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Jolida JD-9 MC-High issue with severe distortion/clipping

Hello! I've emailed Jolida but won't hear back from them until Monday at the earliest, so I figured I'd run things by this forum first.

So, here's the issue:

My cartridge is a Benz Micro with a 2.5mV output loaded at 47K. However, when I hooked it up to the high output connections on the JD-9, the speakers would play nothing but severely distorted signals, not even music at all. This was at ANY volume. In fact, I would set my amp's volume to its minimum and when I turned it to the first volume notch, the severely distorted signal would emerge at high volume.

I can only play my turntable (VPI HW-19 Mk4) through the MM setting, with the IC's running through the MC Low connections. I know the specs for the Jolida settings in terms of what mV goes with each, but should the MC High really cause that issue? It didn't use to at all. I've tested cables and different inputs on the Primare i30 the Jolida feeds and the same thing happens regardless.

Many thanks for any advice.
128x128simao
9 responses Add your response
simao's avatar
simao OP
1,819 posts
 
Thanks for the advice all. I've gone back to using the MM setting and the high output RCA's. @soundermn has a point with the tubes - the GE 5751's are higher gain than the stock 12ax7's that came with the unit.

But another factor is the Primare i30. I think that's going to have an effect on the sound, even if it's 60 watts less powerful than my previous Hegel H160.
soundermn's avatar
soundermn
344 posts
 
Agreed, yogi. I had the JD9 for 7 years, and loved it. I had the Dynavector 10x5 at 2.5mv. I used the MM setting, lowest amount of gain, and used the high output RCAs. The reason is that the high output is the standard level, while the low output is actually attenuated. I found it to have lower quality of sound using the low outputs.

The MC input just had too much gain.  Also, I found tube rolling to have an impact on the sound as well.  If you think it's still too hot, try a bit lower gain tube.
yogiboy's avatar
yogiboy
5,661 posts
 
@simao
 
The high output MC settings are too much gain for the 2.5 mv output of the cartridge that you are using. The Jolida is giving you options to match the output with a different range of MC cartridges. Some MC cartridges have an output as low as .01MV and some are higher like .09 MV. The cartridge that you are using should be treated like a MM cartridge! The manual should have explained that information!
simao's avatar
simao OP
1,819 posts
 
@yogiboy Yes, the MM is working fine. Thanks for the reinforcement. I'm just still curious why the High MC is producing such a blatant garbled signal. Could my Primare i30 be so different from my previous amp, a Hegel 160?
yogiboy's avatar
yogiboy
5,661 posts
 
Is it working correctly now?
simao's avatar
simao OP
1,819 posts
 
Thanks for that MM rec. Yes, I've done so. I'm just wondering why the other settings - the High MC or the Low MC - are distorting so much when they weren't before?
yogiboy's avatar
yogiboy
5,661 posts
 
What settings? You should set all the settings for a mm cartridge. A high output MC is the same as a MM cartridge as far as any settings in that Jolida. BTW, I am looking at that manual now!
simao's avatar
simao OP
1,819 posts
 
Hi - yes, I set everything to the MM output/Low MC input. The distortion and clipping vanish, but is still there at the other settings when it wasn't before.
yogiboy's avatar
yogiboy
5,661 posts
 
Did you try changing the gain settings in the Jolida? It looks like it should be set at low gain output!
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