new Jolida

If you are refering to the hybrid integrated amp, those are not new and available in the US. THe hybrid Jolidas use tubes in the preamp section only and thus do not need to expose the tubes for venilation. You do not like the glow of big tubes? Blasphemy. :)

Well actually this is not a hybrid amp. It is a 502. go to ebay and do a search on JD502S.

I just spoke to the guys up at Jolida and they said that it was a Chineese knok-off. Gray market electronics. Does look cool though.

Yes it does look really cool! I wonder how they get away with the Jolida name?

Well China is a tough country to prosecute. There was a really good story on the radio last night about American companies who get put out of business due to teh gray market of knock-offs. Apparently it is a costly and futile battle.
I know a guy that builds speakers. He can get his boxes cut and assembled in China, shipped in usable cartons to the US, for less than he can get them cut in town. He still uses the local company though because he knows that his speaker designs would then be available on the gray market for half the price straight from China.
Oh well.

Well actaully..... Jolida is a Chinese company. But after living there for some time I can assure you the eventually ( even in China ) there will be a law suite agianst the fake company.

Sort-of. Jolida is an American company that manufactures in China. I have no personal experience dealing with the Chinese government. If it is true that they are dealing with counterfeit goods more seriously that is great. China is a major player and will continue to be. If they start playing by the same rules as teh rest of the big producers it will only increase the desirability of their goods.

Bignerd100,

Looks like we have our own thread going here.

Actaully I contacted the seller out of curiousity. He is actaully out of the UK and told me that the US would frown on him selling to the US under-cutting the market here.

But he CLAIMS to be legit.

I found "Jolida JD100S" cd player on Ebay and a few asian websites. Players looks very cool and seems to be improved version of JD100A.

Then I phoned Jolida and they said this is gray market player with inferior parts and that they are working on it to have this "stopped" (i.e. using Jolida name).

I'm not a 100% convinced that player is inferior or knock off (if you look at parts they claim to use, it's seems equal to if not better). What may be questionable is reliability & warranty issues...but don't forget likely the unauthorized Jolida is from OEM factory that makes legit Jolida's.

Also, I read in an older thread Jolida JD 100S was sold in europe/asia 2 years ago already (with no complaints)....makes me say "hhmmmm?".

Remember, Ford Focus was sold/made by Ford Europe for many years until it was released in North America?

Even if a player comes from the same factory with improved parts I don't think that I would purchase it if it is using the pirated name of another company. Jolida does take great pride in their products and is honest about their limitations vs price point. They will tell you straight up that if you are looking for the end-all-be-all to high-end 40w EL34 tube amps you should spend 3K on something else. But if you want a killer 40w EL34 integrated that an average guy can afford the Jolida fills that gap handily.

THere are any number of companies that source products from the same factories and tweek them in different ways to make them their own (Music Hall/Project for example). THey brand them differently and sometimes price them differently. They still use their own name though.

Even if a company gets their products made elsewhere (who can afford not to these days) I would prefer to buy from someone who takes some level of pride in their product.

Just my 2cents.

Hi All,
One thing to consider here is that these products will not even run in the US. Even after "converting" to US voltage, the transformers are not designed to handle our high voltage swings. I receive many calls from consumers that have bought these gray market products only to find out they fry the transformers within only a few weeks.

They are designed to run on a steady 110 volts with absolutely no variation and cannot handle our 120+ voltage.

Well......... I don't know? it looks like a split decision on the Dared. So should I or shouldn't I. I think it would be something I would defintely demo before laying down the cash.

Do they offer a money back guarantee? And do they have a repair facility in the U.S.? Than would be my concern. I would hate to need to ship it all the way to China for warranty issues.

I don't however think that everything that comes out of China is junk. After living there for some time, and living in a city that had plenty of high-edn stuff ( including all the big names sold here ) I found that some of there stuff was good and some not so good. How much do you want to lay down?

oops! thought I was on the Dared thread!

Well while I'm here..... The company out of the UK that is selling the Jolida said that his stuff is originall wired for our 110 and then converted over to 220. So I think if one got a piece and rewired it be as it should be.