Jolida components: Seems to be many for sale ?

I have wondered about Jolida products myself. They look like nice pieces for the money. My initial response when you said you were going to buy your nephew a Jolida integrated amp was " that's too nice of a component for a college guy; he's not going to appreciate it for what it's worth" but then I remembered that if it weren't for my onkyo integrated surround processor and 5 paradigm speakers that my Mother bought me when I was 12 years old, I wouldn't have the love for high end gear that I do today. You're a good uncle :-)

Oh--it's also possible that the number of used Jolidas has more to do with an internet retailer's lack of a return policy than anything else. Folks who buy and find an amp doesn't work in their system have no choice but to resell it themselves. Despite my negative experience with the sound of the 1501RC, it might say nothing about the quality of Jolida's products overall. I want to temper my negative comments of the 1501RC in my last post by noting that I'm considering an audition of the 202BRC--so I'm not turned off from Jolida overall.

I owned the 1501, which sounded fantastic with a set of NOS GE 5751 in the preamp section. The build was solid and the sound glorious. I wish I'd kept it. Instead I "upgraded" to a 1501RC from an official Jolida internet retailer. The 1501RC had a cheap-feeling build compared to the 1501 (especially its flimsy plastic volume knob) and sounded much worse--grainy and bright.

When I called the retailer to ask him about the change in sound I heard between amps and if I could expect the 1501RC's sound to settle down with break-in or tube rolling, he told me (a slight paraphrase here), "You can't expect an amp with a remote control to sound as good as an amp without one." This may be the most absurd thing a salesman has ever said to me. When in that case I asked about a return said that he did not offer any return policy. I'd already sold the 1501 I'd owned, so I also sold the 1501RC (at a loss) and went back to NAD.

This was a good 5 years ago, so it's possible that the 1501RC has improved since then and certainly possible that it could sound better with more break-in and better tubes--and that I could have had a better dealer back then!

Mullard 12AX7 are under $20 each at the tubestore.com. Consider switching out the tubes mandatory.

I've owned a Jolida tubed cd-player for about a decade now, averaging two hours of use a day. Great sound w/o a single problem. The all-steel remote is still the most dangerous weapon in my house.