Entry level tube equipment (Jolida 302b?)

[Ross6860]

Almost all of my guitar amps are tube powered, so I'm a little familiar with the animal.

Looking at venturing into the land of tube audio. I should have some tube-friendly speakers (Klipsch Chorus II and Klipsch Heresy), so I'm looking at an integrated unit to get started.

Someone at work has a Jolida 302b for sale. From what I've read so far it sounds like a decent unit (maybe a little better than just "decent"). Good performance for the price, so to speak.

50 wpc should be more than sufficient, I believe. Small listening room (11' x 14').

Any comments on the Jolida 302b?

Any other recommendations for an equivalent "starter" amp?

I assume using a SS amp as a pre-amp, or just a SS pre-amp, kind of defeats the purpose. True or not? I have a Kenwood Basic C2 pre-amp, but I'm leaning toward an integrated tube amp to do away with having to get two new tube components.

 

[RossW]

Nothing wrong with a SS pre feeding a tube amp (and nothing wrong with a tube pre feeding a SS amp). The Jolida should be more than enough power given the size of your room and the efficiency of your speakers. I have never heard one of their amps but I do have one of their phono preamps and have been quite impressed. They also respond well to component upgrades.

 

[thorpej]

With those speakers and that size room, I don't think you really need anything more than 15-20W/ch. I mean, what sort of music are you going to be playing, and at what level? With speakers similarly-efficient to the Heresys, I get a lot of sound from an amp that only does 7W/ch.

I dunno, I guess I just have a hard time calling a $1000 piece of gear a "starter amp"

And yah, using a SS pre-amp is fine. Heck, I feed mine directly from the (solid-state) signal sources.

 

[Ross6860]

With those speakers and that size room, I don't think you really need anything more than 15-20W/ch. I mean, what sort of music are you going to be playing, and at what level? With speakers similarly-efficient to the Heresys, I get a lot of sound from an amp that only does 7W/ch.

I dunno, I guess I just have a hard time calling a $1000 piece of gear a "starter amp"

And yah, using a SS pre-amp is fine. Heck, I feed mine directly from the (solid-state) signal sources.

Way less than $1000, but I didn't want to mention price outside of Dollars and Sense.

I guess it's all relative. Considering what vintage SS gear is going for these days, even a good new SS stereo like a Yamaha R-S700 is close to what I would be paying for the Jolida.

It's available from a known source (co-worker) at what looks like a good price, but out of state so an audition is not possible. Kind of just fell into this deal.

I've seen other posts saying $400 I not enough budget for a "decent" tube amp. Recommended saving a few more $s and getting something worthy. All opinions though, so they need to be taken with a grain of salt.

I listen to all kinds of music. Mostly classic rock (Led Zeppelin, Jethro Tull, Black Sabbath, Pink Floyd, Fleetwood Mac, etc.), blues based rock (ZZ Top, Allman Bros, Lynyrd Skynyrd, etc.) classical (symphonic, organ, string quartet, piano, opera instrumentals), and a little bluegrass and classic country thrown in the mix (Flatt and Scruggs, Bill Monroe, Johnny Cash, Glen Campbell) and I like instrumentals and movie soundtracks. Like I said, very eclectic taste in music.

Listening level varies but is typically loud enough that it's for critical listening, not background music. It's loud enough it needs a dedicated and insulated closed room to keep family peace. I have other systems for casual listening and background music.

I know how loud a 5-watt tube guitar amp is driving one 10" or 12" speaker, and it's plenty loud. An 18-watt tube amp is freakin' loud and 50-watts is nearly unusable at home.

I will be keeping the big SS stuff to drive my Infinities and if we ever have a house party.

Thanks for the comments.

 

[thorpej]

Way less than $1000, but I didn't want to mention price outside of Dollars and Sense.

I guess it's all relative. Considering what vintage SS gear is going for these days, even a good new SS stereo like a Yamaha R-S700 is close to what I would be paying for the Jolida.

It's available from a known source (co-worker) at what looks like a good price, but out of state so an audition is not possible. Kind of just fell into this deal.

I've seen other posts saying $400 I not enough budget for a "decent" tube amp. Recommended saving a few more $s and getting something worthy. All opinions though, so they need to be taken with a grain of salt.

I listen to all kinds of music. Mostly classic rock (Led Zeppelin, Jethro Tull, Black Sabbath, Pink Floyd, Fleetwood Mac, etc.), blues based rock (ZZ Top, Allman Bros, Lynyrd Skynyrd, etc.) classical (symphonic, organ, string quartet, piano, opera instrumentals), and a little bluegrass and classic country thrown in the mix (Flatt and Scruggs, Bill Monroe, Johnny Cash, Glen Campbell) and I like instrumentals and movie soundtracks. Like I said, very eclectic taste in music.

Listening level varies but is typically loud enough that it's for critical listening, not background music. It's loud enough it needs a dedicated and insulated closed room to keep family peace. I have other systems for casual listening and background music.

I know how loud a 5-watt tube guitar amp is driving one 10" or 12" speaker, and it's plenty loud. An 18-watt tube amp is freakin' loud and 50-watts is nearly unusable at home.

I will be keeping the big SS stuff to drive my Infinities and if we ever have a house party.

Thanks for the comments.

Oh, less than $1K? Ok, maybe not so awful, then... I got that figure just from a quick Google search... it's accurate to say that I didn't go searching for the best price that it's available for.

The specs of that amp seem reasonable. EL34 ultra-linear amps have been popular for a long time, and what they claim doesn't seem unreasonable (although I am a little skeptical about the 50W/ch rating ... with ultra-linear I would expect 35W/ch), so if you're getting a deal on it, then why not?