Anyone have honest opinion of Jolida amps?

Uhm.. the guy that said jolida = trash .. you obviously only used the cheap $3.00 stock tubes. I upgraded with JJECC8003s gold tubes for the preamp. USA JAN Phillips 12AT7WC for the drivers and let the stock EL34 B output tubes age a little. It sounds kick ass now!
The bass hits hard and deep, mids are crisp, highs are crisp and clear now. And the sound stage is awesome.

I tested with Mozart's Requiem last night. Unfreaking believable! The Chorus shook the house!
If you take the time to research tubes then this is a good amp to get and modify, results will blow you a way. If you just wanna unpack it and use it as a stock amp.. then it's not for you. It doesn't suck. I just think Jolida doesn't want to price the amp with high quality tubes because they would have to sell it for $1,700 or more.
I picked up mine new for $599.99 shipped. turned it on and though my miniwatt N3 sounded better. Now after I upgraded my preamp stage with new tubes and adjusted the bias for the ouput stage... I am really loving this amp.
My Miniwatt can't even come close to it now.

I play sax and blues harp. Now when I crank up a tune to jam with it sounds really good.

I've got 4 ohm Energy cb-20 speakers attached to it right now.

I owned a Jolida 202 years ago and enjoyed it, but that was before the controversy over the "Chinese" Jolida vs. the "Maryland" Jolida. I read the article that described the difference in the nameplates and what was a "real" Jolida and what was not. How do you know what you are buying and who supports it if it breaks?

I am a systems engineer. I work on my own stuff.
I have an oscilloscope, j202 schematic, and my sons claim I have "mad soldering skills".. I bought this as a decent platform to build upon and tweek. I was amazed that all I really needed to do was upgrade the preamp section to get the sound I wanted.

In my opinion, Jolida is probably the best value in HI FI audio today. And just so everyone who thinks that's absurd has more 'ammunition', I think MF is pretty close. They're both giant killers based on my direct comparisons with new Cary and McCormacks, which cost $5,000 for seperates. And I love B&W too. I've owned Conrad Johnson and Classe' gear, so I have had a well rounded sampling of 'accepted' gear that noone disputes as being HI-FI.

I have a Jolida tube cd player and it was so much better than the MF NU-VISTA side by side at my house, that my friend sold his NU-VISTA the next day and bought a Jolida cd player. Of course you have to get rid of the cheap $3 tubes. I've tried Mullards (vintage) and Telefunkens and that cd player really lit up, I prefer 1960s Mullards.

That told me that different companies each may do a certain thing well. MFs several thousand dollar cd player sucked next to Jolida's $900 model. But MF makes amazing power amps. I hear Krell does too. I had a BK 2020 which was great, but I hate their preamp I bought (and got rid of).

I still don't know why Jolida's 3000 Fusion preamp isn't talked about more. It's only $1,000, has balanced XLRs, and sounds noticably better than their Envoy, but it lacks a phono input. When I bought the Fusion and broke it in, I thought (and still think) I found the Holy Grail. I use it with a MF A3cr (I prefer a tube pre and SS power amp). So I can't comment on Jolida's power amps or integrateds. But I do know they make hybrids (tube pre, ss power), and based on their incredible cd player and preamp...I would have to at least listen to Jolida before buying anything else.

@Samzx12: I think that's the most naive' thing I've read on agon, "you get what you pay for".

To me, the best thing about audiophile gear (beside the sound) is finding gear affordable components that sound better than those costing thousands more. Stereo equipment is one of the few great items that you can buy where you can get a lot more than you pay for, if you try. Just because something has a Cary name on it's faceplate, doesn't automatically make it $5,000 'better' than less expensive gear...Thank God!

If it were that easy, there would be no discussions. Everyone would know exactly how 'good' everything is by just comparing prices. It aint that easy.