Anyone have honest opinion of Jolida amps?

While in college, I had a sytem composed of a 302A, Marantz cd67SE, and Dunlavy speakers. I honestly have to say that this setup sounded surprisingly good for the money. I never once had any problems with my amp and really noticed a difference in sound (huge difference) when I switched from stock tubes to Svetlana EL-34s.

The jolida is garbage. If you just want tubes at least get a dyna st-70 with an upgrade kit, check the older threads. I'd like to know the distortion levels across the entire audio band on the thing and its power output at 30hz and 20khz (if it can even get that high), just for starters. Wonder what the slew rate is like, and I bet the damping factor (while certainly not one of the most important parameters of an amp) is probably worse than the average receiver 5 years ago. And while you can start throwing better tubes on there and power cords (the latter do nothing), that's just more money down the drain that you could have just invested in a better amp from the start.

To Ezmeralda: OK so for Dakajiba with a budget of around $500 he could get a used Jolida 302 with upgraded tubes, an NAD or a ST-70/PAS combo. Any other specific recommendations?

I thought the original question was whether the Jolida was a viable intro to tube amplification. You obviously like solid state. Goody for you. So do I. But that's why I have three systems, two SS, one Jolida based tube.

Your comparison of Sealelectronic DIY kits and Jolida is comparing apple sauce to orange juice. It simply is not a valid (or logical) comparison.

Dakajoba, a Jolida is a great way to get introduced to tubes. You may like em, you may not. I have nothing at all against a Dynaco ST-70, but an updated version and tube preamp is going to set you back at least as far as a Jolida without any substantial advantage (and no warranty).

Dakajoba,

I've owned two Jolida amps, the 1501RC hybrid integrated and the 302A tube integrated (exactly the same as the 302B except for cosmetics). I recently posted my system on AudiogoN, and was surprised to get some grief about my using a Jolida amp.

Based on my experience (and perhaps I have just been really fortunate here), I think the 1501RC and the 302A are OUTSTANDING values. I read all the concerns about build quality, etc. To be honest, however, I have been nothing but impressed with the quality and reliability of both of these amps. They were both purchased used, but I have had no problems with them, and they both sounded far better than many of the big name solid state integrated's that I looked at (including Arcam, Creek, NAD).

You can get fantastic deals on the used market for Jolida amps. For < $500, I really don't think there is any other viable means of entering the world of tubes.

Again, I just might be really lucky, but I have been very pleased with my Jolida amps. Regardless of what brand is stamped on it, these amps simply sound fantastic for the price, and THAT is what all of us are after. Even if there are some dealer reviews on audioreview, there are also a lot of regular Joe's like me that have posted some great reviews. Also, if you do a search at ecoustics.com, you will find that many magazines and "pro reviewers" have had some very good things to say about Jolida products.

FYI - My 302A has Svetlana EL34's, NOS 5-star GE 6201's, NOS GE JAN 5751's, and a Virtual Dynamics power cord. Even with all of these upgrades, total cost was less than $500.