Prima Luna vs jolida

Take a look at the VAS/Cayin line, better sound, better value.

Why? How is it better? I can't even find a price on the mono blocks.

Ummm....that doesn't sound encouraging. That is something I never heard with jolida. something to consider...

Wow, thanks for the input. I picked the prima Luna vs jolida bc the cost is very similar. Long term I will run mono blocks. The jolida just gives the option to put that off for a while.
Two jolidas boast more power, but not the point to point wiring of the prima Luna. It seems to be give and take bw the two. The jolida as a pair of mono blocks is not quite twice the power of the prolgue 6 monos but my gallos are only 87db sensitive, so I am always interested in more power. I wish there were a head to head bw the two...
Btw what's all the hype with the kt120 tubes? I have always rather liked the 6550 in the 502. Just curious why everyone is going that way?

i like rogue and had considered them, but they only offer the titan stereo amp at anywhere near my price point. the m150 looks great, but way past my budget. i did notice a dynaco m125 kit that is available. not sure if i want to hassle with a kit when the jolida bridged puts out about the same power. i have a friend with a jolida 502b that is going to bring it over for a listen. that may help decide the route to take. thanks again for everyone's help and input. fwiw i would love to support rogue and u.s. manufactured products. if i can swing the extra cost that is exactly what i'll do...
brad

i had a chance to listen last night to a jolida 502b in my system. bare with me as this will be a bit long winded, but here are my thoughts. it has really put me into a quandry.
my long term amp of choice has been a b&k ex442. it's dual mono at 200w/ch and was chosen b/c of it's reputation for sounding "tube like". it sounds significantly better in my system than the previous adcom 5400 which sounded shrill even with a tubed front end.
last night i realized that there is no free lunch. the jolida sounded great, but there were some shortcomings. first the strengths. the sound stage was noticeably larger. it had a cool sense of enveloping you. it was also deeper and the "air" seemed more palpable. it was very natural sounding, smoothing over sibilant voices and instruments that can sound piercing in other systems i've listened to with my cds of choice.
on the down side there was a haziness in the imaging. my b&k images pretty well and comparing the two yielded less distinct instrument placement and separation w/ the jolida. the bass was also fairly rolled off and loose w/ the jolida.
lastly, and this is probably the biggest issue for me, the jolida really needed to be played loudly to get dynamic impact. it's as if the music just collapsed from the top and bottom ends leaving only the middle frequencies at anything less than concert hall db. my b&k is engaging at low volume levels. i recognize that i am comparing 60w to 200w/ch, but i question if even running two jolidas bridged will be disappointing.
i am now at a loss at to which way to turn. fwiw i did miss the smooth mids that the jolida offered. there are a couple of my reference cd's that have a flute and biting guitar that can be fatiguing with the b&k. not bad and nothing like i've experienced when listening to krells or the aforementioned adcom. but, for just a few notes it can cause me to wince when listening at loud levels.
my reason for this search is because my previous vandersteens were wonderful and i never thought they could be bested by anything other than a huge investment. what i found was that the gallo were reasonably priced and a significant upgrade in performance. i was hoping to find the same in an amplifier. i wish i could find the power, bass and imaging i get from my b&k with the larger, enveloping sound stage and liquid mids offered by the jolida. i am not sure this combo exists...

i may try to contact jolida, but i am starting to wonder if a different tack may serve better. john hillig at musical concepts and i have talked and i may just modify my b&k into a state of the art amp. the cost is going to be essentially the same as getting a single jolida. all high end bits in my amp is starting to sound pretty good. i dunno at this point. i wish there were a way to trial gear. it seems very few, and none of the equipment i'm interested in, offer a trial period. demo equipment would sure go a long way into helping with these dilemmas!!!

guys, firstly i wanted to say thanks for making audiogon one of the best forums out there. i've been visiting this site for almost 15 years and i've never been insulted, ignored or ridiculed. it's very refreshing. many thanks for the help, advice and wisdom.

i am actually considering the butler tdb2250 at this point. maybe a high end hybrid will work the magic i am looking for in an amp. again it's a shot in the dark. it's also 3k so i dunno.

as i sit here listening to my b&k i am really leaning towards the musical concepts upgrade path. new high end caps throughout and a significantly upgraded power supply all at around 1100.00 is starting to make more sense. i am 98% of the way to ideal. 1100.00 seems like a moderate investment to push it over the top. i'll never get my money back out of it if it tanks though. that's not sitting well in my stomach.

wolf, my buddy has a jolida 502b b/c i convinced him to buy it almost 15 years ago. i have always thought their gear was underrated. however, while not rich, i now have more disposable income and am moving up the ranks. that is why i was looking at getting the 502p's and running them as mono's. i'm just too cheap to waste money on the krell or levinson stuff. just too much hype and i've never heard anything that i really liked other than tubes. the b&k is really not bad and i think you tube guys would like the sound. i'm just looking for that last little bit...