Does this amp have a problem or is it OK to buy?


I'm considering a Jolida 302B. Having seen reports of humming trannies, I asked the seller about it. His response is below. I don't know if this is a problem or normal. Even if slightly wrong, I'd rather not buy. What do you think?
"With the speakers connected to the 302B, I can hear a very faint hum from the speakers, but you have to put your ear right against the speaker grill to hear the hum. Turning the volume knob on the 302B has no effect on the amount of hum - the sound level remains constant regardless of the volume setting. Again, I must stress that the volume of hum is so slight, I doubt if anyone in a silent room will notice it, even when standing close to it. You really have to put your ear against the speaker to hear the very faint hum. I believe this kind of hum is generated by all amplifiers - try listening to your current amp. When listening to music, I doubt if one can hear the effects of it even in quiet passages.

Now, with a CD player hooked up to the Jolida, the hum level increases as you increase the volume on 302B. When the volume dial is turned down to minimum, the level of hum is very faint (same level as if cd player was not connected). When the volume is turned to MAXIMUM, the hum becomes noticeable as you approach the speaker (about 3 feet away). In addition, when the CD player is on, and the input selector on the 302B is set to other than CD (such as AUX), turning the volume knob has no bearing on the hum level - it stays constant at the barely audible level. I believe what this indicates is that by itself, the 302B is very quiet (just a barely audible hum), and when you hook up a CD player or phono stage, the inherent noise (hum) from those external sources are magnified as you increase the volume. "

Thanks....
river251

Showing 1 response by banquo363

Of course buyer beware, but if we believe the seller's description of the hum, I wouldn't worry about it. "very faint hum" with ears pressed up against speaker is a cause for concern? I think not. I have a Music Reference rm10 tube amp that is known for its quietude and I get the same thing through my system. It may not be the amp's fault but given the faintness of the hum I'm not too worried about tracking it down (which can be a nightmare).

To be honest, I used to be, but then again I was being neurotic.