Nad or Jolida....That is the question...?


Hi, I recently bought a pair of JBL ND310 speakers for music mainly and the sansui integrated *Vintage* Is having problems with noise...soo all i hae now is my cheapo reciever. I plan on buying a 2 channel amp. With at least 100 wpc in the future and i have kinof narrowed it down to a couple..the NAD c370 and the Jolida 1501. Bolth in the $550-$575 price range. I like to have nice clear highs and smooth mids as well as enough power for my dual 10" woofers. So i can FEEL that bass drum....yeah....gotta love that....Anyway i am kina going more for the nad..And what are your suggestions about my choices?........Maybe suggest some more amps in that range.. i Am looking for an integrated or maybe integrated mono blocks..But anyway.. Just wantd to know what you all thought.. My speakers specs are 91 db, 250 watt And they like power. Well thanks i look forward to your responses. Brandon
cboyl27582e99a
Hey thanks for the responses...still have a long time until its time to buy so i have plenty of time to research,decide. By the way OZ..I have Clarity Wires which i know only you and response audio sell. And i really love them..i got the "emberglow". Looked at the roksan. Nice but a little expensive. for me anyway. Not easy being 16 and loving this hobby. but...This is kina what i have been hearing..go for the nad or the jolida...back and fourth. i am still open to any other ideas..but my budget is limited! Thanks.
I understand your frustration, when I was 16 I had to build my own stuff to get decent sound at a price I could afford. But with the internet market that isn't a necessity. I've owned a series of NAD and Jolida amps in my various secondary systems and recommend them to my friends who don't want to drop a bundle. I wouldn't look beyond those two lines. I'm a tube kinda guy with customized 400W Melos monoblocks in my main system so I tend to keep the Jolidas and sell the NADs to my friends. However, I don't think you can go terribly wrong with either. I would personally recommend the Jolida 1501 and change the 12AX7 stock tubes to some decent NOS. With that change you will get a more musical system than with the 370. The stock Chinese tubes in the Jolidas are so bad that it isn't unusual to find NOS tubes in the used units sold on audiogon. If you don't want to mess around with tube rolling, I'd give the nod to the NAD. Good Luck!
Well, I've owned both NADs and Jolidas. You don't say whether your JBLs run 8 or 4 ohm nominal, but 91 db/w is fairly efficient. Note that some tube amps can get a little flabby at the bottom as you demand more current from them. That being said, I think the final choice will depend on your listening taste and tolerance for maintenance. If you like head-banging music with mountains of controlled bass, then I guess the NAD is the way to go. On the other hand, the Jolida does a better job in presenting more palpable mids and sweeter highs. The Jolida has good bass to boot. It will also tame down a digital source better. The Jolida will also require better ventilation and periodic retubing (some cost) and rebiasing (not that big a deal). The other advantage of the Jolida is the ability to fine tune the sound by way of tube choice (and some judicious mods). For what I listen to, I found the Jolida a much more musical piece of equipment. With some select modifications, it was really no contest. Your mileage may differ, however. By the way, there's a lot more out there than NAD and Jolida, so don't necessarily limit yourself so.
Thanks!..my spkrs are 8 ohms. And the kina music i listen to is rock,reggae,some rap,classic rock,instrumantals..like santana. Are any of these amps for me?...Also what other brands/models do you reccomend? Thanks :D
Just to be clear, the Jolida 1501 is a hybrid design. That means transistors for the power amplification. That also means NO biasing. There are only two 12AX7 tubes which are used as the preamp/isolation stages.