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Jolida Glass FX III DAC tube recommendations

tube-it said:
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Take that 126dB with a pinch of salt - the DAC chip its using has a typical (not worst case) DNR of 123dB. It would be physically impossible for the complete DAC to have a better figure than the DAC chip itself. Seems very likely its using passive I/V which tends to add noise too. Which may well explain the rather poor (>90dB) SNR spec.
 
gvl said:
It is a lie, they just quote the DAC chip spec. The real DR that the complete device provides is typically much lower, especially when it contains tubes. Best of best DACs can only do 120-124dB. Jolida with a tube can do 126dB? Yeah, right.
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Do you know that as a fact or just guessing?

One thing the Oppo has over the Jolida is the absolute silent background. This is an advantage of modern solid state ICs, for sure. >90db isn't terrible but it can be better. But the DR being limited by tubes is not even close to true.

DR of practically all musical content doesn't even come close to the limits of even 16bit (16bit encoding has theoretical DR of 96 dB) material, anyhow.

The superiority of each technology can be argued as the day is long but that's not the point. The point is the individuals listening preferences and enjoyment of the music. The sad part is when false information is spread.

Solid state has some clear advantages over tube and vise versa.

http://www.theaudioarchive.com/TAA_Resources_Tubes_versus_Solid_State.htm
 
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John Parkey said:
tube-it, thank you for your reply and information. I am glad to know the Jolida uses tubes RATHER than transistors and then tubes in the output section. I agree with your comments about the sound. I have two of these and enjoy the sound. So back to my original question, do you have a recommendation as to tubes which sound best with these. I now have lightly used RCA 12AX7 and lightly used RCA black top 12AX7's. I can barely, barely tell the difference if I try. I am using a Classe 47.5 pre and CJ Classic 60 SE power with Vienna Acoustics Beethoven speakers, good wire. Thank you again!
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I put in the long plate RCA 12ax7s this morning and have been really enjoying them. These might be the keepers. At first I lost a channel, I used a small tool to tighten to pin sockets up and the channel came back. I think the pins on the vintage tubes are a tad thinner than the new ones and the sockets got loose after doing some swapping. Something to be careful with. Going to keep listening to these for a few days.
 
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tube-it said:
I'm a fan ASR. Great site for real measurements. :thumbsup:

No Jolida listed though.
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It doesn't have to be. Let's face it, Jolida isn't a state of the art device. State of the art is about 122dB, it is reasonable to assume it can't reach that let alone 126dB.
 
I did find a few Tube dacs that achieved 124db. Plenty of other faults with tubes but dynamic range has never been one of them. Someday I can afford a $10,000 DAC but even then I probably wouldn't be that insane, Jolida and Sonica is good enough ;)
 
tube-it said:
I did find a few Tube dacs that achieved 124db. Plenty of other faults with tubes but dynamic range has never been one of them. Someday I can afford a $10,000 DAC but even then I probably wouldn't be that insane, Jolida and Sonica is good enough ;)
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I have the same Jolida, bought it as an upgrade to a SS dac. I like the Jolida a lot. I've not yet rolled tubes, lots of choices.
 
You can no5 in a million years here the difference between 122,and 124 dynamic range .all these specs mean very little ,it’s how it sounds , there are Waay to many
Factors to a good dac design .unless you are a digital audio design engineer .
Then you truly should just think about how you can make your dac better for starters the better the usb cable the better. I uses final touch audio usb cable ,which I
Bought for $650 2 years ago a great cable and adds to the musicality,
A good fuse for sure buy ones hit bigger like a 630 Ma fuse .synergistic orange .
I removed the stock Capacitors put in theVH audio 1uf ODam caps matched to within .05% per pair, WBT connectors, Furutech IEC input all rca,and wire Neotech -0 Crystal copper wire all connectors on IEC are Furutech copper gold slide in terminals , upgraded to psvane 12ax7 tubes ,totally bypasssed the volume pot which is much better sounding thst Aline the dac sounds at least 15-20% better .every upgraded was a noticeable increase in musicality ,the vh capacitors take 3-400 hours to fully settle in but night and day better ,and you can remove that plastic Molex on the bosrd to wire it directly .for $700 in parts total transformation . Black ice has a new dac coming out by Sept using top Sabre dac ,with 6 sn7 tubes in a larger cases
For around $1495 my guess.
 
I just bought this DAC a few days ago. Been very impressed with the unit. Light years beyond my Schiit Modi. Playing Qobuz via USB and wifi (Airplay!) and feeding a restored Harman Kardon A300 integrated tube amp. I’m using some RCA 5751 (small black plates, triple mica) in the DAC and have been very happy thus far. Lots of opportunities for tube rolling with this DAC and amp combo but for now I’ve got no complaints.
 
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