Integrated Tube Around $1000

Oooh my goodness take a listen to a Jolida 707A if you can swing it!!When they pop up used they will be under $1000.I have two of them and LOVE them.I am a previous owner of a modded 202A(parts connection).
I HIGHLY recommend this amp(707A and even the 202A) as an entry level.The stock NP3P Jolida tubes are actually very good on this amp where the stock EL34's on the 202A were not very good at all.
I have very high efficiency(103db) horn speakers and am awaiting a pair of Wright WPA 3.5's.I will be selling one of my 707's probably if the Wrights move me the way i suspect they might.That being said,it will not be an easy parting.
Check them out if you can!!The amp tries to simulate SET amps(producing 40wpc however) and since i have never heard one i can only speculate.With my horn set up it is head and shoulders above the modded 202A which sounded good too.The mids are so much more lush with the 707A's and it was an immediate acknowledgement with both of these amps.My speakers appreciated the added mids that the 707A imparted but perhaps your speakers(which i am unfamiliar with) may find a kinship with the 202A which has a more scooped mid then the 707A.I was toying with getting the 707A modded but i don't know if i want to mess with a good thing.I did enjoy a certain incredible inner detail with that 202A however, which makes me think that i could capture even more of that with this amp as well while maintaining the wonderful midrange presentation.I am new to this as of December 2003 and my sonic life has been so much better for it.You won't go wrong either way you go is my guess.
ENJOY !! : )

I run a fully modded (underwood, used <$1000) Jolida 502B into a pair of 90dB Snells. The CDP runs 5751 Raytheons (around 30% less gain than the stock 12AX7's). I wouldn't go any less in power or speaker sensitivity. I have plenty of volume(sounds lovely), but have occasionally hit 2-3 o'clock on the volume knob on jazz vocals or some acoustic music...I'm guessing there isn't a whole-lot of power left. At 8-9 feet from the speakers I'd guess I'm hitting mid 90's in SPL (I have a RS meter, I just haven't measured how loud 3 o'clock is) with dynamic peaks going a bit higher.

Have you considered the Jolida tube/SS hybrids(more power)?

Matthew,

You can't go by just the power rating given by the company to determine whether an amp can drive your speakers. There are other factors such as dynamic headroom, THD, whether the amp runs class A or A/B, that will affect its ability to power your speakers. Also, companies rate their amps differently. It's difficult to make apples to apples comparisons using company-supplied specs. Consequently, there's no guarantee that an amp rated at 60wpc will provide more clean undistorted power than a 40wpc amp.

Wes,

I wasn't refering specifically to your post in my previous statement about some posters assuming all watts are equal.

Wes

thanks for your comments, it sounds like you gave the Totems a good work out, trying them at 30watts. My classe 100 mono blocks are also 200watts per channel at 4ohms, so I get a good sense of what you are talking about. I may very well leave the Totem's with my solid state set-up and concentrate my floorstanders around the tubes. I quite enjoyed a Triangle Antal that I auditioned recently, and they are at 91db so I suspect that a 30-50watt integrated would have no trouble at all. But that's a ways off at the moment.

I'm going to try out a Jolida this week-end. And see how that works out. I suspect that the modded versions bring up the quality a fair bit and might get it closer to the Prima Luna, but I don't think I can get my hands on a Modded Jolida in my area. Are there specific mods that improve the Jolida's?

thanks

matthew

Matthew,

Yes my experiment cooled me a bit on my amp upgrade desires. Especially considering the lovefest thats been going on here lately regarding older Levinson gear. My only real complaint with my current setup is that it doesn't really sing at low volumes, interesting that you comment that your system does. Please let us know how the audition goes.

Scottz,

No offense meant. Its just that personally I really don't understand all the hoopla over recent far eastern entries into the market. I mean come on do you really want to buy something of (to me) questionable build quality that needs mods right off the bat to sound competitive.

Wes