|
Audio Asylum Thread Printer Get a view of an entire thread on one page |
For Sale Ads |
128.157.160.12
Greetings All,
I am considering replacing my vintage yamaha C-4/M-4 with a Jolida 102B. My yamahas are fully functional but they are vintage and fussy. Sometimes you have to flip a switch a couple times for it to fully engage etc... They sound wonderful but I am ready for something more modern. Also they power a pair of great KLH 5s which I read are well suited for tubes. I'm not necessarily looking for an upgrade, I've just been playing with vintage gear for about 10 years now and I'm ready for something modern. But I certainly wouldn't want a downgrade.
I'm considering the Jolida because it is affordable and well regarded. It seems low risk for investigating tubes. I've read review after review saying it punches above it's weight, but the yamaha's are really great. I'm not sure if the Jolida punches that high.
So, please weigh in if you have any thoughts on the matter.
I'm going to post this in vintage too so sorry for the double post.
Thanks!
Nate
You can't cheat an honest man, never give a sucker an even break or smarten up a chump -- W.C. Fields
Follow Ups:
I don't know how much power your Yamaha has but the Jolida is only about 17 watts. Now tube watts generally gives more power. How efficient are your KLH'S? I think the newer Jolida tube amps have auto-bias you mite want to check that out.......
I have agree with what you're hinting at. The 102 might not have enough juice for the 85 db KLH's. If I were to experiment with tubes, I'd at least move on to an EL 34 based amp.
Sounds like the Yamaha need some controls cleaned. I had some problems with my Yamaha amp and it took a really good cleaning to get them up and running.
As you like the Yamaha consider maybe having a competent tech companies through them; maybe time to change out some caps that may have drifted. I have a pair of the CA610IIs. With the tone amp switched out they sound the same but when switched in, there is a subtle difference even when the tone controls switched out. You can bypass the controls or entire tone a circuit making the amp effectively a passive preamp.
As you like the Yamaha, DONOT dispose of them. Try the Jolida and anything else you want but keep the safety unless and until you definitely find better.
FWIW, I found an equivalent ss amp in terms of power and quality generally better than a tube amp on the Fives. The tube amps seemed to either be thin on the bass end with the woofer or lacked the control adversely affecting the definition. Just because a speaker was designed during the tube era, these were designed during the transition period, does not mean the speakers will sound best with tube gear. The ss Sixteen and Twenty-three ss amp and receiver were in production during the period az well as their compacts so the company had a lot of experience with ss amps and likely used one of their designs to voice their speakers.
Don Brian Levy, J.D.
Toronto ON Canada
I've had the yamahas cleaned and resoldered and serviced by a professional tech (Bjorns in San Antonio to be exact) and it helped. Like I said it is fully functional, it is just 30-35 years old. I am not saying it functions less than you would expect from a piece of gear that old, but I don't think you can expect electronics that seasoned to not have some "personality". The problem is that my entire system is either DIY or vintage which is ripe for a gremlin to take root. It seems like I am always finding a broken cable or the button that needs to be engaged again. I think over the next several years I will replace what I can with modern stuff to lessen the headache! My KLHs are the one thing that seems to never give me troubles so I think they may be the last thing to go.
I'm brainstorming for the most part right now.
Thanks for your time!
Nate
You can't cheat an honest man, never give a sucker an even break or smarten up a chump -- W.C. Fields
If you are looking for long term trouble-free operation then I would not go with tubes. Tubes mean bias adjusting, tube replacing, tube rolling, and a generally higher degree of user involvement if fussing that is way beyone what ss requires.
Now now ... that's not necessarily the case! PrimaLuna (and others I'm sure) have automatic bias (the PM even has 'adaptive' auto-bias to adjust to tube aging and changes), and in fact my 300B tube amp kits have run for many years with no issues whatsoever.
No, you don't want to close them up in a small cabinet etc. but being reasonably careful they can give many years of trouble-free sonic bliss.
I'd recommend the OP look at some PrimaLuna equipment if he want to try tubes, but of course the speakers may NOT be the best match with lowish powered (30W/channel) tube gear, I don't know.
Post a Followup:
FAQ |
Post a Message! |
Forgot Password? |
|
||||||||||||||
|
This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors: