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Bias for Jolida 502 P Amplifier

Just got my new Jolida 502 P yesterday and I'm enjoying it a lot - great sound! (Thanks Wolf and Jedinite for your posts re the Jolida amps) I'm surprised at the amount of bass and slam I'm getting with my Magneplanar 1.7's In fact I'm thinking that for a lot of music I probably won't even turn on my HSU sub.

On setting the bias - how important are small variations? When I got the amp I checked with my multimeter and the amp was set at about 560 mv for all tubes. Moved the bias back to 500 mv per the manual but I'm not sure if it really matters all that much for these small changes? How critical is this?
128x128ejman
ejman's avatar
ejman OP
62 posts
 
Thanks for the info Tbromgard. Which brand KT88's did you prefer and what improvements did you notice?
tbromgard
814 posts
 
I went with a KT88 Gold Lion tube package specific for the 502 by Upscale Audio in CA. Cant rec it highly enuff Check out the website - they ship. Improvements across every aspect of performance.
wolf_garcia
6,696 posts
 
Do Gold Lion KT88s sound better than KT120s in a 502? I think they LOOK better for sure, but I've been putting off buying a set.
wilson667's avatar
wilson667
93 posts
 
Wolf
In my opinion the kt120's sound much better in the 502p.The 120's are more extended top to bottom with with better separation and a fun energetic presentation .The Gold Lions have less extension top to bottom and seem just ever so slightly congested when compared to the 120's the GL just seem more laidback and relaxed. FYI I had the gold lions in for the last 6 months and the 120's for about a month now.
jedinite24's avatar
jedinite24
1,503 posts
 
Man all this talk about the KT-120s makes me want to put them back in my Jolida 502P. That or check out the PSVane KT-120s. They are pretty looking. Anyway I've been enjoying the music in a nearfield set-up for the past couple of months with JJ KT88 Blue Glass tubes, JJ 5751 tubes and Mullard CV4024s.

I have to look through my notes. One tube enthusiast by me strongly preferred the solid plate Penta Labs KT88SC vs the Gold Lion KT88s. I think he liked them better all around and the Penta Labs KT88s had better reliability in his experience.
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