Jolida Fusion 3502S vs. Jolida Fusion 801

Just picked up a nice looking Jolida 3502S on here w/o any tubes so this thread is extra helpful to get me rolling. These black plates are getting nuts. I picked up a set of matched GL KT77s, Northern Electric 12AX7s and some NOS Mullard 12AT7s. Also have some RI Mullards on hand from previous amp as well as some cheaper 6CA7s.

I was about ready to buy one of the newer Black Ice offerings - likely the F35 with balanced inputs - but this one came up way cheaper so we'll see.  I'm currently using a Yaqin MC13S which is my first tube amp. It has been a very good first tube amp (except for stock preamp tubes which I immediately rolled). A little bit of hiss at zero volume through my Zu speakers. No quality issues, no reliability issues.

Hopefully, this BI amp lives up to its billing.

I’ve been using a Jolida/Black Ice Fusion 3502P for a couple of years, and despite the confusing names, it’s a terrific sounding tube power amplifier. I bought it used in mint condition for $1100. I’ve used EL34, KT77, and 6550 power tubes. I like the 6550 tubes the best. They give you more power (there’s a switch on back for the different tubes), the detail is great, and the bass is very controlled and not at all sloppy (BTW: I use two REL subs hooked up directly speaker level). With the EL34s and KT77s the bass was more uncontrolled. I also upgraded the input tubes to Gold Lion and Mullard. What I really like about the amp is that it has a nice natural and transparent sound. I’m sure there’s some harmonic distortion but it actually is the good kind and really makes the music sound alive and vocals have nice texture without being fatiguing. Keep in mind this is all with the 6550s. With the other tubes you get a sweeter midrange with a more liquid sound that suits jazz and vocals more than rock. For classical symphonies and classic rock the 6550s “rock”!! I use the Tung Sol. Another great thing about Jolida/Black Ice is how great the owners are. I think I spoke to Jarred, and I couldn’t believe how nice, patient, and informative he was. It seems to be a great company with great QC that is catering to audiophiles on a limited budget. One last thing: the only repair I ever had to do was resoldering of power tube connections. The service guy said they can get very hot and if soldering was not perfect at factory they just need a touch up. Since then it’s been terrific. And the service tech said all of the parts and metal work appear to be high quality. That’s it !