Newer Jolida Products

They moved to Brookville, MD.

 

I have a 302A still going strong which was bought in '96, a minor miracle given that the plates turned a nice shade of blast furnace orange soon after the sales guy turned it on to demo; the shop selling it was/is a great place, but 2-channel audio was a very minor part of their business and they just didn't know what they were doing with tube gear (all tubes were biased way too hot at 105-131ma - manual specifies 40ma). The amp actually sounded great running hot like that, but like an athlete on steroids or trucker on crystal meth, there's gonna be a hard crash at some point if things aren't dialed-back just a bit!

It sounded pretty good with the abused stock tubes, and really opened up with Svetlana (later became SED) El34, Sovtek 12ax7WXT+, and Philips 12at7. I always halfway intended to do a few of the well-known mods to it, but was never really dissatisfied with the sound or bored enough with other projects to get motivated and it remains almost completely stock other than tubes. (Though I did swap out the red power LED for green to match the other gear I had at the time; maybe it's a sickness and I need an "intervention", but I just can't seem to leave anything well-enough alone!)

 

My Jolida 502 P has been playing wonderfully with my Magneplanars since 2013. Kind of interesting that I listen to the Jolida most of the time instead of my far more powerful Conrad Johnson amp. I guess that is the source of a couple of nuggets that finally made it into my thick skull - more $ not necessarily equal better sound and large amounts of power are not necessary for Magneplanars to sound really good.

 

You're absolute right. I found that my $900 Jolida 302B sounds much better with my $6000 Gemme Audio Tantos speakers, than with my $3000 Rega Elicit. I'm sure a lot of it has to do with having the right amp for the right speakers. The Elicit sounds great with my old Paradigm Studio speakers.

 

Does anybody have any of the more recent Jolida amps? I'm pretty satisfied with my 302B. I'm just curious as to how the newer ones sound.

 

I do. They have some more features and slightly refined circuits. Essentially the same, classic sound. I am closing out a few of these items now. The integrated amps and preamps have remote volume control, and more inputs, as far as feature set goes. Build is at least as good and probably fixed a few earlier bugs here and there as well. Since Jolida has changed hands and designs, etc, I think I'll follow Clint Eastwoods advice there though, as I am not feeling so lucky the second time.
-Bill

 

Jolida’s FX and FX Glass series seemed to be strong sellers so the switch to a new name with no brand recognition is puzzling. Plus, it’s kind of an odd name—the only time I have heard the term “black ice” is in personal injury litigation, and in that context it is not a good thing.

 

Actually, I believe the Chinese Jolida had to change its logo (removing the graphic but still keeping the font and stylized “J”), while Jolida USA can use the logo and the font and stylized “J.” The Chinese Jolida was also introduced a stylized “i” that is not part of the US logo.

 

I've had a Jolida 3205s integrated for 3+ years. No problems with it at all and it sounds terrific. I upgraded the tubes to KT150s and Gold Lions which took it to another dimension.
The low feedback design makes for very lifelike sound. And it has balanced inputs--try finding that in another tube amp under 2K. It's driving a pair of Focal 1028s and the source is a Marantz SA10. I couldn't be happier with the sound.

 

I love my 3502S too. I replaced the stock pre-amp tubes with two Mullards for the 12AT7 position and rolling between some early Telefunkens and '59 GE5751 in the 12AX7. The early GEs are so lush and warm, the Telefunkens are precise and wide soundstage. Just amazing. Mike talked me out of trying KT120s, wonder what he'd say about KT150s. I just ordered a Black Ice DAC and will try the GEs in that as I understand the stock Tung Sols are very neutral

 

Definitely now Black Ice Audio. Several new items designed by Jim Fosgate.

 

They were set up at Capital Audio Fest. My wife commented that the CEO seemed like an arrogant snob - I agreed.

 

Didn’t check out that room, but lordy that logo might be the worst I’ve ever seen

 

I'll tell you who was really awesome, Mike from Arion Audio. He spent a lot of time with us and his speakers were absolutely amazing sounding. One of the highlights of the show.