winchester21 Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 My Jolida is headed back for remote issue repairs tomorrow. Several folks asked me to compare the two. Here goes Jolida- I was afraid that the cambridge with its 2 DACs and its "earth balanced" newfangled technology might just upstage my Jolida that I paid a lot more $$$ for--did not happen. The Joilda pretty much mowed it down in all areas except for the remote and the display and the display is subjective.The Jolida has a warm room filling presence and a very tube type sound character. Red box CDs were much better on the Jolida which surprised me - figuring incorrectly that the 2 DAC setup would best the Jolida. Not the case. The XRCDs were also better on the Jolida. For some strange reason the Roy Orbison's Greatest hits on MFSL sounded close on both units. Go figure. The Jolida is the crown jewell for under a grand IMHO and I question the measurable difference between it and the megabucks units costing thousands. The Jolida gets a 9.0 on my scale both in overall performance and bang for the buck. I reserve a 10 due to my limited exposure to the higher priced units in person.The general consensus is that the Jolida kills everything under 2k. Cambridge 640V2.0 This unit won a boatload of awards at the regular price whic I think was around 500-600. It is not a Jolida but it is darn close on some tracks and high end cds which it seems to really like- XRCDs and the like. At 349.00 delivered it is the audio deal of the year. Anyone who is looking at a budget CD for a mid level system or someone who needs a 2nd unit or is converting over from using a DVD player SHOULD NOT MISS THIS DEAL. I have been shopping CD players for the last 10 months and this is the king of values. Great remote- Nice display panel with adjustable dimming- 2 DACs- lots of bells and whistles for the low price. I am thrilled with the purchase and could not be happier. Overal performance- 8.3 Bang for the buck- A solid 10. Components-mac 2105 power amp- Peach 2 Pre- Monster interconnect cables- Nordquist Blue Heaven speaker cables. Cds- Pink FL- Dark side- SACD hybrid- Mighty Sam Mcclean- XRCD- ROy Orbisons geeatest hits- MFSL master disc- Diana Krall- quiet nights -Mark Knoffler -Golden heart-Black Keys-Attack and release. Bottom line - 2 winners- Is the Joilda worth the extra 500??? yes if you have it to spend. Yes if you have tubes and heritage- No if you have other audio needs to address. The 350.00 price tag makes the cambridge really hard to turn down. As a second player or for a second system it is a no brainer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winchester21 Posted August 23, 2009 Author Share Posted August 23, 2009 Sorry to go on about this player.. but I am really enjoying this Cambridge.. Had I not ever had the Jolida.. I would have been very happy whith this one. I would love hear the higher end 840 or 850 series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audio Flynn Posted August 23, 2009 Share Posted August 23, 2009 I had a forum memeber bring a jolidao over to the house in 2003 or something. Darn amazing CD player consideing I am not enamored by Jolida amps in the least. I habve not sen the Audio magazines review the Jolida in several years. More than past due. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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