2. amps-preamps
  3. 134285-10399

Jolida Fusion Preamp Guidance please

Hi Folks,

I currently run an Arcam AVR350 receiver into an EL34 tube power amp and I'm considering switching out the Arcam for a tube preamp and going all tube. (When I added the tube power amp a couple of years ago, it made a significant difference over the Arcam power section.) I like the Arcam for the subwoofer out, remote control, built in DACs, so I'm looking for a tube pre that is modern with those features for WAF issues. 

So my top contender to replace it is the Jolida Fusion DAC/PRE Bluetooth. It has two 12ax7s in the preamp and of course digital inputs and has an extra output for subwoofer and remote - everything I want on paper. 

Jolida also sells a Fusion preamp that is all analog and has 4 12ax7s. It has everything except the DACs and of course I could add an external DAC if I wanted. 

My questions are: are more preamp tubes always better than less?

Is the Fusion DAC/Pre a true full preamp or is it a compromise due to the included DAC? Ie, is this model missing any key 'preamp' feature? It seems like I read somewhere about a tube rectifier, for example. 

If the context is helpful, I run a 2.1 system - GR Research Neo2X monitors, powered 12' sub, and I listen to a wide variety of music with a majority being singer/songwriter guitar driven and blues/americana. 

Thanks very much for your time,

Steve 
stevecuss

Showing 1 response by tomcy6

tomcy6's avatar
tomcy6
2,612 posts
 
No, more tubes do not necessarily mean better sound.  The Fusion preamp appears to be an upgraded version of  the preamp/DAC, though.  So in this case it is likely that the 4 tube version sounds better than the 2 tube version.  

I have read good things about the Fusion on this site.  The DAC is not a gimmick as preamp/DAC combos are becoming more common.  The way DACS are improving, though, you may want to have a separate DAC so that you can upgrade it separately from your preamp.  Although you could also upgrade your preamp/DAC  to a better preamp/DAC.

From the Jolida site I'd say the preamp/DAC is their good/value model while the preamp is their audiophile model.  I agree with mesch that you should give them a call and talk over with them which might work best for you.

If you do a search there are a number of threads here about the Fusion.
More to discover