Jolida Fusion 3502S vs. Jolida Fusion 801

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 !

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.

Anderson Audio Gallery, bob.and212@gmail.com - right now has an F11 demo unit, black for sale. Feel free to inquire. 

Anderson Audio Gallery, Bob Anderson. Been selling Jolida / Black Ice Audio gear for about 15 years. Excellent gear for the money- great value. The new gear is fantastic. You can find me on FB- Anderson Audio Gallery.  bob.and212@gmail.com   /  812-557-2497.  Questions, repairs, upgrades, new gear.   Always interested in buying used gear. 

Jerred Dunkerson CEO of Black Ice just thought it was time to make some changes and upgrades hence a new name, and new gear. 

Update : This Amp is a killer deal. I love the sound of it. Swapped the 6550's out with Cryo'd Tung Sol KT150's from Upscale Audio. Mike Allen was of great help over the phone.

Getting a Jolida Fusion 3502P Power Amplifier soon and while I’m not into Ch-Fi, it’s designed and assembled here in the U.S. but the boards are built overseas to my knowledge.

How’s the build quality/reliability over time ? I know they are Black Ice now and Jim Fosgate was involved in both Jolida & Fosgate. I can’t afford name brand Tube Amps at this moment and am steering clear of the crazy name brand Chi-Fi being spewed upon YouTube and Magazines.

I know there’s been a Jolida knock off company that’s been mentioned in the forums but the Amplifier I’m getting is assembled here. Why are they all of a sudden distancing themselves from their own Jolida brand ?

So long as they Warranty any issues, and it’s taken care of here in the U.S. ,I’m good.

To any Jolida Amp owners out there. Please let me know your thoughts.

as for the preamp tubes- i sell Jolida / Black Ice Audio gear. I have found that Gold Lion gold pin 12at7 tubes add some bass, and Tungsol gold pin 12ax7 tubes seem to be better than the Gold Lion gold pin 12ax7 tubes. More clarity in the upper end. Also found that Tungsol EL34B tubes are great. Those really add some bottom end. And Tungsol tubes are reliable and last. If ever interested in Black Ice Audio / Jolida Audio gear let me know. Mention Audigon forums for a good deal. 

Hi, WG.  Very interesting, I did not experienced all the “other” KTs but went from EL34s to GL KT77s and they were  good from the start, but  the sound steadily improved with use, and after  a good burn in I have to agree with you:  these are simply exceptional tubes.   Not only in the standard categories of good bass, mids or highs (which they have) but in their superbly linear  and musical presentation .  

Difficult  to describe, after rolling a lot of pre and driver tubes in the 3502c, (in integrated mode) while  in power amp mode doing the same with my nice FA Euforia preamp,  (and I mean top notch vintage TFKs and  Mullards with this one) the GLs were revealing of every nuance...even from the 12AT7s drivers.  That’s why I strongly suggest the Brimars.  Fantastic sinergy with the KT77s.  But the exotic E180CC...come on baby,  pure and unrestricted triode sweetness.  

I'm a recent convert to Gold Lion KT77s having used all the other KTs...GL and Sovtek 88s, 120s, 150s, all sounding great in my old Jolida (and all used at some point my current amp), but in the little Dennis Had "SEP" amp I now use the GL 77s are amazingly good and are staying in there. I tried a pair of JJ KT77s and they sucked, but the Gold Lions are utterly different and stellar.

Don’t know if this thread is still active, but anyway an update of my previous post is necessary... just to share my experiences with  some tube combos that sound great in the Jolida 3502c.  As with any tube amp, this one “likes” some tubes more than others, and the “sinergy” between the input and the driver tubes is absolutely critical for sound quality.  

As I said, I found that the vintage 5751s black plates triple mica, either GE, Sylvania or RCA sound splendid in this amp, even  above my fancy Mullards or Amperex 12AX7.  I tought that the 12AT7s were not as important, but I was wrong.  The vintage  Brimars 13d9 (a special quality 12AT7) can be had for about $ 20 each,  and are vastly superior to anything I tried...I mean, combined with the 5751s your Jolida will sound magical.  All this with the standard and quite good EH EL34s.

Currently running  new KT150s for a few hours, great tubes of course, but I feel they need a good burn in to reach their full potential.  No opinion yet.   However, the Genalex Gold Lion KT77s, driven by the above mentioned combo sounded so damm good that the bar is really high...

I talked to new CEO "Jolida Jarred" a few times when I was purchasing my Jolida 502P (he's the guy who recommended the upgrade for about 100 bucks), and am surprised they're changing the name to Black Ice (Maybe only some of the Jolida stuff...not sure) as that's a road hazard to be avoided when driving in wintery areas. I suppose it's better than "Pot Hole Audio", or "Unfortunate Moose Encounter Audio"...but interesting products anyway.

I have had a 502BRC for several years. Terrific amp at a great price. I agree that their products are very underrated.

I've said for years that Jolida's only issues are that they're too inexpensive for many who feel "Mo bucks=mo bettah.", and remain, for the most part, un-reviewed by the audio press. And that's a shame as they're great sounding and extremely well designed things.

Thank you for the replies. I purchased the Jolida/Black Ice 3502s  with the Rike paper oil capacitor and Naked Vishay resistor upgrades a couple of weeks ago from Underwood Wally and I am very happy with the sound. This unit is very musical and well built with an excellent all metal remote and I don't feel that Jolida/Black Ice gets near the recognition they deserve and are a great bargain at their asking price. I am using the stock EL34's which sound very good and I would like to try KT150's in the future. BTW Underwood Wally (Walter)  is one of the good guys in audio and would not hesitate to deal with him again.

I just mentioned elsewhere that I used a Jolida "factory upgraded" 502P for years and it sounded great...a powerful bargain amp which seemingly has been improved with the 3502. Great MD support...call 'em!

Hi Guppy,

I am not familiar with the Jolida 801, but own the new  Fusion 3502S in its basic configuration with EL34 tubes.  The amp can be used as an integrated or as a full power amp with a bypass switch in the front panel, a great feature.  I was a little worried at first about its 50 Watt/ch nominal output (75 watts peak) to drive my 89 db speakers, coming from a mighty 240 watts/ch dual mono solid state amps.  Nothing to worry about, this one hits hard, is a really powerful amp that sounds like  a 150 watts/ch SS amp.  

Tube watts, as they say.  And the EL34 are the LEAST powerful tubes it can handle, going up to KT 150s, for about 85 watts per side.  The preamp section is also really  good, I compared it against my top notch tube preamp and was impressed.  With the right tubes it can shine.  In this amp,  the GE 5751 black plates, triple mica from the fifties is out of this world. Forget about 12AX7  Mullards  or Telefunkens, too noisy.  And  I discovered that relatively cheap NOS  military Sylvanias JAN 12AT7WA 1957 vintage (also triple mica)  sound so damm good that they will stay there.  

Well,  this is my experience so far with this amp.  I like it.  It is a solid and heavy piece of iron, powerful, capable and versatile. And it sounds great...