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Jolida 1501RC hybrid integrated vs. Rogue's Sphinx

I was all set to purchase Rogue's (new) Sphinx hybrid integrated amp, when I came across an excellent internet sale for a minty Jolida 1501RC. The attraction was saving almost $800.

The Jolida model was first issued in 2004 and is 100wpc and also a hybrid integrated. It does lacks a phono stage which the Rogue offers. I do not know of the official age of the Jolida unit for sale, but am inquiring with the buyer.

However, I have no way to audition either amp side by side or individually. Therefore, can someone inform me as to whether the Jolida 1501RC is a quality product compared to the Rogue's Sphinx integrated which has received two very good reviews

There always seems to be tons of Jolida products for sale on AG. Is Jolida reaching for mid-fi status by offering so many models and options????......... Thanks
sunnyjim
mulveling's avatar
mulveling
2,144 posts
 
Some of the Jolida stuff certainly isn't awful (I had and liked their JD100A long ago), which can't be said of a lot of chinese gear, but anything Rogue will be a big step up in build quality and support...plus their gear sounds excellent. With all the legal mess going on between the 2 entities claiming the name "Jolida", I wouldn't be certain of support there.

Furthermore, stuff from China is getting to be as expensive as (or even MORE than) similarly spec'd designed-and-built-in-USA Rogue gear. Lots of cash going to glorified middlemen with the china gear. I don't see the logic in considering china-fi under those circumstances.
wolf_garcia
6,759 posts
 
That Rogue Class D with a tube front end seems to be getting some good press...and Rogue is a great US company. For the record, USA Jolida (MD) is doing fine (look up the details of the lawsuit...it's silly), and their recent stuff is very well made and sounds great. It's just less expensive so I think it suffers from a pricing stigma, but they know how to make great sounding tube amps. A friend of mine has a 1501 and it's really nice and loud with a touch of tube warmth...you may find it hard to audition these things but I don't think you can go wrong with either amp.
tubegroover
2,320 posts
 
I wouldn't know, although I've listened to and seen the excellent build quality and value of Rogue gear years back, but whenever possible I go out of my way to avoid purchasing ANYTHING made in China regardless of QC or price although I've had a few transgressions on this principle. It is more about supporting jobs and manufacturers' here or with our Northern neighbors. I doubt if this helps you but it made me feel real good and nothing against Jolida so long as it's made here!
wolf_garcia
6,759 posts
 
I get the "buy local" thing...interestingly, Jolida's founder Michael Allen started a new factory in China (after his falling out with the lawsuit dudes) to provide his workers with much better working conditions and wages to insure high quality...seemingly this worked.
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,666 posts
 
Don't know how much it matters in this case but teh Jolida is older and teh Rogue newer. That might matter even more than with most technology still in the case of the Class D amps used in teh Rogue. The Rogue uses Hypex Class D amp technology, not sure what model, generation or how old the ones used specifically are, but I have a lot of faith in anything that says Rogue on it more so than Jolida in general.
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