Tube rolling for Jolida 502B

Hi,

well, I do own the wrong Jolida amp as well to give you recommendations for powertubes, but here is a selection of tubes I run in my JD302b:

12AX7:
Jolida (Chinese) 12AX7
EH 12AX7 gold pin
EI Elite 12AX7 gold pin
1970s Tesla E83CC Frame Grid gold pin
1980s Jan GE 5751

12AT7:
EH 12AT7
EI Elite 12AT7 gold pin
1980s Mullard CV4024
19??s BRIMAR 6060 T-Series Black Plates

I have not had a chance to listen to all of them very seriously, but so far my favorite is the SED, Tesla, Brimar combination for a little more forward, very lively engaging sound. SED, Tesla, Mullard is slightly more polite and laid back but preferrable if you like a smoother sound.

Probably more important is the question: What sound are you looking for?

Good luck.

Rene

Thanks, lively and engaging is my preference. I listen to a lot of blues and like the vocals right in front of me.
Beernut

Have you tried talking to Brendan Biever at Tube World? He has Jolida amps and is pretty knowledgable about NOS tubes for them. I don't own a Jolida, but when I dealt with him he helped me out with my Cary and in the course of normal conversation we got to talking about his gear and the tubes he uses. FWIW.

Thanks, I'll try that.
Beernut

I was using a 502A until recently. For power tubes, I had great luck with the JJ Tesla KT-88s. Nice fat, warm sound. For the 12AX7s, the NOS Telefunken smooth plates are awesome - but expensive. For my 12AT7s, I used NOS Sylvania with gold feet - not that pricey, but great. Personally, I would go with new tubes for the power tubes and NOS for the preamp tubes - best of both worlds - great sonics and reliability.