Anyone hear of Jolida? (1 Viewer)

[David Judah]

One of the local high-end shops in my area is closing out a Jolida JD 603A CD player. From what I understand it is based on a Philips player and has a tube output stage.

It sounded very good hooked up to a tube pre-amp and amp, but since it was not hooked up to my equipment with music material I am familiar with, I didn't have as much of a frame of reference as I would like.

Does anyone have any experience with this company or player?

Thanks,

DJ

 

[KeithH]

David, Jolida is a reasonably well known company in the audiophile world. I have no first-hand experience with any of their products, but I'm sure if you do a search for the JD-603A CD player on the Digital Drive board on www.audioasylum.com , you will find some information that could help you. One thing I can tell you is that this player was known at one time for skipping. There was some sort of fairly widespread factory defect with this player, but I believe Jolida has corrected the problem. Just be sure you can test the unit for an extended period of time and that the dealer has a good return policy before buying.

 

[David Judah]

Thanks, Keith for the info. I did a little digging, and it looks like they have a new player out that has a much nicer looking case, a sturdier transport, and better DACs. I think I'll wait until my dealer gets one of the new ones in and give it a go.
I want to try something with tubes, and I think a CD player would be a good place to start. Knowing me though, if I like the sound, I'll probably go overboard and two months later come home with a tube pre-amp, then an amp, which will result in my wife filing for divorce shortly thereafter(I'm supposed to be grounded from buying any new gear until 2003).
With all of your CD players, Keith, I'm suprised you don't have any with tube outputs. Or do you? I've seen your posts about your Sony ES players, but don't remember you mentioning any others.
I have a bad feeling this is going to start me down a path that is going to cost me alot of money.
DJ

 

[KeithH]

David, actually, I have the Ah! Njoe Tjoeb 4000, which is a Marantz CD4000 single-disc player retrofitted with a tube analog output stage and some other internal modifications (e.g., better capacitors). I bought it for $579 through www.upscaleaudio.com . The Ah! is a great player for the money. About four months after buying it last year, I replaced the stock tubes with Siemens 7308s, which improved the sound dramatically. Like you, I wanted to try something with tubes, and I thought tube rolling (changing tubes and observing the differences in sound quality) would be fun. So, the Ah! player fit the bill. If you go to www.audioreview.com , you will see that the Ah! player is very well regarded. You will also find a lot of information about the Ah! player on Audio Asylum. By the way, Upscale Audio is the lone US distributor of the Ah! player, but they are great to deal with.
In addition to the Ah! and Jolida player, you might also consider the Heart CD5000 and CD6000 through Link Removed . They are modified Marantz CD5000 and CD6000 single-disc players, respectively, so they are based on better stock players than the Ah!. I am intrigued by the Heart CD6000, but it is $850 and I already have the Ah!, which I am happy with. Finally nOrh makes a tube player known as the CD-1, which I've read good things about on Audio Asylum.
I am intrigued by the new Jolida player, so I will have to do some reading. Thanks for the tip.
Finally, a word about tubes. I have read that if you have a tube pre-amp and power amp (integrated amp, etc.), then a tube CD player is not necessary. With amps, tubes tend to give a smoother sound than solid-state, and the tube output stage of the CD player may not be necessary. Just something I have read. I will be hooking some vintage Marantz tube gear soon in my main stereo system (7 pre-amp and 8B power amp), and I will try them with the Ah! player, among others.