I purchased the Jolida JD 202A Integrated Stereo Tube Amplifier as part of an upgrade to my vinyl listening system. We have a turntable setup in our ‘game room’ and I wanted to keep it retro while still maintaining high audio quality…. that and I’ve always wanted a Vacuum Tube amplifier! So this fills both a requirement for a new amplifier and a long time dream.
I settled on the JD 202A because it was the perfect marriage of price and performance. The JD 202A puts out 40 watts per channel (60 watts peak) using four EL34 tubes for power output stage, two 12X7A tubes for pre-amplification and two 12AT7 tubes for power drivers because the JD 202A is a Push-Pull amplifier.
 Jolida JD 202A Integrated Stereo Tube Amplifier |
 Picture I took of the Tube Glow from the JD 202A Amplifier |
I ordered the Jolida JD 202A from the fine folks at NeedleDoctor.com for $825.00. The amp itself shipped direct from Jolida and arrived a few days after ordering. It came very well packed with the tubes in individual slots within the styrofoam bock, so they were well protected. The amp itself had a black powder on the black parts of the chassis and that got all over my hands, but otherwise it came in perfect condition. It’s fairly heavy, so make sure if you’re putting it on a shelved unit that the shelf is able to hold the weight.
The tubes come paired and labeled with a corresponding slot on the JD 202A from Jolida which was nice! Took the guess work out of which tubes needed to go where 
The printed manual that comes with the JD 202A is also very informative and provides instructions on how to adjust the bias if need be.
I hooked the Jolida into my system which uses:
- Stanton STR8-90 Direct Drive Turntable
- Pro-Ject Tube Box II Phono Preamplifier
- Infinity Interlude IL30 Speakers (6.5 inch woofer, dome tweet with 150w maximum power handling @ 8ohms)
- Monster HTS 3500 Power Conditioner
Picture of my finished setup!
I first plugged in only the Jolida amplifier into the speakers so I could listen to see if any ambient noise would come from the amplifier while operating. To my surprise the Jolida had no audible hum or hiss which is present in many vacuum tube amplifiers that are poorly constructed. Even turning the volume up to near maximum still resulted in very little noise.
After letting the tubes heat up for about ten minutes before a first run I powered everything on and gave the Jolida my standard listening regime which includes Fugees – The Score, Ben Folds – Ben Folds Live and Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Duke Ellington Songbook.
I’m don’t have too much experience using Tube Amplifiers so I’m not in a good position to compare the performance of the Jolida compared to others, but I can compare it to the Harman/Kardon AVR7300 I was using to drive my system before the Jolida Arrived!
As far as performance goes, I am very pleased with how much depth the Jolida brings to the music. My wife and I are just amazed because even at half volume it sounds like there’s a jazz hall or concert in the other room. The sound is very natural and realistic without any distortion. The sound stage is very large and the music has a very warm feel to it, which is expected with a Vacuum Tube based amplifier.
It’s actually amazing what a difference in amplifiers could do. Even though the Harman/Kardon AVR7300 has a much higher power rating (125w x2), the Jolida 202A was able to bring the speakers to life giving the music much more depth.
To see if I could make the Jolida crumble, I put on the 12″ single of Prodigy’s “Smack My Bitch Up”, which combines techno beats with a very deep, very loud bass line. I expected with my Infinity IL30 speakers (which only have single 6.5″ drivers) or the Amp to call it quits once I kicked up the volume. To my surprise, both components held their ground with the Jolida making my small floor standing setup shake windows through our entire house. Amazing!
All in all, I’m very pleased with my purchase of the Jolida JD 202A Integrated Stereo Tube Amplifier! If you’re looking into this model then feel free to ask any questions you might have! I’ll answer them to the best of my ability!
Hope this little review was able to help someone out there struggling with the same decision I had to make!
Cheers!
#1 by Ken Schreiber on February 1, 2009 - 1:36 PM
I just bought one. I have been intrigued by tube amps for sooooo long. I can’t wait to hear it!
#2 by eric on February 2, 2009 - 12:54 PM
@Ken Schreiber
Great! I hope you enjoy it! It’s been a great tube amplifier. Very reliable and fantastic sound.
What type of speakers are you driving with it?
#3 by Ken Schreiber on February 5, 2009 - 4:20 AM
I have a pair of loaded horn speakers from Tang-Band at t he minute. I don’t know how they will do and am willing to buy other speakers if need be. They have a 4″ full range driver and a really innovative folded horn in the cabinet. The cabinet is actually stacked plates and each section is another portion of the folded horn.
I used to build speakers but in the past 10 years haven’t even had a stereo at all. I sold the last pair of speakers I built and have been listening to my iPod through a dock.
#4 by DJ Brands on September 3, 2009 - 1:04 AM
Finally hooked up my 202 to the Klipsh La Scala’s…..WOW. Was running a Dynaco PAT5 and 400 power amp, the Jolida blew em away.
However in defense of the solid state dynaco’s,
thier getting on the 30 year old trail and are probably due for a pro upgrade. Any takers for the dynaco’s in central fl let me know?
#5 by DJ Brands on September 3, 2009 - 1:05 AM
Pee Ess: I have no inputs for a phono stage on my 202, how you do it?
#6 by eric on September 3, 2009 - 9:04 AM
In a follow-up article to this one, I talked about the Pro-Ject Tube Box II that I used as a Phono Pre-Amp that I used with the Jolida Tube Amp
http://www.enusbaum.com/blog/2008/03/27/review-pro-ject-tube-box-ii-phono-preamplifier/