Jolida JD9: I think I over-bought. Alternatives?


In my infinite quest of attaining gear that punches above it's weight class.... I landed a used JD9 to try it out and I'm frustrated. The AT120ET cart is too high of output to use the high outputs (even with 12au7 tubes). I ended up using the low outputs. While it still sounds good, I can't help but think that I'm not getting as much out of it with the cart i'm using. ...and I don't want to upgrade my cart.

I think I might go back to the Cambridge 651p or Musical Fidelity V90-LPS. Both sounded pretty good. I post here, so you guys can talk me out of it ... or suggest an alternative. On the plus side, I did score some 12ax7 mullards, so it wasn't a complete waste of time.

I have a stock technics 1200 Mk2 that I'm quite happy with. Just need a preamp that matches nicely with the cart. I think there might be something in-between the $200 - $600 that might be a good match.

Conversely both the Cambridge and MF are pretty good. I'm not looking for a critical preamp. Thoughts?
128x128martinman

Showing 2 responses by bdgregory

have you tried different gain settings on the dip switches? I find a lot of flexibility in the JD9, which is what I like about it. In addition to hi vs lo outputs, you can use diff gain settings, or tubes.
I have both the JD-9 and a Musical Fidelity X-LPS, and have previously owned many other low (<$100) to medium priced ($~600) phono pre's. If you think the JD-9 is more pre than you need, the X-LPS is a great alternative. It's pure simple, has both MM and MC, but no other settings to tinker with. I really like the sound - nearly as much as the JD-9.

They can be found for $160 +/- last time I checked, which is less than half what I think your JD-9 will sell for used.