Jolida 502b, Manley Stingray & VTL- I85 compare ?

Excuse me for adding to your list, but I am using an Audio Aero Prima Hybrid amp with the Prima CDP, and if you want that tube warmth with a tight, punchy bass, I've yet to find a better combination. For rock, classic rock, and blues, you would be hard pressed to beat it.

I should also say that I've owned the 502B, and have heard the Stingray extensively. Neither have bass that approaches the Prima Hybrid. Not even the CJ 140 had as much bass as the Prima. This is one amazing amplifier!

Thanks, Jdrox for the correction. The Jolida 302B can be upgraded to a 502 in
the same way, so that it can use only KT88 tubes. I am not sure though about
Verastarr's conversion, I thought that one works for both EL34 and KT88 by
choosig some intermediate value of the bias resistors. The Verastarr 302b/
502b might be worth checking out.

Boa2, since I have seen your recommendation for the Aero Prima before: How
does the prima compare to the Unison Unico for example? The Aero Prima
CDP and hybrid amp do look very interesting. I have seen your posts on the
CDP, would you mind eloborating on the sound of the hybrid?

Rene

Rene,

I've heard the Unico at length, both at a (nearly) local dealer, as well as at a friend's house. He had replaced the stock tube with a Telefunken, while the dealer was playing the amp completely stock. I was also listening with my wife on all occasions, and we had a similar opinion of the Unico.

Some of the characteristics of the Unico that we noticed:
Excellent clarity. Good detail as well. We both liked it better than the Pathos Classic One, though neither of us was enamored with the Unico for several reasons. We never felt close to the music. It was colored just enough, even ashy sounding at the dealer, to keep us analyzing the music as opposed to being enveloped by it. In fact, we both loved the engaging quality of the Jolida amps much more. The Jolida's simply lacked--for our purpose--a tight and punchy bottom end.

We heard the Prima hybrid for ten seconds, and we were sold. "That's it!" we both said. It has the best instrument separation I've heard, and everything just sounds like it's in the right place. Superb dynamics, a real depth to the sound. Upgrading the PC helped as well. It is warm AND detailed, with tremendous bass presence. I can listen to it for hours, and many times will opt to play the softer music on it (as opposed to our SET system) just for a change of pace. We played around with the tube, and found we like the Siemens best.

When mated with the Prima CDP, it was as though both components were allowed to really shine. We use the hybrid amp primarily for more bass-oriented music, and you would not believe the musicality that emerges even from music that had always sounded harsh to me: My Bloody Valentine, for example. The amp sounds like the Jolida, with more authority and definition in the top end and midrange, and a MUCH bigger impact in the bottom end. I think I've said this in previous posts, but the amp is perfect, as though a masterful conductor is presiding over the music.

Sorry to be so wordy. I'm not the best editor.

All the best,
Howard