What do you think of this combo?

Source:
Music Hall MMF-5

Amp:
Jolida JD 502B

Speakers:
B&W DM602 S3s

I just want something to relax to in my bedroom. I'm definitely an audiophile (have a great surround sound setup right now) so I want high quality stuff without paying too much.

I think this setup looks great. Not too expensive, but really great components. I don't need much bass response and I can't have floorstanding speakers so I think the B&Ws will work well.

My only worry is that the tube amp will not have the power for the B&Ws. Also, I'm worried about the bass on the tube amp. I do need at least SOME......

What are your thoughts/advice? Thanks guys!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gsibble

Source:
Music Hall MMF-5

Amp:
Jolida JD 502B

Speakers:
B&W DM602 S3s

I just want something to relax to in my bedroom. I'm definitely an audiophile (have a great surround sound setup right now) so I want high quality stuff without paying too much.

I think this setup looks great. Not too expensive, but really great components. I don't need much bass response and I can't have floorstanding speakers so I think the B&Ws will work well.

My only worry is that the tube amp will not have the power for the B&Ws. Also, I'm worried about the bass on the tube amp. I do need at least SOME......

What are your thoughts/advice? Thanks guys!

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Seperately and independently all those are great value components. You would probably need to audition the Jolida with the B&Ws. I've heard the 602s and I think they're capable of plenty of bass for my tastes for a stereo setup, but I'm not a bass head. But I haven't listened to them with tubes. As a general rule the high sensitivity speakers designed with tubes in mind usually have tight, fast bass response but the bass is not that deep. The 602s are a little more extended than the typical high sensitivity bookshelf speaker and may benefit more from the control that solid state offers. You'll have to listen and judge for yourself. You might consider the Jolida 302B with something like the Von Schwiekert VR-1. It would shift your money around - a little more for the speakers and a little less for the amp, but would probably cost about the same.

Also, I don't think the Jolida integrateds have a phono section for your turntable. Unless you already have a seperate phono preamp you intend to use, you will need to address this.

Good luck. It looks like you're off to a great start in putting together a nice 2 channel system.

The VR1s look great. Excellent reviews everywhere. I have absolutely no problems spending a little more on the speakers so I figure I'll just go with them. They'll still work great/better with the 502B than the 302B right?

As for the phono preamp, you're right. Any reccomendations?

I can't wait to get this thing. I am somewhat of an audiophile, but my setup consists of some JBL S412s, an SACD player, and a Denon-3805. Great for movies, but not the best for music.

Any advice given is greatly appreciated! Thanks everyone!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gsibble

The VR1s look great. Excellent reviews everywhere. I have absolutely no problems spending a little more on the speakers so I figure I'll just go with them. They'll still work great/better with the 502B than the 302B right?

As for the phono preamp, you're right. Any reccomendations?

I can't wait to get this thing. I am somewhat of an audiophile, but my setup consists of some JBL S412s, an SACD player, and a Denon-3805. Great for movies, but not the best for music.

Any advice given is greatly appreciated! Thanks everyone!

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I suggested stepping down to the Jolida 302B for 3 reasons - 1) if you're on a tight budget and spend more on speakers then you might want to spend less on the amp, and 2) you probably won't need as much power to drive the VR-1s. That said, you'll rarely have too much power! But at least with the VR-1s, you would be able to listen to both amps and decide which one you like best. I think they use different tubes which may give each its own unique sound.

As for reason 3, you'll need a seperate phono preamp which may be easier to buy if you spend less on the amp. Jolida has a seperate tube phono preamp for $400-500. I haven't heard it but hopefully you can audition it and post your thoughts. There are many seperate phono preamps out there - tube and solid state. Some think that a tube phono preamp with a tube integrated is just too much of a good thing and prefer to use a solid state phono preamp. Others believe that you don't get the full effect of tubes unless all your components are tubed.

Here are some to consider:
$100-400
NAD PP2
Pro-ject Phono Box and Phono Box SE
Bellari VP129
Musical Fidelity X-LPS
Graham Slee Gram Amp2 SE
Creek OBH 15 and 18
Rega Fono

$400-1000
Jolida JD-9
Pro-ject Tube Box
Dynavector P75
EAR 834P for moving magnet
Graham Slee Era Gold Mk.IV
Lehman Black Cube

Of course there are tons more in these price ranges and for much more. Here are a couple of websites where you can get an idea of what's out there.

www.needledoctor.com
www.amusicdirect.com
www.acousticsounds.com
www.audiogon.com

And you can check the reviews section here.

The set-up look interesting and probably do you well.

However my suggestion and it is ONLY what I would do is to spend a little less money and look at the Audio Note AX Two loudspeaker -- it is designed for tube amps and runs $600.00US (may not be cheaper than the B&W. It is currently being used for several months now for a reviewer at Positive feedback who is evaluating it. A review should be forthcoming. i prefer it to the B&W 705 and another reviewer in Denmark prefers it to the N805. Hard to find -- but it's Built for tube amps from a tube amp maker.

What this does is two fold -- now you don;t need the 502's power and can look at the 300b(don;t know how much they're asking) - The AX Two can be easily driven with 9 watts to good levels. Or you can simply buy the good 202a or the 302b. http://www.jolida.com/catalogue/models/jd300b.shtml

OR the Antique Sound Labs ki 22 FOX SET amp for $1695.00US -- SE to me sounds better than PP tubes which still have a slight etch to the rpesentation in this price range. SE costs more and has less watts. You can get them all in Silver as well if looks are important -- they look great up close -- also some are available in GOLD. :) http://www.divertech.com/antiquesl.html#INTEGRATED

What the speakers and cheaper amp afford you though is a more robust Turntable (better turntable).

Again I think your system so far is pretty good -- just saying what I would do with roughly the same money.

Before i get attacked I may as well get attacked full on:

My dealer carries the B&W, AudioNote, ASL and Jolida gear. I personally would take the AX Two with the AN OTO SE or PP amp -- but they don't look as nice as the Jolida or ASL integrateds and costs a fair bit more money. But there is the used market. last time I was there someone upgraded their OTO to a $7000.00US Meish so you may be able to get an OTO slightly used for the same similar price of the Jolida -- and it's no knock on the jolida but you're in a new league with AN. Worth e-mailing them to see what they have available http://www.soundhounds.com/

lastly to address the question of power the 502b will easily drive the 602 -- I drove the CDM 1NT with the ASL AQ 1003DT and it had no problems -- there was not a whole lot of bass but that's more the speaker -- it was tight and nimble - the 602S3 is not tough to drive -- very few B&W's are tough to drive --