynaudio 62's and thinking of upgrading to 72's . Similar Products Used: Acurus, NAD, Rotel, HK, Marantz, Jolida 1501, Nakamichi. |
[Mar 29, 2002]
demanfos
AudioPhile
Strength:
THR REALISTIC REPRODUCTION OF HIGHS MIDS AND LOWS. PLUS THE SPEAKERS THAT I MADE THE AMP HAS INCREDIBLE LOWEND TIGHT BASS, I CALL IT EARTHQUAKE BASS
Weakness:
I HAVEN''T FOUND ANY YET IN FEBUARY 95 I WAS ABOUT TO ASSEMBLE A WILLIAMSON TUBE AMP. SO I WENT TO UNIVERSITY AUDIO TO SEE WHAT KIND OF PREAMPS THEY MIGHT SO THAT WHEN I WAS SUDDENLY CAPTIVATED BY THE JOLIDA 502 WHEN I STEP INTO THE STORE. THEY WERE DEMONTRATING IT FOR ANOTHER COSTUMER WHEN I WAS STUN BY ITS MUSCIAL SOUND. IT WAS''NT HOOKED UP TO THE BEST SPEAKERS AND IT STILL SOUNDED AWSOME. I IMMEDIATLY PURCHASE IT. DIDN''T NEED TO MAKE THE WILLIAMS TUBE AMP, WHEN I GOT THIS BABY. THE JOLIDA IS A AWSOME AMP, THATS TO ME BY ANY STANDARD. I CHANGE TO INPUT TUBES IN IT 12AX7 TELEFUNKEN,INCREDIBLE SOUND CHANGE, DETAIL, RESOLUTION, AND SOUND STAGE INCREASE SUBSTANTIALY. I HAVE COMPARE IT WITH GOLDEN TUBE, CONRAD JOHNSON, MACKINTOSH,15,000 DOLLAR AMP I''M STILL MORE PLEASED WITH THE JOLIDA 502 BY FAR. I USE A MARANZT CD63 CD PLAYER. I RAN A DOUBLE PAIR OF INTERCONNECTS,ONE OF THEM ARE AUDIOQUEST QUARZTS AND THE OTHER IS A PAIR OF SILVER BULLETS I HAD MADE UP AT UNIVERSITY AUDIO, ALSO I USE A DOUBLE PAIR OF SPEAKER CABLE RUNNING PARALLEL, ONE IS AUDIOQUEST MIDNIGHTS 10FT PAIR COST$5OO.OO PLUS SOME AUDIO MAGIC SPEAKER CABLE$100.OO 10FT PAIR. I ENDED UP WITH 3D HOLIOGRAPHIC IMAGING, AWSOME. I HAVE HAD MY JOLIDA FOR THE PAST 7 YEARS NOW AND I WOULD GIVE IT UP FOR NOTHING. FOR AS I''M CONCERN BEST LOW PRICE TUBE AMP ON EARTH. IT HAS BLOWN AWAY JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING, TUBE AND SOLID STATE AMPS I''VE HEARD, AND I HAVE HEARD SOME OF THE BEST, AND I CONTINUE TO BE AMAZED AT HOW WELL THE JOLIDA STANDSUP TO THESE AMP THAT COST FOR MORE. Similar Products Used: SONY STRD 1015 |
[Feb 21, 2000]
Jimmy T
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
Great value, smooth effortless tube sound, not harsh, good detail
Weakness:
60 watts per channel is marginal if you play it REAL LOUD - I don't If you are put off by that harsh transistor sound then this is the amp for you! The sound is smooth and effortless - It's integrated so the preamp is built in. I use mine with a Nakamichi MB1 Cd player and B&W P5 speakers. These speakers are pretty efficient anyways so 60 watts is plenty of power. I listen to a lot of classical music and I love the way the Jolida gives a natural sound to instruments - especially the top end (cymbals, percussion).If I were to list a "fault" - It might be that the ultimate "bass slam" doesn't have as much smack as other 60 - 100 watt amps. I have a Onkyo DSC777 surround sound receiver that I use for my home theater but my CD's are noticeably harder sounding and less detailed on the Onkyo as opposed to the Jolida. When I want to listen critically the Onkyo stays shut down and the Jolida comes on. Yeah - you can pay many thousands more for higher end tube stuff. They will have marginally better sound. But at $900 - $1000 street price, the Jolida 502B offers a great value for those of us whose wallets are a little slimmer. Similar Products Used: Rotel 970 power amp, Onkyo DSC777 receiver |
[Dec 30, 1999]
L Pizzi
Audio Enthusiast
The Jolida 502B Was a revelation to me. I was looking at similarily priced solid state products, then I heard the Jolida. I still can't put it into words, the sound I hear from it is a world away from solid state products. I'm not sure why or how, but its better. I can hear and feel it. |
[Jul 09, 2000]
Bob Roles
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
Lots of reserve power for a tube amplifier great sound good looking tube amplifier
Weakness:
questionable build quality, stock tubes installed I was hesitant in purchasing this amp becuase of the so called snob appeal, but now that I did I am very happy with it. It blows away the Golden Tube audio amp, easy to bias. Similar Products Used: Sonic Fronter Integrated Amp 2; Golden Tube 50 watt integrated amplifier |
[Dec 19, 2001]
Ronald
Audiophile
Strength:
Excellent Midrange, Surprising Bass, Excellent Highs Worth every Penny i paid for it. Amp is as good as a $2000 amp Tube Amps are awsome,
Weakness:
No remote,tapedeck output This is some amp. Let me warn you about something. If you dont understand tubes,stick to solid state. Tubes are for real audiophiles. The Music if you have the right cable and interconnects plus Good Speakers will Blow your mind.Women voices will bewitch you, Women like Billi Holiday Ella and many more sound simply awsome. Jazz from the 50's and 60's Like Miles Davis,Cannonball Adderley come to you like they are in the same room with you playing.This amp also bring out the best in the new CD format SACD. Wow, One last thing Jolida is a winner.Buy the JOLIDA JD 502B you will love it. Similar Products Used: Conrad Johnson, creek and Cary. |
[Apr 04, 1998]
Kimball Corson
an Audiophile
I had a chance to audition these from a local dealer, in a second system I am setting up in a back bedroom left vacate by a son growing up. I was shocked. I have been listening to Mark Levinson 20.6s into a large custom speaker system with serious low end capability (VMPS tower subwoofers crossed over at 25 HZ at 12db/oct with 12 guage coils) with various versions of the CAT Signature preamp and an array of DACs and tables (both vinyl and CD). I ran the 502B into a pair of Essence Super Gems, a two way transmission line design, (using 8 ohm tap) I picked up for a song, a CAL Alpha, a Linn Karik table and was delightfully surprised at the bang per buck and overall quality of the Jolida. It has a very good mid range, good dynamics, a noteworthy and tight bottom end, a polite top and is simply unbelievably good for the money. It uses 4 Svetlana 6550Cs and carefully culled chinese 12AX7s and 12AT7s. It and the CAL Alpha (with Mullard 12AX7s in the out put stage) are extremely cable sensitive, and I found the best wire combination with it (and a Jadis DA-60 as well) to be Audioquest Diamond interconnect and XLO type 5 speaker cable. The interconnect costs about as much as Jolida! This is on great little amp, but not in the league of the DA-60, but great nonetheless and worth much more than its cost or even, in some instances, more than twice its cost, depending on what it is being compared to. This is a "change of status quo" amp. A "break thru" product that changes things and makes high-end available to many more. It's a rack system killer, and a great introduction to what tubes can do.Highly recommended to those on a budget. Subjectively, a too conservative 3. As for value on a scale of 1 to 5, it is a 7.5. Because it is a break thru product and requires attention, I rate it a 5. For some dealers, it is going to be hard to sell some higher priced gear with this little puppy set up properly in their showrooms. |
[Sep 11, 1998]
Sam Lam
an Audiophile
Before I bought this amplifier, my reference system is the BEL 1001 andthe MFA Magus tube preamplifier. This unique combination produces sound |
[Apr 13, 2001]
ronald mitchell
Audiophile
Weakness:
no remote, this amp keeps making me more and more pleased that i brought it. when you roll tubes you manage to get more and more excellent sound. jolida 502 was also on recommended components class c list. that tells you this is a serious amp for the money. Execellent amp. Similar Products Used: denon,yamaha,creek |
[Jan 17, 2001]
Mark C.
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
Very musical, wonderful midrange, nice bass as tube amps go.
Weakness:
Build quality could be a bit better. It's not real fancy to look at. Stock tubes I bought this amp used after owning the 100 watt Jolida hybrid. I liked the hybrid but still felt there was some slight harshness that I wanted to eliminate in my system. I found this used Jolida and felt it was priced very well so I couldn't pass it up. When I first hooked it up I noticed a much smoother presentation than the hybrid. There was more detail, better soundstage, better imaging, in short it really did everything better, except bass and volume. The bass is pretty good though. I then began the process of tube rolling. I was able to improve on almost all aspects of the musical presentation by chaning the stock tubes. I ended up with Telefunken's in both the AT and AX position and have Svetlana KT 88's as the power tubes. I feel this combination provides the best sonics of any of the combinations I've used. While the imaging can be improved slightly by using 5751's in place of the 12AX7, it's hard to beat the smooth plate Tele's for being neutral and very smooth. I really enjoy listening to female vocals and acoustic music, especially acoustic guitar. It sounds very, very life like. I am still amazed at some of the details I hear in recordings even after owning this amp for close to a year. Similar Products Used: Jolida 1501, Marantz MA 500, Denon AVR-2700 |