Jolida - Fusion 3502 tube integrated amp ...

[joeinid]

I am not sure where it's made. Sure some of the casework could be a little better, but it's killer for the money. You have to save somewhere. I love it. And, no it's not "better" than my CJ or LM gear, but satisfying indeed.

[bzr]

Joe, I'm with you on this one. I have got immense enjoyment from a 40k set-up as well as the same from a 950k set-up too.

[mep]

I am not sure where it's made. Sure some of the casework could be a little better, but it's killer for the money. You have to save somewhere. I love it. And, no it's not "better" than my CJ or LM gear, but satisfying indeed.

Unless something has changed (and things always change), most of the manufacturing and assembly of Jolida gear takes place in China and then is shipped to the U.S. for final assembly/QA. You can tell by the faceplate on your amp that you took the picture of that it wasn't something manufactured in the U.S. in a precision sheet metal shop.

[joeinid]

Bump!

Did someone get a new Jolida Fusion 3502 ? Come on, spill the beans

[tac54]

Bump!

Did someone get a new Jolida Fusion 3502 ? Come on, spill the beans

Yes i set my 3502s up yesterday so i only have a few hours on it and its my first tube amp, im very impressed already. Im using it with the EL34s and i was worried about the bass but im getting more bass than almost all of the SS amps ive owned. Very Happy. Thanks Joe Ted

[joeinid]

Ted,

Welcome to the club. It's a great little amp. I put it back in the system last night with my Devialet driving it as a dac and preamp with the bypass enabled. I have the KT-150's ready to go so in the next day or so, I'll try them out too.

Enjoy and thanks for the initial report. It will only get better.

[tac54]

It is the best amp ive had for low volume listening. Is that something most tube amps have in common? Thanks Ted

[joeinid]

Ted,

I agree it's amazing, especially for the money. The KT-150's sound amazing in it. For me, this is a supreme value. Most tube amps that I've had do perfectly well at low volumes, this Jolida is no exception. I am so happy you love it.

[joeinid]

It is the best amp ive had for low volume listening. Is that something most tube amps have in common? Thanks Ted

I have to agree and I am in total amazement at how awesome my Jolida Fusion 3502 sounds with KT-150 tubes. I do a lot of low level, late night listening. The amount of detail, big sound and powerful bass is stunning. I love the amp and especially love the tubes. Holy cow!

$1600 for the amp and $400 for the tubes.

[more4112]

i just bought this amp ....... and it doesn't have the bass i was looking for ??? will it get better ? i using the stock tubes it came with ...... HELP !!!

[joeinid]

Welcome more4112, thank you for joining.

[more4112]

Welcome more4112, thank you for joining.

thank you joe !!! I'm hoping to find some help with my Jolida 3502s amp , i am new to the tube amp thing and just bought my first tube amp !
kevin

[joeinid]

What speakers, cables, and source are you using?

If your stock tubes are the EL-34's, they are not bass monsters. They have a glorious mid-range and treble, but bass is a little soft and round. If you are experiencing tubes for the first time, coming from solid state, it's different for sure.

Please make sure you are wired correctly on the back of the amp, it's a little confusing.

[more4112]

What speakers, cables, and source are you using?

If your stock tubes are the EL-34's, they are not bass monsters. They have a glorious mid-range and treble, but bass is a little soft and round. If you are experiencing tubes for the first time, coming from solid state, it's different for sure.

Please make sure you are wired correctly on the back of the amp, it's a little confusing.

thanks joe !
I'm using mph60 speakers and I'm wired correctly , cables aren't anything special , I'm using a pro ject tube box s and i have pioneer pl518 turntable with a ortofon blue needle............. i hope that helps ?
kevin

[joeinid]

These?




Stock EL-34's?

[more4112]

Yes those !!

[more4112]

Yes the stock tubes , I have 6550 coming in a week , now I want the kt150's

[more4112]

I also have a sub woofer

[joeinid]

Hi Kevin,

I think you may need a little more time on the tubes to break them in. Also, make sure the bias is set correctly. Both the amp and tubes need some break in as well. The bass on mine is stronger with the KT-150's vs the EL-34's, but it's not like your typical solid state amp. It is still considered soft/round/full compared to solid state. I will give up thunderous bass for a wonderful treble and mid range. You may grow to love the amp as she breaks in but give the experience some time.

[more4112]

thanks for the advice !! i am going to give it time , it already is sounding better !!

[more4112]

joe,
when i turn my by pass on i don't hear anything ? am i not doing something wrong ?

[joeinid]

Bypass is only to "bypass" the preamp section of the integrated to use another preamp or for home theater use. There's a separate input labeled bypass that needs to be used. Please keep in mind that there will be no volume control used on the Jolida so make sure you have the volume down on the other preamp/receiver.

[more4112]

ohhhhhhh , ok ............ my pre amp has no volume control so thats not a option

[joeinid]

The Jolida 3502 is an amazing value. When you add the KT150's, you will get more power, more solid bass, a bigger and more open sound stage with the sweetness of the EL34'S. It is easily an amp/integrated that could be my only piece. It's that good.

[joeinid]

ohhhhhhh , ok ............ my pre amp has no volume control so thats not a option

Yes, please be careful. You could overload the Jolida and blow your speakers.

[more4112]

so , i just had a audio tech advise me against putting kt150's in my amp , says they draw to many volts and could hurt the amp .......... any input ?

[joeinid]

so , i just had a audio tech advise me against putting kt150's in my amp , says they draw to many volts and could hurt the amp .......... any input ?

Jolida says the the Fusion 3502 is FULLY compatible with KT-150's. I am using them, many others who post on the Audiogon forum are using them. It even mentions them on the website. Have no fear. Enjoy.

o Fully Integrated Stereo Amplifier: Can be ordered with 6550, KT 120, Kt 150 or EL34 vacuum tubes. Input 600mV driving 60 watts, maximum 85 watts output with 6550 power output tubes. Input 600mV driving 50 watts, maximum 75 watts output with EL34 power output tubes.

[more4112]

yeah i had read that too , so i was taken back when that tech told me to be careful............. just wondering , did you do the e-z biasing ? or did u use a meter to biasing your tubes ?

[joeinid]

I started out using the EZ bias w/ the LED lights but when I checked with the meter, I found that the LED's gave me a higher bias reading. Now I use the meter.

[more4112]

i ordered my kt150's !!! found some on ebay a set of 4 for $289. ............. fingers crossed !!

[joeinid]

Excellent deal. Have fun. There's a switch in the back, set it properly. Don't be surprised that the bias set screws need a lot of adjustment the first time going from your current settings.

[more4112]

Do set it to the 6550 or el34 setting ?

[joeinid]

6550

[more4112]

just got these , going to give them a whirl !!

[more4112]

so i put my new 6550's in and its great !! a fatter sound and more low end ......... question , one tube does not burn as bright as the others ??? is this something i should be concerned about ???

[joeinid]

As long as it holds bias at the set value, no worries. Check bias after it the unit has been on for a little while and if all is well for a few days to a week or so, it should be fine.

so i put my new 6550's in and its great !! a fatter sound and more low end ......... question , one tube does not burn as bright as the others ??? is this something i should be concerned about ???

[more4112]

.......... so i got my kt150's yesterday and they blew me away !! what amazing full sound !

[more4112]

is there a good upgrade to the 12at7 power drive tubes on my jollier 3502s ???

[Jack]

You really need to replace all four of the small signal tubes with NOS tubes, what is your budget. The AX7 tubes are generally more than the AT7's.

[more4112]

my amp only has 2 of these tubes ( 12at7) .......... I'm thinking about these GENALEX 12AT7 GOLD LION

[Jack]

Take a look at these guys. Always had good luck with them as they amp test in addition to tester.

http://stores.ebay.com/tubemaze

[tube-vds]

so , i just had a audio tech advise me against putting kt150's in my amp , says they draw to many volts and could hurt the amp .......... any input ?

well, i think indeed the kt150 could be a problem - it's safer to use the kt120...

[more4112]

so......... what are you all biasing your kt150 tubes to ??? I'm doing .50 on my meter

[joeinid]

I bias my KT-150's to 550 mV on my meter, or .55 mV. If I use the EZ bias lights, it works out to around 500 mV so I use the meter. They hold very steady.

[johnvb]

Ted,

Welcome to the club. It's a great little amp. I put it back in the system last night with my Devialet driving it as a dac and preamp with the bypass enabled. I have the KT-150's ready to go so in the next day or so, I'll try them out too.

Enjoy and thanks for the initial report. It will only get better.

Hey there, first time poster here. I'm entertaining upgrading to a Jolida later this year. It will be driving a pair of KEF LS50s, high-passed with multiple subs. I use a digital line level crossover setup (MiniDSP Nano DIGI) with a multichannel preamp, to feed all the amps/speakers/subs in the system.

I was originally looking at the JD502p amp, but found out that Jolida is now offering a Fusion 3502P model to replace it. So was wondering how your unit sounded; same, better or worst, in the preamp bypass mode, to give me an idea of the integrated vs power amp.

The 3502P is AFAIK, cheaper than the integrated unit, and can be bridged for more power, just like the old 502Ps. But then the idea of having a "spare" preamp built into the unit is a plus (?) Also Jolida is now offering an aluminum body 3502 integrated, for more $$$, which is said to have even more upgraded parts. Lot of options.

[joeinid]

Welcome to the forum johnvb, thank you for joining.

My Jolida sounds great either way. Obviously, with a better preamp, like my CJ GAT for example, it sounded amazing. You'd never believe that by the sound of it that the amp was $1600 plus $400 for the tubes. The GAT really brought up the performance level but you do not need to spend an arm and a leg to get great sound. I love my Jolida straight too, just as an integrated. Ultimate performance may not be as good but not many people would put a $20K retail preamp on a $2K integrated amp. If you love a great value, Jolida kills it.

[johnvb]

Thanks for the comment. The preamp I use now is a Nuforce MCP-18, not bad sounding for the price I paid (half off when they were being discontinued). Waiting for the 3502P to start selling on Amazon, like the other models already are. Like the free financing deal they offer, that's how I grabbed the KEFs. Delivered in two days, and got them broken in, before the first payment was due.

[joeinid]

Do you know if the 3502P is different than my 3502S? I thought the "S" in mine is for silver. Not sure if they've made any changes.

[johnvb]

From what I understand, the 3502P is the replacement for the JD502P, which is a power amp only model (no preamp section, faceplate knobs, etc). I confirmed this with Jolida of Maryland.

The 3502S model is the integrated unit based on the same power amp design, in a steel chassis (thus the "S").

Then there is another 3502 integrated model, same as above, but uses an aluminum chassis, other upgraded parts and is more expensive.

And all the above models can come from the factory with 34 or 6550 tubes.

I had links to give you but not enough posts yet. Check out "petery-hedden.com/jolida-amplifiers/fusion-amplifiers/" website for more info. And search Jolida Fusion on Amazon, to get an idea of prices.

[joeinid]

Thank you!