Anyone have honest opinion of Jolida amps?

In my opinion, Jolida is probably the best value in HI FI audio today. And just so everyone who thinks that's absurd has more 'ammunition', I think MF is pretty close. They're both giant killers based on my direct comparisons with new Cary and McCormacks, which cost $5,000 for seperates. And I love B&W too. I've owned Conrad Johnson and Classe' gear, so I have had a well rounded sampling of 'accepted' gear that noone disputes as being HI-FI.

I have a Jolida tube cd player and it was so much better than the MF NU-VISTA side by side at my house, that my friend sold his NU-VISTA the next day and bought a Jolida cd player. Of course you have to get rid of the cheap $3 tubes. I've tried Mullards (vintage) and Telefunkens and that cd player really lit up, I prefer 1960s Mullards.

That told me that different companies each may do a certain thing well. MFs several thousand dollar cd player sucked next to Jolida's $900 model. But MF makes amazing power amps. I hear Krell does too. I had a BK 2020 which was great, but I hate their preamp I bought (and got rid of).

I still don't know why Jolida's 3000 Fusion preamp isn't talked about more. It's only $1,000, has balanced XLRs, and sounds noticably better than their Envoy, but it lacks a phono input. When I bought the Fusion and broke it in, I thought (and still think) I found the Holy Grail. I use it with a MF A3cr (I prefer a tube pre and SS power amp). So I can't comment on Jolida's power amps or integrateds. But I do know they make hybrids (tube pre, ss power), and based on their incredible cd player and preamp...I would have to at least listen to Jolida before buying anything else.

@Samzx12: I think that's the most naive' thing I've read on agon, "you get what you pay for".

To me, the best thing about audiophile gear (beside the sound) is finding gear affordable components that sound better than those costing thousands more. Stereo equipment is one of the few great items that you can buy where you can get a lot more than you pay for, if you try. Just because something has a Cary name on it's faceplate, doesn't automatically make it $5,000 'better' than less expensive gear...Thank God!

If it were that easy, there would be no discussions. Everyone would know exactly how 'good' everything is by just comparing prices. It aint that easy.

@Samzx12

Sam, my apologies, this should be a friendly forum, I never said you are naive', I doubt you are. What does my opinion matter anyway, I think the more expensive is better is 'wrong' which is a better way to say it. I'll give you a for instance. Someone was selling a $4,000 Kenwood power and preamp on craigslist for $400. I dont think he got his money's worth with the $4,000 :)I wouldn't touch it for $400.

Getting into more respected equipment: My dealer (it's an addiction I guess) alternates usually between Cary and McCormack seperates, which run $5,000. That's $15,000 for the amp and cd player. His name is John L Vandersteen, in Chicago, he was an audio engineer for some big companies, he designs and sells his own speakers now, and he explained to me the difference in cost between the components used in high end vs. extremely high end, which was not that much and ultra high end which is costly. He explained that the name plate accounts for a huge percentage of 'markup' and 'market price'. He's a respected sound engineer as best I can tell, a high end audio dealer, someone who build gear and knows costs, and has let me hear expensive stuff for many hours.

So the Cary and McCormack gear that I've heard for many hours doesn't sound 'better" to me than Musical Fidelity or Jolida gear which costs LESS THAN 1/3rd the price, it sounds different. A Cary name tag will add a certain cache', like a Rolex. More expensive usually means better, but my understanding is that the costs of the making these components is not nearly as great as the price, so a lot goes into paying for the name. If it were the R&D you are paying for, I imagine B&W (as big as they are) could never be beat based on their budget...and I bet Kenwood has a high budget too. And I think they still make crap at whatever price.