new to this


Im a relative newbie to turntable setups etc,I recently bought a rega rp1 with performance pack and am now looking to buy a pre amp I've been looking at the jolida jd 9,does anyone have a opinion on this amp or can offer any other suggestions in this price range,any input will be greatly appreciated
128x128corin
Well, as others have suggested you should probably choose your speakers before deciding about the amp, and the preamp and/or phono stage if the amp doesn't include those functions.

Provided that the X-100A is TRULY well restored, and provided that you find speakers you are happy with that are good matches for the X-100A, I think you would be unlikely to get significantly better sonics than it would provide for anything close to $500 plus the price of the speakers.

HOWEVER, going with that amp would seriously constrain your choice of speakers. It appears that the X-100A does not provide 4 ohm output taps, just 8 ohm and 16 ohm taps. So the speakers should not have an impedance which drops below the 6 to 8 ohm area at any frequency. Also, the amp's maximum power capability is only about 17 watts per channel. So the speakers you choose would have to have fairly high efficiency, to a greater or lesser degree depending on the dynamic range of the kinds of recordings you listen to (i.e., the DIFFERENCE in volume between the loudest and the softest notes, symphonic classical music being one of the most demanding genres in that respect), and on your preferred volume levels, room size, and listening distance.

As far as the JD9 possibility is concerned, the only constraint use of that phono stage would place on an integrated amp that would be used with it is likely to be that you should avoid amps having low input impedances. The JD9 has a specified output impedance of 600 ohms. Chances are that rises to significantly higher values at deep bass frequencies, perhaps something like 2000 to 4000 ohms at 20 Hz. To assure that no deep bass rolloff would occur as a result of an impedance matching issue, it would be safest to multiply the higher of those numbers by 10 to determine the minimum preferable amplifier input impedance, meaning 40K. Lower values might work satisfactorily, but would create some uncertainty.

Good luck. Regards,
-- Al
What do you have as a budget for speakers and amplification (integrated + phonostage)?

Were you considering the RA-1520 as a new or used unit?

the RA was used but I've now changed my mind for the 50th time lol,I think I'm gonna go with a rega brio integrated amp and do some research into speakers,didn't realize there was so many nuances to speakers amps etc,I was hoping to only spend a total of 800 to a 1000 for speakers and amp but it seems to have a decent system even at entry level its going to cost me more than that.