Jolida JD-9 Mod II

I have the stock jd9 and upgraded all 6 op amps and have tried several different tubes. I like CBS 5751's with my system.

All of this is possible with about a $150 investment and the time to replace the op amps and tube roll.

Tremendous improvement in sound.

I trying to decide on upgraded capacitors which will be a fairly simple solder job. Maybe another $100.

You can also add your own sound deadening feet and material on the inside of the metal cover and base. I run mine with the metal cover off.

My point is that you can get most of the parts connexion level 2 upgrade for around $300.

The pieces you are missing are not the parts that make that much of a sound difference.

Do it yourself and save some bucks.

Yes, changing the opamps to the right combination and rolling tubes (I settled on Raytheon 5751 Windmill Getters) will result in sound improvements... I think the biggest improvement comes from changing the output capacitors... you can end up with a phono stage that delivers many times over what it will cost you.

I'm using Ge 5751's these days, and have a couple pairs of RCA Black Plates as well. Both are giving me better sonics than standard AX or AU.
There is sound damping material in place, the lid is always off as I like to tube roll on occasion.

I'll do a bit more research as to the best choices for op am and cap replacement. I have read that this unit is very mod responsive....and it is really good as it is now.

Cool....
Mike

Interesting how every tube and system is different. I have some RCA 3 mica black plates and do not like them in my steup as they seem to not have a good depth of field and are more two dimensional.

What capacitors are you all using?

To answer Wrayman's question, the op amps, in my system, gave a lot more detail and everything sounds closer to live. I also think that the mods I have made make the JD9 sound more alive because it is well...more fleshy and organic.

I am still wanting to play with the JD9 adjustments on the back. The gain is higher than what I hear with my CD player and I suspect that if I get the gain down a little bit more, the sound will improve further.

I have a Ric Schultz modified Oppo 105 that is really quite good. In fact, I think it is as good as $5K Esoteric I had for an in home audition. Ric Schultz's mods took the Oppo 105 to another whole level due to more detail and more weight while remaining musical.

However, I prefer the album sound which I think is the tubes.

Again, in my system.

Dsper... I dropped in some Obbligato Gold caps - relatively inexpensive caps (compared to say Mundorf Silver/Oil)... biggest improvement in the sound from the JD9 than any other mod, and one that I would highly recommend doing to get the best out of the JD9... easy solder job.

@Dsper: turn off all gain settings and you will still have plenty of gain if you are using a MM or an outboard SUT /w a LOMC.

what is the proper combination of op amps?  i'm planning on doing this soon.