Prima Luna vs jolida

I hear you 2out2sea. I've done my share of buying and trying and re-selling at a loss. Sometimes it is the only way to go if you want to demo gear. Are there any Jolida dealers near your or an audio society where other members have various amps for you to audition? If I lived close to you I'd lend you tubes to try in that Jolida 502B. Hmm how about buying some power tubes or preamp tubes for your friends Jolida to try and tailor the sound to your liking. The re-sell of tubes isn't as bad as re-selling amps. It is a lot easier to re-sell tubes than gear IMO.

Best of luck with the search.

I use KT120s, Psvane 12AX7-T IIs, and Mullard NOS 12AT7s, none of which are expensive, and all of which sound amazingly good, although I said that about the other tubes I was using before this group. I researched the crap outta the "Tube Amp World" before deciding on my Jolida, and I just could not ignore the fact that their power amps occupy their own price category with weirdly modest to zero factory hype, and are well regarded nonetheless.

guys, firstly i wanted to say thanks for making audiogon one of the best forums out there. i've been visiting this site for almost 15 years and i've never been insulted, ignored or ridiculed. it's very refreshing. many thanks for the help, advice and wisdom.

i am actually considering the butler tdb2250 at this point. maybe a high end hybrid will work the magic i am looking for in an amp. again it's a shot in the dark. it's also 3k so i dunno.

as i sit here listening to my b&k i am really leaning towards the musical concepts upgrade path. new high end caps throughout and a significantly upgraded power supply all at around 1100.00 is starting to make more sense. i am 98% of the way to ideal. 1100.00 seems like a moderate investment to push it over the top. i'll never get my money back out of it if it tanks though. that's not sitting well in my stomach.

wolf, my buddy has a jolida 502b b/c i convinced him to buy it almost 15 years ago. i have always thought their gear was underrated. however, while not rich, i now have more disposable income and am moving up the ranks. that is why i was looking at getting the 502p's and running them as mono's. i'm just too cheap to waste money on the krell or levinson stuff. just too much hype and i've never heard anything that i really liked other than tubes. the b&k is really not bad and i think you tube guys would like the sound. i'm just looking for that last little bit...