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Black Ice(former Jolida Company)new integrated amp opinions

Hello,

Just wondering if any one has any experience with Black Ice's new integrated tube amps. In particular the F22 & F35 Jim Fosgate designs. Any input would be much appreciated.

Thanks

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sagger's avatar
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sagger OP
115 posts
 

 Black Ice is relatively new the company, but basically in name only. It is under the the same ownership as Jolida (owner Michael Allen & CEO Jerred Dunkerson) which has been around since the 80's. It's my understanding there was and issue between Jolida & it's Chinese partner who manufactured Jolida products which lead to the end of Jolida thus Black Ice was born.  Please know that I don't know all the details so I don't want to mislead. One thing for sure is that Jolida is no more & the name has been changed to Black Ice. The products under the Black Ice name are completely new where Black Ice commissioned Jim Fosgate (and audio designer since the 70"s) to be involved with the design. According to Dealers of Black Ice (former dealers of Jolida) the new Black Ice amps are not only superior in sound, but also fit & finish. Although a lot of the components may be purchased from China (like many amps today) the final assembly & quality checks are now done in Maryland. To me that's a big plus from the old Jolida product which was assembled & inspected in China. Anyway this all sounds interesting to me. I've seen some positive reviews & the Black Ice dealers say the stuff is great, but I'm hoping to hear from real users.Unfortunately there are no audio stores in my area that carry this product so I can't get a listen. I'm assuming since the product is fairly new I've yet to get any comments, so if you own or have auditioned a Black Ice amp please chime in. Thanks.

sagger

russ69's avatar
russ69
3,501 posts
 
My only concern is service out of Maryland. I had my Dad drop off his Jolida because one channel was noisy. They had it forever and didn't do anything. So he sent it across the country back to me. It was just a bad tube, took me 15 minutes to find and fix. The amp is still in service, on the third set of tubes. I had to replace the power switch (easy-peasy). But if I was you, I'd buy a Prima Luna or a Quick Silver. 
sagger's avatar
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sagger OP
115 posts
 
That's good input russ69. Thank you for sharing.

klh007
621 posts
 
@sagger ,  Hearing the new Black Ice kit designed by Jim Fosgate at shows has prompted us at AV Showrooms to review a couple of Black Ice pieces. The dimension control had an amazing effect on the soundstage, I want to hear it in my system. Later this Winter I'll be putting an F35 tube integrated and an F360 tube preamp with tone and dimension controls through their paces, and I might try the F360 with a pair of rear speakers for the full ambiance experience. The fit and finish are a notch better, the black carbon fiber top plates look gorgeous, and with final assembly and QC performed in the US, consistency is a given.
ross6860's avatar
ross6860
103 posts
 
If the new models are an improvement over the Jolida branded items, they should be decent.

I had a Jolida integrated for a couple of years.  It weighed a ton, so I think they put the money in transformers and saved by using PCBs and cheap controls.

I used very good tubes in mine and I was very happy with it.  It stood toe-to-toe with my Cary Audio gear.

The only thing I didn't like was the controls felt like they were on a $100 black plastic box.
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