Tweak a Jolida 302B or Look Elsewhere?


Looking for a good tube-amp match to go with the following system:

Proac 2.5 and Vandersteen 2CE Sig speakers
Rogue Audio 66 Preamp
Cambridge Audio D500SE CDP (soon to upgrade to Arcam FMJ or ???)

I currently own a Jolida 302B that has a slightly humming transformer, and as long as I'm going to fix the tranformer I might consider making some mods. What do you think - is a tweaked 302B suitable for this system, or should I just sell the 302B (fixed or as-is) and go for a different tube amp (e.g. AR, Berning, ???).

Note: someone mentioned to me that the transformer hum could just be a grounding issue. I'll try a cheater. Also, any recommendations for the CDP upgrade with this system. Thanks Alot.
peter_s

Showing 1 response by aldenruss

I have a 302B that has the same issue (a low "hmmmmm", and I bought it brand new from a local dealer early in 2002. Is this just a Jolida thing? I haven't been bothered by it enough to consider replacing it though. One thing that I did to mine was to have my dealer replace the coupling capacitors with BIG Kimber units, and this provided a more powerful sound, especially in the bass. It didn't make a whit of difference about the hum, but the sound is better. Of course, the tubes are all better, too. I would love to hear from other 302B owners about this "hmmmm" sound to see if it's a common affliction.