Revealing, soundstage depth and width w/ the right tubes!, dynamics, bass depth and tautness, IMAGING.

Cosmetics, NO REMOTE!

Best integrated amp for less than $5,000- PERIOD! I've heard just about everything out there. Dont get caught in the AUDIO MADNESS trap. Every audio dealer knocks the Jolida line because they cant make enough money off of these units or they dont carry them because there is not enough profit to be made. The Jolida 502b mated with the right tubes is hard to beat. It doesnt better $10,000 separates but it'll get you 90% of the way there. It offers good separation, extended highs, sweet mids and a bottom end to rival most much costlier solid state units. If you mate this unit with reasonably efficient speakers and a KICK ASS digital front end you be pleased for many years to come. The soundstage depth is particularly deep(WITH THE RIGHT TUBES). Imaging is also quite good.
I purchased this unit with a little hesitation because I've always heard of the pitfalls associated with tube gear. NOT SO! This is a very simple unit to use. Plug tubes in respective pots, bias power tubes and GO. Let me not forget that a good power cord from Silver Audio will do wonders for bass management and depth. You really dont have to spend a fortune to get the MUSIC right. Bill Baker at Response Audio helped me realize this. He is an authorized Jolida dealer and a great guy. He spent a considerable amount of time helping me with tube rolling and other recommendations that have proved to be invaluable. He works off of the premise that you dont have to take a second mortgage out on your house to get a great sounding AUDIOPHILE QUALITY system. Check out his web site @ RESPONSEAUDIO.com. If your in the market for an integrated amp with descent power this is the one.

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Same as below

None

This is an addendum to the review below. I would not be posting twice, however, I just completed some modifications on my unit and I really feel the need to share. As per my last review I may have been a little over zealous in stating that it is the best integrated for under $5,000. Although I do feel it is an amazing value at $1,100. Onward. I hoped that due to the Jolida's exceptional price to performance ratio that it would be worth it to see if I could truely make it compete with $5,000 integrateds or separates for that matter. With that in mind I did some research into doing some modifications. Upon opening the unit I noticed that the coupling caps are of the cheapest variety known to man, the resistors in the signal path were carbon film (cheap cheap), and the internal wiring was 24 gauge stranded garbage (I think it was tin), and lastly the diodes in the power supply needed to be changed to fast recovery diodes. So with this in mind I bought new caps, diodes, resistors and internal wiring and sent the unit to someone who has a very good reputation for working on tube gear. I got the unit back a week later. Rebiased my tubes and started to listen. At first the sound was a little thin and brittle. I knew the unit was going to need at least 50 hrs of burn in (it was more like 100 hrs). Well, after about 50 - 60 hours of straight burn I sat for another listen. WOW!!!! Imaging, soundstage depth, bass slam and articulation, smooth and extended upper frquency response, everything was dramatically improved without disturbing the units tonal balance. I could go on and on but suffice it to say that I now truely do believe that this unit easily compares to units that are three times the price. I did a side by side comparison with a Conrad Johnson Premiere 11 70 watt 6550 based amp that cost $3,800 and a Conrad Johnson pre that cost $2,000 (model escapes me, I think it was the pv 14). The people that witnessed the comparison were astonished. The Jolida was everthing that the Conrad separates were except for two things. First, the Jolida was more revealing without any upper frequency glare. Second, the noise floor was dead quiet in comparison to the Conrad gear. Talk about a black backround. Lets also not forget about hte PRICE difference of about $4,000. Forget thee variables about different tubes, power chords, isolation devices and so on. The comparison was done with the same power chords, similiar tubes (both units used Svetlana 6550's), and both placed on same equipment rack. FAIR COMPARISON! Also, the same digital front end was used with Silver Audio Hyacinth interconnects. Thee Jolida was the clear winner. Of the four people there, everyone felt that the Jolida was more as smooth as the Conrad with better overall dynamics and equally good tonal balance. Also, lets not forget the noise floor! David and Goliath? You tell me. Anyone interested in the exact modification can contact me through this site. Oh, all modifications are done at your own risk. The guy that I used for the mods guarantees his workmanship. That is helpful should something go wrong. Enjoy!

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Same as below

I also have a Jolida 502B, and I found that the Linn Keilidh speakers worked wonderfully well with the Jolida. I compared it with JMlabs, Dynnaudio, and ProAc Speakers. None of these combinations produced bad sound but the Linn+Jolida was magical. My goal when at the dealer was to have goose bumps while listening to Beethoven's 9th (by Karajan). I got the Linn Keilidh.
I've also tried the "tube hat dampers" on the small tubes, and found that they do improve overall resolution and sweetness. Also, replacing the stock AC cord with Synergistic Research AC Master Coupler will open and better define the sound stage (at least for the 110V version).

I think the Jolida 502B is the best integrated tube amp for the money!!!

superb soundstage depth, smooth mid and highs, good dynamic,
excellent, detailed presentation, sweet and precision at the same time

no remote, in Europe it costs almost as twice as much in US(why?)

During my test at dealer's place we tried three pairs of different types Aerial's speakers. Jolida worked fine with all of them. Taking the amp home I was wondering if it will be so good with my Castle Harlech. They are only 86 dB. But it works excellent. In all aspects of listening I made a huge progress to my Kenwood amp I used before. I knew that it will be the difference but now there is a quite new quality for me.

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first mine tube amp.

After purchasing a new pair of Snell K3's, I went looking for the best tube-amplifier pre-amp combo under 1k. I auditioned several different manufactures from Audio Research to Cary to GoldenTube and was very unimpressed with the sound from these $2000+ amplifiers and monoblocks. I then ran across the JoLida502A at a dealer west of Chicago called SimplyStereo. I took this little black beauty home and connected it to my RegaPlanet CD player and SnellK3 speakers with AudioQuestTOPAZ interconnects and AudioQuestType6 Bi-Wire speaker cable and turned it on. I let the tubes warm up for about 30 minutes and biased them before the audition began. When I hit the play button I was pleasantly supprised. The sound-stage was open and full. Sharp mids and highs with tight lows. I listed to the bulk of my CD collection before heading back to simply stereo and purchasing this Amp-Pre combo for about $800 dollars as it was 1 behind the current 502 line. To be fair it looks like the Chinese 6550 tubes had been replaced with better quality Svetlana 6550 tubes.
The only complaint I have is the lack of DEEP base from the unit. A high-quality sub from BagEnd or Sunfire should do the trick there though I think.

For $2200 dollars worth of Speakers, Amp/PreAmp, RegaPlanet CD and interconnects/speakerwire I must say I have the best value/sound for my audio dollar. I will probably purchase a X-Tone tone control for the tape loop and see how that affects the total system but besides that, I give the JoLida502A 5 stars hands down the best value/sound I've heard.

-Chris/

I had submitted a review of the Jolida SJ302A back in October of 1997. I ended up purchasing the Jolida SJ502A. I still stand by my original review of the 302; it is a wonderful product and an excellent value. But I would like to talk a little more about the 502.
The main reason I purchased the 502 was for the increase in power. Only 10 watts of difference you say...on paper perhaps, but the 6550s outpower the EL34s by a wide margin. I own a pair of DCM Time Windows (18 years old - please don't laugh) which are relatively inefficient speakers (87db/watt/meter). The 302 sounded great with the DCMs at lower levels, but strained a bit at higher volumes. With the 502, I never need to turn the volume knob past 10 O'clock. The 502 easily outpowers my old 100 watt Yamaha solid state amp, and of course, sounds 1000 times better. Just goes to show, not all watts are created equal!

The sonic differences between the 302 and the 502 are minimal. I think the 302 is actually sweeter in the mids. Very possibly the difference between the EL34s vs. the 6550s. But the 502 has the edge in dynamic range. With more efficient speakers, the 302 would have been my choice, but I have NO regrets.

For the budget oriented audiophile, these amps are tough to beat. It's seems funny to me that so many high end solid state amps are often described as having that tube-like sense of openess and realism. The problem is that these solid staters approaching these tube like characteristics are VERY expensive. Budget oriented solid state has that mos-fet, misty veil that robs the music of its life. Enough about the virtue of tubes vs. solid state.

As I have said, this is a great amp for the money. Better sound can be had, but it comes at a much higher price. My wife and I have spent a lot of time with the SJ502A and really love it. My only complaint is that this amp, like many other tube amps, lacks deep, controlled bass. This tube amp, however, does have better bass than many other tube amps, which I applaud. I recently heard a highly touted Anthem amp, which ahd practically no bass...though I must admit, the highs and mids were really good.

I have found some tweeks by which this amp will benefit. First, as many have mentioned, a change of tubes will improve the sound. I recently replaced the stick Chinese tubes with Svetlanas. Quieter, with improved clarity. Promotes a blacker background and gives better detail, especially in the lower mids. The second is quality isolation. Most people probably already have a solid stand, which is very important, but you can improve the sound even further with isolation cones. I use the Black Diamond Racing Cones, about $60. These further tighten focus, especially in the bass area, plus it increases the depth of the sound stage. $60 is a lot for the cones, but the sound improvement is worth hundreds. AC power conditioning is another area where the sound can be improved, but be VERY careful here. Not many line conditioners can improve the amp's sound, and it is a very expensive tweek. But if you find the right one, it can be magic. There are power cords that can be purchased that will improve the sound tremendously...more than a tube upgrade and for about the same price. Plugging directly into a dedicated outlet is a huge improvement over a cheap power strip. LIGHTLY coating the end of your existing power cord with a light penetrating oil can reduce AC line hash, and clarify the sound even further. So for those of you who like the sound of you amp now, these tweeks can make it sound even better.

just good clean sound with great sound stage and good base control for the money

need to replace the tubes

I'm posting this because there is so much potential for this amp. I picked it up as a stand in during an upgrade frenzy and still have it one year later. I use it to drive my Martin Logan SL3's and it dose a very good job.But you have to try beter tube i'm curently using Syetlana 6550c with great results ,also get rid of the driver tube. but i have to say the best thing i did was to put a beter volume pot in wow sound stage is very large and much cleaner with great base for a measly 60w. If you have one this is a cheap and easy mod and well worth the expence (I used a parts connetion pot cost me $150 canadian total and you sould bypass the balance pot if you don't need it).I have about 900us invested and will keep this one even if i upgrade to a much more expensive sep amp pre-amp combo.

well if you have a pre amp try bypasing the control setion all to gether very easy and well you will gust be shocked how much beter it is again

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Realistic, neutral, terrific sounding; Well built tube unit.

I wish Jolida made a pure power amp, as I don't need balance and volume knobs.

Excellent with even the stock tubes! Flawless operation! Can be terribly good with "nude" CD's and DVD's such as ones from Mapleshades and DTS Big Band Potpouri, etc.

Equipment:
Denon AVR-5700 as AV controller and surround amp
Pioneer DV-525
Camelot Drogon 5.1
Illuminati digital links
Mapleshades Ultra-thin interconnects
Jolida JD502B for fronts
Assemblage ST-40 for center and HSU subwoofer
PS Audio PS300 with multive wave
Chang lightspeed 640
Monster HTS-2000
Sony 43" RPTV calibrated with Video Essential and AVIA
Bettercables' component video cable (Ultra)
DH Labs Silversonic spkr cables for all channels.

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I bought one of these amps about a year ago. It was my first tube amp, and I'm pretty sure I'll never own another solid state amp again. Mine has Russian made (Ruby) 6550 tubes. I don't find the bass to be mushy at all. I think it does sound tighter at the bottom end than the EL 34 tubes used in Jolida's 302A amp. Vocals and strings sound wonderful. Listen to Keb Mo on this amp, and you'll fall in love with it. Female vocals sound pretty nice with this amp too. I read a review on the 302A amp, where the reviewer thought that Margo Timmins' voice sounded a bit honky. She sounds wonderful on the 502A, far better than my old H/K could ever sound. At this price, I am sold on tubes. I have found this amp to be very natural sounding, and there's nothing spectacular about my other components (Yamaha CDX450 CD player, and Mission/Cyrus 780's). I do need to upgrade the speakers to something with a bit more bass, but the amp will probably be with me for a long while. Imaging could probably improve with a tube upgrade, but I'll probably put the 3000 hours on the stock tubes, and use 'em up first. They still beat transistors, in my opinion. The 502A is not going to win any beauty contest, though. The knobs are sorta' cheap, and the finish is so-so. One of my tubes doesn't even stand quite straight. But I could care less. Turn off the lights, watch those tubes glow, and enjoy the sound. This amp is worth every penny, and then some. At the $800.00 I paid, I would rate this a 5.

excellent midrange excellent soundstagetop shelf bass for tubes. for the money excellent amp

to few to mention.or better yet not important.

I have a jolida 502b integrated amp what bugs me is the fact that i dont have the best speakers on the market. But this amp sounds awsome, my speakers are cambride soundworks tower II speakers and i have always wondered,how great will this amp sound if i had some very good speakers like NHT 2.5, vandersteen or some cabasse fregate wow! in the near future i will really find out. Excellent Amp.

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