2. amps-preamps
  3. 153085-435

Black ice Audio owners, pet peaves

The new Jolida Black ice ,Jim Fosgste assisted, is better then the fusion which was good 
most parts good ,except in the past thin sheet metal cases, you would think a sturdy 2-4 Oz copper trace circuit board  good quality tube sockets the bosrd in fusion models which I owned literally flexed when you want to tube rolll, I broke solder joints and was very easy on installing remov8ng tubes ,even used Stabilant-22 
contact enhancer which works great and helps ease tube removal you would think for a lousy $50 orless 
toput in a top quality board with a thick bottom plate with stand offs to secure the bosrd from flexing 
whst good is a great sound8ng component when you have cheap internal parts ,just dumb.
my good friend is a 40 year vacuum tube expert ,and I ask him to mod put much better coupling capacitors in ,and Vishay naked coupling caps ,better connectors , he stated he was concerned the circuit board too thin ,minimal he said should ge at least a 2 Oz Coppergold double sided board  for under $50 much better conductivity,as welll as longevity,and mounted on 6 standoffs . Put some dam thought into the build . Many companies if you can’t see inside we will cut corners ,that tells me as a True Audiophile $$ comes before your pride in building a quality component .  I tell it like it is sometimes the truth hurts.prove me wrong. As Audiophiles sonics,and dependability are a Paramount .i would much rather spend an extra $200-300 to get a muchbetter product in the key areas copper Furutech IEC, less then $15 ,vs the $3 junk even in many $10k electronics Why ? 5 x more resistance to start 
stupid . Military grade 2-4 Oz Gold copper trace boards, Gold copper rca  at least off as a SAe option 
no extra labor if built as a SE model when being assembled. If they don’t like whst I have to say a Too bad , then show some dam pride .i know from experience if m6 name is on it I know everyth7g is better then average ,and when buying parts in quantity the prices go down to under 50% retail.
before buying question the mfg ,look for product description. In detail if it is not ststed or says 
proprietary it is BS, that just means there is nothing special and trying to cover their low cost tracks,
it’s your money Lin this small boutique Audio market ,it is about time companies especially the larger well name companies stop living on their name and lofty way over priced gear.quality  conpetive priced gear is what the majority of the market wants . Happy listening. 😎🎶

audioman58
audioman58's avatar
audioman58 OP
4,392 posts
 
On the old gear what I was rambling was true. The New Jim Fosgate line F series Now Black Ice Audio is noticably better all around. I have the F35 integrated.
internals boards are double layer thick,only 2 boards before 4.
heavy Copper direct contact output ,This is a a Balanced Dual differential design.
resolution is excellent.these have Germansilicon transformers based on 
a improved Hafler design. I owned the last generation . This series has noticably 
better detail and imaging . Excellent vu meter for very easy tube biasing .
the integrated uses no phase splitter ,all small tubes are for the preamp section .
you can use EL34 ,kt77,kt88,kt120, and kt150 this weighs 52 lbs and one of the best looking integrated amps I have ever seen.for just under $2k this New design beats units 2 x this cost . Jolida Bob in Indiana gives great deals and a refund if not satisfied. Their 360 preamp Very good With many extras .i may buy in the future.For sure you will see a lot more from Black ice Audio in 2020 with a New 
website coming out in a few weeks,
decooney
2,358 posts
 
@audioman58 
On the old gear what I was rambling was true. The New Jim Fosgate line F series Now Black Ice Audio is noticably better all around. I have the F35 integrated....I owned the last generation

Why did you title your thread about "Black Ice Audio pet peeves" and yet you are referring to the former Jolida design and product line. A completely different designer and product result.  The last generation was "Jolida", not 100 percent the same physical product and result as Black Ice Audio. Merely pointing out relative confusion here, worthy of some corrected statements by you as the OP, fwiw.  Members and new folks looking at both will want to know more, clarification.  BIA even won some awards at Capital Audiofest last year. Best of luck to them in 2021. 


audioman58's avatar
audioman58 OP
4,392 posts
 
I was comparing the two , and by no means is the build quality That great 
the under $3k Ayon is by far the best built Vacuum tube integrated out there 
mach8ned chassis ,copper connectors, not grass world class Lundahl transformers ,and chokes , the transformers are the Heart of any tube amp .
and their microprocessor for bossing the tubes not only extends the tube life 
but also monitors any failures and tells you which tube went bad .
thsts what I recommend ,no more China necessary .

decooney
2,358 posts
 
New models are barely out for Black Ice Audio, they are sold out right now, backordered on the F22 EL34 integrated amp. A few friends tried to buy them recently. Their new website is not even up yet, coming soon. For folks to judge build quality before they’ve actually seen or heard one is highly questionable. I’m not directly affiliated with the Co. Reportedly, more coming in 2021.
decooney
2,358 posts
 
Here is an opposing reference: 

A brand new base model Black Ice Audio F22 integrated amplifier (Jim Fosgate design) arrived this week at a friends place.  Our local Northern California dealer who deals in a lot of Class-A tube, triode, and Class-A solid state components, and the buyer, like the F22 "more than expected" for the price $.  Feedback so far, is it "sounds great".    


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