Iowned the JD 100A for approx. a year.
Pro's: smooth, warm, non-fatiguing, dependable
Con's: rolled off highs and lows, and lacking in dynamics. |
I've owned this player twice now. As I see it (close to Pdreher)...
Pro's: It makes me want to listen, smooth, great soundstage, nice build quality
Con's: Perhaps not the last word in dynamics
You also have to be aware of what tubes people are using because they have an impact on the players sound. |
i had the player for about one month.
it's not warm. it's not smooth. it does not roll off the highs. it is not lacking in dynamics.
i returned the player to the dealer, because after trying many nos tubes, i could not get rid of the overly emphasized upper midrange/lower treble.
it definitely sounds like a solid state player.
don't buy it. |
I agree with the pros and cons that Pdreher pointed out. The Consonance CD-120 or Shandling S-100 are better sounding units in my opinion. |
I have found the player to be excellent, in my system: Bel Canto M300s, Von Schweikert VR-4 JR, Aragon preamp. It depends on the rest of your system. I think it is the best player that $700 can buy. If you spend more, you get more. |
I'm kind of disappointed by the response because my initial impression of this player, from what I've read, is that it is suppose to be very good. One thing I don't need are extended highs becuase my speakers are a little too good in this area but I would like to extend the bass. |
If a stock JD100 with stock tubes emphasizes your treble I'll come over and clean your garage.
Keeping with Tvad's new fangled audio speak. One of these posters doesn't know "Whiskey Tango Foxtrot" they are talking about!
It's great player. Sounds warm and inviting, not bad dynamics, responds well to tube rolls, and PC changes. Plays even the most dmaged CDs. |
Dazman - if bass is your #1 priority then don't go with a tubed based player. Bottom line, at the peak of design, a solid state player will have better bass. Same can be said for a tube player and the mid range.
Confused why you're disappointed. Your impressions from reading reviews is true in that overall the Jolida is a great player that many enjoy. But when you break down the bass, treble, mids, etc...you will have ratings for each that don't tell the "whole" story. The NY Yankees have the higest payroll and most star power every year, yet the team that wins the World Series is the best "team".
In summary, this is what you get from the Jolida:
Highs - 8/10
Mids - 9/10
Bass - 6/10
Dynamics - 7/10
Speed - 5/10
Extension - 6/10
Separation - 5/10
Soundstage - 7/10
Imaging - 6/10
Enjoyment - 10/10
With all this said, I've found in my experience the amp used being greater than or equal to in significance effecting the ratings. Same goes for speakers. Which is why you hear comments like "jolida is solid state like" or the "jolida has great bass". Hell, I believe them! It's all system syngergy. So I suggest you try it out in your system. |
The is where I'm confused.
One dealer who has posted on this site states "the Jolida has excellent bass and full-mids..true tube sound."
Another gentleman who deals with Jolida, also on this site, described the Jolida JD-100A, in comparison to the Arcam 73T, as "a good bit warmer than the Arcam and nowhere near as harsh. The 73T is bright in the highs whereas the Jolida is warmer and much more musical".
I have a Sony CD player, not the greatest, and my 15 year old Luxman DZ-03 tube CD player sounds much better.
I wish I could listen to the Jolida before buying it.
What would you suggest in this price range then? |
This is where I'm confused.
One dealer who has posted on this site states "the Jolida has excellent bass and full-mids..true tube sound."
Another gentleman who deals with Jolida, also on this site, described the Jolida JD-100A, in comparison to the Arcam 73T, as "a good bit warmer than the Arcam and nowhere near as harsh. The 73T is bright in the highs whereas the Jolida is warmer and much more musical".
I have a Sony CD player, not the greatest, and my 15 year old Luxman DZ-03 tube CD player sounds much better.
I wish I could listen to the Jolida before buying it.
What would you suggest in this price range then? |
Opinions are very subjective. What does he mean by "excellent bass"? The Jolida's bass is deep and full, certainly not lacking in frequency reponse, and in fact comparable to any player. Where it falls short is in its control and articulation. So if your dealer's comments were based on a medium/slow Jazz recording with deep bass notes, the Jolida would come across as having "excellent bass and full mids". Fast paced rock can make the Jolida sound a little congested with flabby bass.
However, if your amp and speakers are well controlled at the frequency extremes, I'd give the Jolida a try. It might strike a nice balance and give you everything you're looking for.
Another analog yet resolved player you may want to look at is the Rega Apollo. I'm willing to bet given the class A solid state output, the bass while perhaps not as deep and full, would be tighter, faster, and more controlled. |
I've had the Jolida JD100 for a few months and I would say it is mostly muscial, warm, smooth, analog like sounding with respectable details. The bass is not too bad but it is probably on the deep and full rather than being lean and fast.
But output tube has a lot to do with the sound. The stock tubes can be a bit harsh. I have Sylvania output tube and the treble is a lot smoother than with the stock tubes. |
Did you audition many other CD players? |
Ok here's my take. I've had the JD 100 for 2 years and it has not be sold. (for philes that's pretty good) I purchased the Simaudio Nova, a fine and more expensive solid state player, thinking it would displace the JD100- it did not- in my system the Sim was accurate, fast and resolved but had no soul. I also auditioned the AH Tjoeb player, the Arcam 72, the Rotel 1072. I have a Cayin player, and the highly regarded Modwright Sony 999es. The Jolida is for those who simply like music. If you are one who analyzes the sound to the nth degree this is not the player for you. It's not the most precise, accurate, fast(only somewhat understand this one), resolved player. It's a music maker. I plan to keep mine no matter which other players i own. My unit is modded by the way, which at first I did not appreciate. But now that it has lasted so long, I realize that buying a modded unit was probably the reason I still appreciate it. I use RCA NOS tubes and a Supra Lo Rad PC.
Finally, let me tell you what I've learned. The opinions and comments you read here about speakers, cables, sources, amps etc. are all, and I mean all, system dependent. You can have awesome and expensive individual components but that means nothing. Even the quality of electricity going into one person's home versus another person can effect the sonic performance. In any given system the old saying "one man's steak is another man's baloney" is true for any given component. In other words, system synergy rules. If at all possible evalutate components in your system. One fellow might have the JD 100 in his system and not care for the sonic performance. But this may have more to do with the amp and/or speakers, or the combination, rather than the JD 100. This is true of any individual component in a system. I'm one of those who believes that amp-speaker synergy is the most crucial match in any system. Without that amp-speaker synergy, the other components in your system will likely fall short of their true potential. The fastest way to learn this is to take one of your components over to an audiophile friend's place and stick it in his system and hear how it's performance can often be transformed. So remember that if a component does not work well in your setup, it make be a great component, but not in your setup. If you can't audition in your system first, which is often the case for us audiophiles, then you may have to gamble, purchase blind, and if it doesn't work out well in your system, re-sell it here and try again |
Thanks Foster 9.
I agree with everything you've said. My goal is to gather as much information and feedback as possible on this player belore taking the plunge. I plan on listening to the Arcam 73T and possibly the Rotel 1072.
My next step after purchasing a CDP will be to get my hands on a Bryston amp. |
dazman, consider the quad cdp2 and the cec 3300 and the rega cd players. |
"Fast paced rock can make the Jolida sound a little congested with flabby bass".
I keep hearing about flabby bass! |
"Fast paced rock can make the Jolida sound a little congested with flabby bass".
A lot of things people say are a little exgagerated just to make their point and I am sure you've done the same things too every now and then. The Jolida's bass may not be the quickess of them but definitely not flabby.
You have to spend quite a bit of money more to get the Jolida analog like presentation and fast bass. Within the price range of the Jolida, sometimes you have to make a compromise. Go for the quick bass and you loose the midrange liquidity of the JD. Go for the JD and you may not get all the details you're looking for.
But be careful. There are players in this price range tend to by emphasize the treble to get quicker bass and more details but that is probably not what you want. Details, naturalness, agile bass in one package can cost quite a bit. |
Dazman,
I have a Jolida that has been modded by PartsConnexion. I use Sylvania 5751 triple mica black plate tubes. I can tell you that in my system, the bass is certainly not flabby or congested. While I am sure there are CD players that others like the sound of better than than the Jolida, I seriously doubt you can find one better for the price. I do not believe you will be disappointed. |
I have to admit all the reviews and threads I've read on the Jolida are very, very positive. I like the analogue sound and I find my CDs which are AAD sound soooooo... much better than DDD CDs. But I know the player is the key here.
Rcj1231, did you buy your player in Canada since you had it modded by Parts Connexion and if so who did you buy yours from? |
The Jolida is a great player, period. If you just replace the stock tubes with some new Ei or TungSols it will sound superb. I also have a Meridian 508.24 and a Conrad Johnson DV2b and the Jolida sits somewhere in the middle of these two sonically; not quite as dynamic as the Meridian, not quite as sweet and deep as the CJ, but extended in the treble and the bass and dynamic with a great soundstage that will make you a believer of its abilities and finesse immediately.
It is well worth the $450 gamble (plus $20 for a pair of new tubes) simply because one can't go wrong with this fine component from Jolida. Same for their phono pre. The same thing cannot necessarily be said for their integrated amps, of which I once owned a 302B. Rogue and CJ make much better gear in this area. |
>>The Jolida is a great player, period<<
It might be a good player and perhaps a very good value but let's be realistic, it is not a "great" cd player. Calling it great is a disservice to the upper echelon players that are far more deserving i.e. Wadia, Zanden, EMM, Accuphase, Meridian, et.al. All of course IMO. |
Looks like I can get this unit right in Canada for less that $790.00 US including shipping and taxes. This is what one company quoted and Underwood Hifi said $796.00 US plus shipping. I've heard that Walter Liederman will beat most prices but I really haven't put much effort into nailing down the cheapest price yet.
What do these units usually go for? |
790 usd is a pretty good price for a brand new unit. Remember to swap out the stock tube for some NOS tubes. |
I owned one for about a year. I compared it to a Rakk Dac and a Esound CD-E5. I tried many different tubes and the best was GE 5751 5 star tubes. The player has a warm sound definitely romantic and very musical. I ended up selling it to my brother in law. His system tended toward brightness and was on the analytical side. The Jolida was a perfect match. I kept the ESound which is solid state. It is more extended on top and bottom with better dynamics and slightly more detail. It integrated better in my system with my warmer speakers and tubed preamp. The Rakk Dac actually had the best mids of the bunch and was the most nuanced. Hope that helps. It really depends on the system it goes into. |
hi distortion. come over and clean my garage. bring the jolida with you. we can compare it to my audionote cd2, which is warm and tube like. the jolida sounds like solid state. if you clean i'll supply the broom and anything else you need. |
If you go for the Jolida, the tubes make readily audible differences, as others have said. My "level 1" modded unit improved a lot with cyro'd tubes from ATSI (a very helpful provider). See other threads for discussion.
--jmd
|
Offer only valid for Dazman. Batteries not included. One per customer. Some assembly required. Absolutely no refunds :P
Besides, I sold the Jolida a few years back. I heard the AN CD2 is much improved by completely covering it with Shatki Stones! |
People have been recommending other CDPs but they are seem to be considerably more expensive. |
Well I'm using a Luxman DZ-03 CDP,which is about 16 years old now. My sony CDP is around 7 years old but the Luxman actually sounds better.
The Jolida would make the world of difference, I would think. |
The consensus is right. It has the best midrange under $1,000. The highs are smooth (read: rolled off) - what you are looking for.
The bass is very textured, but not extended. Might be an issue for you.
Overall very addictive and warm. It is the anti-solid state. And probaly up with the best sub $1K players you can get - depending on preference.
The JPS power cord makes a huge difference along with NOS tubes.
Oh, and modding this player will kill the lush midrange. So, don't do it. |
Funny, others say the bass is good but I know this depends on the system. |
|
I think the bass is very good, and I am satisfied with it. But of course there are better players in terms of bass. It is hard to have everything without huge money. The only mods I have are dampening, better RCA output jacks and different tubes. I have read several other opinions about modding which also say the mods (which are permanent) change the sound in ways they don't like, versus tube changes which are temporary. I'm glad I didn't get the more complex mods. I can change tubes later if I want. The best mod is probably airborn and mechanical vibration insulation and changing tubes. I also added an aftermarket power cable. I haven't decided if that was needed. Good luck! |
I've always been told to upgrade your source first. So I guess a new CDP should be the first step over lets say an amp? |
I know this thread is just a little old, but here's my 2 cents on flabby bass. I bought a used 302b a few weeks ago. I was really impressed with the amp at first, but became increasingly unimpressed. Especially at higher volumes, things would get mushy and bass would often become flabby. I have it hooked up to Axiom M60's which I've owned for a couple of years, btw. Amazing speakers. The first tweak I did was purchase good quality interconnects for my cd player. Modest improvement.... I think. Next, I purchased JJ KT77's to replace the Jolida EL 34's. Again, modest improvement, but improvement nonetheless. Later the same day I installed the JJ's, I prepared to perform some mods on my EL 84 based guitar amp. This is a 50 watt amp. I noticed the IEC power cord was much, much heftier than the stock Jolida PC. I gave it a shot. Guess what? This was not a modest improvement. This was a serious improvement. Really, really serious. This is from what is probably a $25 PC. Suddenly everything came to life. Bass is supreme. No more mush. This system is sweet, sweet, sweet. I sit and listen like I used to listen to music when I was a teenager. My girlfriend gets ticked because she thinks I spend too much time with my system.
Okay, so that's the 302b. I was using a cheap, temporary Pioneer universal player that I bought with the intention of replacing in my music system. This week, I did just that. I got a JD-100. It's taken my system to yet another level. It has made cds that I thought sounded so-so because they were poorly mastered sound awesome. I've never heard my cds sound so good. The soundstage is huge with this system. I don't have flabby bass. It's just gorgeous. It has the same crummy PC as the amp came with. I'm hoping a replacement will improve the JD-100 as well. Oh, and I listen primarily to 60's and 70's rnr. I have an original Ryko edition of Bowie's "Diamond Dogs" on right now and it's never sounded this good. I need to purchase a phono preamp so I can compare it to my vinyl copy.
Anyway, that's my experience. Your mileage may vary. |
