Tube Rolling the Jolida/Black Ice dsd Dac

I don't own a Jolida but I'll give you a bump here.  I wouldn't worry about having to turn up the volume on your pre.  As long as you can play your music loud enough you're OK.

You could try a pair of Siemens.  They're similar to Teles, but you may prefer them.  I like Amperex tubes.  They are pretty lively and are known for having a nice midrange.

You may experience something completely different with these tubes.  Their sound is system dependent, but Telefunkens, Siemens and Amperex are among the best vintage tubes.

I bought the Black Ice Audio FX DSD WiFi DAC a few weeks back. I ordered a pair of NOS JAN GE 12AX7WA tubes at the same time, and I swapped them for the stock tubes before I powered it up. So my reference is with the JAN GE tubes in place, having never heard the stock ones yet. Probably have 200-ish hours on the unit.

Observations: Liquid, analog, extended detailed highs, very tight bass. Good imaging, but not blown away. Guitar, percussion, vocals, jazz, acoustic music, they all sound amazing.
I’m very happy with the current sound, but in the never ending search for "better", I stumbled across your thread. I’m looking at possibly trying out the NOS Mullard CV4004/12AX7 tubes, but at almost $200/ea they’re twice the price I paid for the JAN GE tubes so I’m doing the research to see what others have done.

How did the RCA gray plates sound in the DAC? Any feedback on their sound character?
My system for reference:NUC10i7 w/ SBooster 19V LPS --> Roon ROCK (combo of local NAS and streaming services) --> Audioquest Jitterbug --> Audioquest Carbon USB cable --> Black Ice Audio FX DSD WiFi DAC --> Signal Cable Silver Resolution w/KLEI Silver bullets RCA --> Sugden ANV-50 --> Core Diamond Speaker cables --> LSA-10 Statement Monitors

Curious to know what is the 'wifi' feature on this Black Ice tube DAC.  The rest of it I understand but the wifi feature is confusing... is it its own Wifi streamer?  If so, using what interface?  

Ok, 3 months later, and following up on my post above.

I went ahead and splurged on the NOS Millard CV4004 tubes from Upscale Audio. I selected the “Kevin’s stash” and cryo treatment options. Roughly $200/ea.

I cannot overstate this. If you own this DAC, you are doing a disservice to your ears if you are not using these NOS Mullards. Oh. My. God.

It’s like I have an entirely new front end. Warm, clean, articulate, extended highs, HOLOGRAPHIC. Absolutely unreal decay and harmonics. Rhythm and timing is off the charts, and there’s just... more of everything... like MORE of everything there. I’ve heard new little background bits on music I’m intimately familiar with and have been listening to for decades across multiple platforms and formats.

Music just sounds correct. Effortless, spacious, correct timbre, correct timing, liquid, analog, warm, detailed. I’m listening to all my old favorites with my jaw on the floor.

Granted, the $400 tube upgrade is significant for a roughly $800 DAC, but I’m telling you, you will not be disappointed. I believe my DAC journey is over for a while. Time to turn attention to my vinyl front end, I could happily and easily live with this DAC and the NOS Mullards for the rest of my life.