Jolida JD100. How good is it?

Really, that does not matter. When I made the comment about my surprise at the (who was it?) purchase of gold pin grey plates, it was for my not having found them, not that they were better in any way than the black plates. My favorite tube in the two applications I've tried them are 5751 Sylvania black plates. According to what I have read, there is no difference between these and the grey plate gold pins.

You're referring to me, I have the Sylvania gold/gray plates. I have not tried the black plates (because I cannot find them) but I have heard both good and "not so good" things regarding the gray. I have a hard time believing Sylvania Gold with black are much better. My only problem with the Sylvania Gold/gray plates is the harshness I hear at moderately high volumes. My other choice is going to be RCA black plate triple mica. I'll let folks know how they differ.

Hi Mijkarf, I did a quick search up the ladder but couldn't find a clue word. They are the Gold Box grey plate gold pin tubes, right? Harsh? this what "Joe" had to say:

"Sylvania Gold Brand grey pl ate gold pin - OK, this is the
legend. When people talk wantonly about the famous Sylvania
Gold Brand 5751 gold pins this is the tube they are referring
to. Does it measure up to the hype? Well by and large, yes. To
my ears it is the the 2nd or 3rd best 5751 ranking up there
with the Sylvania & GE black plates. Its strength is its
midrange, but it may also be its weakness. The mids here are
full, lush, tangible and maybe (just maybe) a trifle
overblown. Occasionally i find the lush full vocals obscure
just a bit of detail and reduce transparency slightly, but the
mids are so lush I could understand how you might not care.
The tube also has a measure of life and vibrancy, similar to
the Sylvania's black plates and it also has a bit of the
forwardness that's seems to be endemic to Sylvanias in the
5751 family. I've lived with this tube enough to know I could
use it quite happily, though that would be in the context of a
fairly neutral system where its own colorations would not go
over the top. If your rig is already warm, smooth, lush and a
bit lacking in detail this guy could turn things just a touch
syrupy. But given the sound of a lot of cd based systems he
could be just the ticket... Availability on this guy is
limited. His reputation has made him a rare, if not
outrageously expensive beast (usually $30 - $40 a tube) and he
is long lived"

I ordered a matched set of Siemens and Halske 5751 TRIPLE MICA tubes the other day. I was told by a local tech that the Siemens tubes are extremely good tubes; in his opinion as good as the Sylvania Gold Brand 5751's. They won't arrive until next week, but the price was decent @$60.00 for a matched pair. If anyone wants address, I know where to get more of these.

My take on the Sylvania Grey plates,RCA etc. First I should state that none of these have been burned in properly (including my JD-100 player)and that as you all know has a great effect on the sound. The Sylvania 5751's grey plates sound very transparent, very smooth, very naturally detailed and I might add very close to what I hear in the concert hall. Both the RCA bLackplates and the Sylvania sound just a touch dry ( just a touch) in my system. The chinese stock tubes so far are the winner! They are perhaps a bit more colored and less neutral but they have a liquidity and glow that for me is a walk to paradise garden.Listening to W Allyn's "Lyra Angelica" the strings were silky and so engaging and coupled with the beautful harp runs I found myself pulling away from analytical thoughts about sound and drifting into spiritual grace. I dont think anyone who prefers these classic tubes is wrong all these things as Muralman points out are system dependent. So far my quest ends where it began. The chinese tubes are the winner! Best of all (for me) they are cheap and available!