Jolida FX Tube DAC

This is an aside but if you have the FX DAC or the integrated and don't care for the bright blue LEDs there are a couple of things you can do about it. I have the FX10 integrated on a shelf directly above the computer monitor in my office and the blue LEDs were very distracting.

I first took out the tubes and put a couple of layers of dark red fingernail polish on the LEDs, which created a much less obnoxious purple-blue color and cut down the brightness.

After awhile I felt that wasn't enough so I took off the bottom plate of the amp and clipped one of the leads to each LED. It was a very simple process and I was much happier with something that now looks like a tube amp instead of a video game.

Really nice amp, I use it with a pair of JohnBlue JB3 speakers and it's a wonderful combo.

With the Jolida Glass FX Tube DAC can you roll in other 12AX7 tube types such as 5751, 7025, 6681 or 7058 tubes? If you have rolled in these kinds of tubes what were your thoughts on them with the FX Tube DAC?

Jedinite24 - The 5751 was recommended to me but because I'd received several pair of vintage 12ax7's in a tube swap I never pursued any of the other types. I've used vintage and new Tung Sol, RCA black plate, Matsushita, Sylvania/Baldwin, the stock Electro-Harmonix and reissue Gold Lion pairs. The stock tubes are nothing special but all the others sound great and the differences among them are not that significant.

Thanks for all the great answers. I did like the Jolida, but the lack of a good driver for my Mac has been an issue and I could never quite get enough warmth out of it. I have moved to the Wyred 4 Sound DAC-1 and I am very happy so far.

The integration with the Mac and Apple TV2 are great! I also have a digital line run from my Oppo BD95 into the W4S and call me crazy, but I think it is better then the Oppo connected via XLR to my Jolida 502.

Lots of changes and time for things to break in, but I think I am moving in the correct direction,.

I totally lost track of this thread.

Thanks for sharing Sfar. I've definitely made not of what you have tried in the FX DAC. So far I have a lot of NOS tubes from the mid 60s and 70s to try. The only new tubes I have are the Tung Sols, Mullard reissues, and various Groove Tubes that I got from music shops. I finally did get a Jolida Glass FX Tube DAC and will definitely try the 5751 tubes in place of 12AX7 tubes. The reason being is that I used the Glass FX Tube DAC with NOS RCA Grey plate 12AX7 tubes and holy cow I only had to move the volume control on my headphone amp up by a hair before the music got too loud. I'm hoping the 5751 type tubes will help.

Plosive. Thanks for sharing your exp as well. I'm going to be doing something similar to our set-up. I have the Oppo BDP-83SE and will use it as a transport to the Jolida Glass FX Tube DAC. I'd love to hear the BDP-95 W4S DAC-1 combo you have. I like the BDP-83SE's sound in my system and am hoping the Jolida will add a different flavor to the music. I too have a Jolida 502 amp. This should be fun.