What is your history with CJ gear ?

[nz022]

Mine is as follows:

Premier 11 amp (I still think this is one of the most elegant looking amps around)
Premier 10 pre-amp (Kinda dark sounding)
DV2b Cd player ( I really liked this player)
CA200 control amp (My way of simplifying the home audio system)
Premier 17LS (What a wonderful piece of gear. May own another one day)

I still have the CA200.
The others are being enjoyed by other folks now.

BTW...Every piece was lightly used prior to my ownership and I used it for 3-7 years and sold it for more than I paid originally.
Thankfully that helped defer some of my insanely expensive endeavors with NOS tubes during those days.

[Joe Appierto]

My c-j odyssey has been:

PV-10AL bought as a dealer demo in '93 then had it modified in '98 by Bill Thalmann who upgraded the capacitors and RCA connectors and added the phono stage. Still use it for that purpose.
Premier 11A bought used in 2003, still have it and aesthetically one of the nicest pieces they've ever done.
Premier 17LS in 2004, dealer demo and a really fine preamp which then lead me to:
Premier 16LS2 bought used in 2005 from someone you was going to an ARC Ref 3, if I recall.
Premier 140 also bought used in 2005 that I've just had upgraded with the CJD capacitors and it's taken the amp to a whole new level.

Barring a lottery win, my odyssey has ended. Now if I can only find Penelope...:scratch2:

[Puma Cat]

My odyssey has been:
PV12 preamp
Premier 11A power amp
Premier 17LS: my sweet, sweet Premier 17....I will never sell this preamp. It's no wonder that folks that own or have owned this preamp still love it. A gem.
LP70S power amp: a beautiful amplifier, both in looks and in sound, fast, transparent, with oodles of musicality and sweetness; still own this....
CT-5 preamp: cutting edge, formerly SOTA C-J Teflon capped wonder. Took FOREVER to burn in, but once it got there, a wonderful preamp. Very quiet, very transparent with superb bass definition and articulation.
Premier 350: The Beast. Unbelievable power, dynamics, control, presence and a suprisingly luscious midrange. Still burning in, getting better every day. This amp goes to 11.

[Myles B. Astor]

My list is too long and am sure will leave something out.

PV5 pre - first piece of cj gear that owned
Premier 3 pre
PV9 (can't remember if had this?)
Evolution20 pre
Premier 14 pre
ART S.1-3 pre
GAT pre (yes 10 years elapsed, though ART underwent three revisions)

Premier 15 phono
TEA1bc phono

MV75a-1x2 amps - second piece of cj that owned
Premier 4 amp x2 amps
MV-125 amp
Premier 140
Premier 12 amps
LP140Ms amps
ART amps

Also had the ACT2 s.1 in house and reviewed the EF1 phono stage plus heard the Premier 5 and 8 amps quite a bit in a friend's system.

No digital gear :) I also remember the tt and speakers that cj once marketed.

[rthomeint]

I started with
MV50 then upgraded to a MV52 Sold that
PV12 I don't remember what I traded it for
DA2B I still have it.
Premier 11 Brought this with cash from the MV52 sale
McCorrmack MAP 1 still using today
Another MV52 was using in mono as a center channel amp
MV52 which was my step father's and it's current not working
HD3 USB DAC
MET150 5 channel amp which I like better than my Premier 11
coming soon CJ preamp

[joeinid]

Started with the ET5
then picked up the MV-60
found a clean dealer demo CA200 (I really miss this one)
GAT (Miss this one big time :tears:)
Premier 350 (still have it, almost sold it, glad I didn't)

[ronenash]

I started with the PV10 in the mid 90's. Served me well for over 10 years.
PV12 for a brief time
CT6 another great preamp I had for a brief time.
CA200 had it, returned it and then got it back. Could not live with the idea of giving up a chance to have one. Fabulous amp.
LP125m later upgraded to the LP125mSE
ET3 later upgrade to the ET3SE
ACT2.1

[Rayooo]

bought a "Classic" shortly after it was introduced....Hmm this sounds pretty good

Updated the Classic to SE. very nice :yes:

Then when ET3SE was introduced, traded ClassicSE in.... ET3SE even nicer :yes::yes:

Dealer offered good trade-in of ET3SE when ET-5 was introduced. very very nice. :yes::yes::yes:

Then one day a GAT shows up... phew, oh my goodness. :yes::yes::yes::yes::banana::banana::music::music: :D

Probably would have made more sense just to buy a GAT right off...naaa, more fun this way.

who knows what's next..

[turntable]

Started with Prem 16 series 1 and prem 8a's tube mono's, upgraded prem 16 to series 2 and
added prem 15 phono, upgraded to series 2 - then sold - too noisy for LOMC
bought prem350 - then sold it.
moved to Art series 1, then Art series 3
upgraded prem 8a with cj teflon upgrade - current
upgraded to GAT - current
bought a used prem350 - current

cheers

[Briz Vegaas]

Have we done this before...................whatever!
PV14LS2 (good)
CA2OO (better)
CA200 bypass and Weiss INT202 digital volume control (even better)
CA200 bypass and CT5 (best)

[Rommark]

I started with Prem 11A over 10 years ago. I was shocked by the musicality of this little amp but I sold it eventually to explore the world of hifi.
Prem 17LS- sweet preamp but sold it too.
Prem 140- sold
Prem 16LS2- great pre but I also sold it.
Prem 16LS1 (current)- Sweeter sounding to my ears than the LS2.
CA200 (current)- I was pleasantly surprised how good this amp sound especially with 16LS.
I bought a used Prem 11A (current) whenever I'm in the mood to cry!

Speakers used depending on mood are SF Guarneri Homage and SF Amati Anniversario with Cardas Golden Reference cables all around. I'm a happy camper so far!

[joeinid]

I started with Prem 11A over 10 years ago. I was shocked by the musicality of this little amp but I sold it eventually to explore the world of hifi.
Prem 17LS- sweet preamp but sold it too.
Prem 140- sold
Prem 16LS2- great pre but I also sold it.
Prem 16LS1 (current)- Sweeter sounding to my ears than the LS2.
CA200 (current)- I was pleasantly surprised how good this amp sound especially with 16LS.
I bought a used Prem 11A (current) whenever I'm in the mood to cry!

Speakers used depending on mood are SF Guarneri Homage and SF Amati Anniversario with Cardas Golden Reference cables all around. I'm a happy camper so far!

I hope you mean "tears of joy" cry :tears:

Welcome to the forums Rommark !

:welcome2.::pg2:

[Rommark]

I hope you mean "tears of joy" cry :tears:

Welcome to the forums Rommark !

:welcome2.::pg2:

Thank you, Joe!

The emotion evoked by the presentation of the original Guarneris to me is unparalleled, definitely leads to different kinds of "tears" depending on the music. And that to me is what makes this hobby fun. :D

[joeinid]

Thank you, Joe!

The emotion evoked by the presentation of the original Guarneris to me is unparalleled, definitely leads to different kinds of "tears" depending on the music. And that to me is what makes this hobby fun. :D

I know exactly what you mean. I am glad you found us. You have some nice gear.

[oldjayz]

Well not as extensive as some
PV-10
Premier 17LS
Premier 17LS2
Act2 S2

MF2500
LP 70S
PR 350

All were great and each one had it is own sound and each one was a step up.
I am happy where I am right now. I am not sure the GAT will be a step up only different.


Jeff

[rlw3]

1984 pv5 and eagle 2a amp 9 if it was great enough for the great j gordon holt....
pv 8 1990
ls 16 line stage 2002
act 2 sr 2 line stage 2007
premier 4 amp 2004
Premier 12 mono blocks 2012

[Coppy]

Premier 14
MF2250
MF2500a
EF1
Premier 16
MV55 (Bi Amped the B&W Nautilus 800s)
Premier 350
ACTII
ACTII series2
LP140M
TEA1bc
GAT

Hmm... must have lost my mind in there someplace.

[CJ Premier3]

PV 5
PV 10
Premier 3
Premier 14 (liked the PR3 better and sold it again)
MV 60se

[sanji]

Premier 11A
Premier 16 S2

[Joe Appierto]

Premier 11A
Premier 16 S2

That is such a sweet and musical combination. But then I'm prejudiced, :yes: I have both.

Do you still run these together?

[skroudo]

ET3.
ET3SE
CLASSIC 60 SE AMP.

Started my odyssey with CJ one year ago (I'm a newbie) glad I did :)

Sent from my iPhone using A.Aficionado

[EightZeroZeroDelta]

ET3.
ET3SE
CLASSIC 60 SE AMP.

Started my odyssey with CJ one year ago (I'm a newbie) glad I did :)

Sent from my iPhone using A.Aficionado

I've thought very hard about picking up this very same setup.....still wondering about it.

[joeinid]

I've thought very hard about picking up this very same setup.....still wondering about it.

Sean,

With the right speakers the Classic 60 SE can be wonderful. :yes:

[RoadDawgWest]

Started with the....

Premier 14 & Premier 15

[sleepysurf]

2009... Premier 350
2010... CT5
Done (I think!)

[sanji]

That is such a sweet and musical combination. But then I'm prejudiced, :yes: I have both.

Do you still run these together?

Unfortunately not. I ran them both together until recently, then I sold the Prem 11A & replaced it with a Cary 805 Anniversary edition SET. Amazing amp!

[jimtranr]

My c-j "history" is as unexciting as an accordion rendition of "Lady of Spain" (I used to teach the instrument--back in the Dark Ages, before Sputnik launched--so you can consider that assessment "authoritative" :D).

It began with the acquisition of an MF2500 in 2002, followed by a Premier 17LS a year later. They still constitute the heart of my main system. My listening experience with them influenced my decision to eBay a Sonographe SC25 preamp and a pair of Sonographe SA250 amps for my bedroom and home office systems. (And, no, I don't listen intentionally to any accordion music on any of the three systems.)

[Hatzudokiseizo]

Hello My Gear is.....

-CJ Premier 8A
-CJ premier 12
-CJ Premier 16 LS MKII
-CJ PV 75
-CJ PV 11

Greets from Switzerland:music:

[CJ Premier3]

Hi there Switzerland

Where are You from exactly in Switzerland? I am living in Basel! :-) would love to hear my Magnepan 3.7 with Your power amps :-))))

Greets, Marc

[CJ Premier3]

Or Your Premier 16.... ;-)

[EightZeroZeroDelta]

Sean,

With the right speakers the Classic 60 SE can be wonderful. :yes:

Late response....my apologies.

Hmmm...I will have to give it more thought down the line. Me wants them Dyn's first. :)

What did you hear the 60 on, Joe?

[joeinid]

Late response....my apologies.

Hmmm...I will have to give it more thought down the line. Me wants them Dyn's first. :)

What did you hear the 60 on, Joe?

I had an MV60 on my Corrwall III's and my Nola Micros. It did well on both. More enjoyable on the Cornwalls. Probably not enough oomph for the Dyns.

[EightZeroZeroDelta]

I had an MV60 on my Corrwall III's and my Nola Micros. It did well on both. More enjoyable on the Cornwalls. Probably not enough oomph for the Dyns.

Cool. Thanks, Joe.

I think the Dyn's might ask too much as well. All of this is down the road anyhow. We'll have to see how it shakes out.

[joeinid]

Cool. Thanks, Joe.

I think the Dyn's might ask too much as well. All of this is down the road anyhow. We'll have to see how it shakes out.

Your Bryston on the Dyns would be awesome. :music:

[CJ Premier3]

I had my MV60se on my Binaural Bariton, an older Design with only Focal Chassis and 92dB efficiency and it was a very fine match! But with my Maggie 3.7 there just wasnt enough control in the lower frequencies...

[EightZeroZeroDelta]

Your Bryston on the Dyns would be awesome. :music:

Me thinks so too. :smoking:

[EightZeroZeroDelta]

I had my MV60se on my Binaural Bariton, an older Design with only Focal Chassis and 92dB efficiency and it was a very fine match! But with my Maggie 3.7 there just wasnt enough control in the lower frequencies...

I bet! CJ tubes with efficient speakers have to be sweet.

[Hatzudokiseizo]

Hi there Switzerland

Where are You from exactly in Switzerland? I am living in Basel! :-) would love to hear my Magnepan 3.7 with Your power amps :-))))

Greets, Marc

Hello Premier3,

I come from Aargau is next Place to Basel:thumbsup:

[Hatzudokiseizo]

Or Your Premier 16.... ;-)

Yes i have the Premier 16LS MKII.....Superb:D

[Hatzudokiseizo]

I had my MV60se on my Binaural Bariton, an older Design with only Focal Chassis and 92dB efficiency and it was a very fine match! But with my Maggie 3.7 there just wasnt enough control in the lower frequencies...

I Have the CJ MV75 with Electro Voice Interface Delta and 97dB efficiency superb Sound,:DIt can shake the shack

[CJ Premier3]

Hi Hatzudoki (real name?) ;-)

Thats great You are living so close to Basel - what a surprise to meet here at AF - may be one Day theres a chance to listen to music 2gether ?
Congrats on Your System, very interesting !

Marc

[Hatzudokiseizo]

Hi Hatzudoki (real name?) ;-)

Thats great You are living so close to Basel - what a surprise to meet here at AF - may be one Day theres a chance to listen to music 2gether ?
Congrats on Your System, very interesting !

Marc

Hello Marc...

My Real Name is Chris,the User-Name is Hatzudokiseizo:D....Thanks for the Flowers.. My System is the Conrad Johnson Premier 8A and Premier 12 in Bi-Amping System to Loudspeakers KEF Reference 207. The Kef Refrence is on true 5 Way System and wants driven Power. The Deep-Bass,Mid-Bass and Mid is with the Premier 8A! The High and Super-High Drive is with Premier 12, also enough Power for this 5 Way System....

[CJ Premier3]

Hi Chris

There You have a super fine system, with wonderful looking and I guess sounding amps - wish ai had so much tube power to feed my maggies - really wondering how it woul sound - my mv60se got to its limits with my speakers - are the Premier 8a 'better' than the 12s ?

[Hatzudokiseizo]

Hi Chris

There You have a super fine system, with wonderful looking and I guess sounding amps - wish ai had so much tube power to feed my maggies - really wondering how it woul sound - my mv60se got to its limits with my speakers - are the Premier 8a 'better' than the 12s ?

The Premier 8A have 275 Watts Power and the Premier 12 have 140 Watts.So you can not say better this Amps! This Amps are Wonderfull in Sound and quality.The only difference is the Power and assertiveness! I know the Maggis need full Power and the Premier 8A would be rich:thumbsup: The MV60s would very close in Perfomance with the Maggis keep in Limit,then in theory they sound too mild.The Maggis because they need low loads are best so 2 Ohms! The MV60s is to 4 Ohms also fast to their Limits:tears:....

[CJ Premier3]

I am just wondering how the sound would change for example with the Premier12 - they can be seen on the 'used market' quite often...;-) not that I am not happy with my Moon amp but some if the tube strenghts are a bit missing now

[Joe Appierto]

I am just wondering how the sound would change for example with the Premier12 - they can be seen on the 'used market' quite often...;-) not that I am not happy with my Moon amp but some if the tube strenghts are a bit missing now

Hi Marc,

I'm pretty sure you've already seen this on the conrad-johnson web site but this is what they have to say about the Premier 12:

"The Premier Twelve is a mono-block tube power amplifier, in effect a smaller, lower powered version of the Premier Eight. It uses two pair of 6550s to produce 140 watts. It is similar in size and circuit to the stereo Premier Eleven."

I've never actually heard them but would imagine they "sound" like mono-blocked Premier 11s or, half-powered Premier 8s. I think they may be lacking the noise filter on the bias indicator circuit that c-j added on the 8A and the 11A. In addition, for the 8A, c-j upgraded the resistors and capacitors in the voltage amplifier and bias power supplies, and improved the input wiring over what came with the original model 8 amplifier.

Sorry, if this is all stuff you already knew.

Regards,

[CJ Premier3]

Hi Joe

Nice to see You again and thanxxx for Your information! I think I will try a tube power amp again in the future and the Premier12 always fascinated me not only cause of its beautiful looks ;-) The Premier8 is only very rarely on the second-hand market but Premier12 shows up again and again... By the way: how is Your Premier140 doing ? Its one beautiful Design...

Greets
Marc

[Joe Appierto]

Hi Joe

Nice to see You again and thanxxx for Your information! I think I will try a tube power amp again in the future and the Premier12 always fascinated me not only cause of its beautiful looks ;-) The Premier8 is only very rarely on the second-hand market but Premier12 shows up again and again... By the way: how is Your Premier140 doing ? Its one beautiful Design...

Greets
Marc

Thanks for the kind words about the 140, Marc. Well, I've managed to log a good number of hours (around 466) on it and this is definitely the best it's ever sounded.

Along the way I've made some other changes and each time, they were readily apparent. Besides stripping away the tube cage from the 16LS2 and the O-rings from everywhere (a no-no, I know) the HiFi Tuning fuses in the 140 made a clear improvement. Ditto with putting an original model Shunyata Taipan Alpha power cord on the 16LS2.

The biggest change for the better was replacing the Nordost Red Dawn Rev II and Shunyata Lyra speakers cables that I'd been switching back and forth between with XLO Signature 5.1 cables. They seem to combine the speed and detail of the Red Dawn with the Lyra's sound stage and midrange beauty. And the bass is now better than either had ever been.

I know the XLO's are long in the tooth but they've really brought out so much in the system.

Regards,

[CJ Premier3]

Well Joe, You seem to be 'experimenting' quite a lot - ;-) 'Beside' the Music & and the Gear thats one attracting thing for us men in high end, isnt it? smile

I dont know Your speaker- and power cables but know from my own experienc that they can change the sound for better or worse dramatically - a good example are my NBS Monitor 0 and Black Label powercords - hardly believable the improvement - so in the End everything matters - lets enjoy experimenting & the music BigSmile

[Hatzudokiseizo]

Hi Joe

Nice to see You again and thanxxx for Your information! I think I will try a tube power amp again in the future and the Premier12 always fascinated me not only cause of its beautiful looks ;-) The Premier8 is only very rarely on the second-hand market but Premier12 shows up again and again... By the way: how is Your Premier140 doing ? Its one beautiful Design...

Greets
Marc

The Conrad Johnson Premier 8A is very Rarely! This amps was Made in 200 Pairs also the 8, 8A and 8XS komplett!

[CJ Premier3]

Hi Chris

Then the Premier8a is very special amp if there only exist so few pieces ;-) I do like also the looks of it very much - the most beautiful power amps in my opinion from CJ together with the Premier12 - I dont like the look of their more modern designs as well - thats just my taste of course - I do also like the Premier16 and 17 most
smile

Joe, may b You are very very close to the sound quality of the latest CJ amps with KT120 and those Teflon caps ? I dont know but I do guess so - and the looks is also much better - bigsmile

Greets to All
Marc

[Joe Appierto]

Hi Chris

Then the Premier8a is very special amp if there only exist so few pieces ;-) I do like also the looks of it very much - the most beautiful power amps in my opinion from CJ together with the Premier12 - I dont like the look of their more modern designs as well - thats just my taste of course - I do also like the Premier16 and 17 most
smile

Joe, may b You are very very close to the sound quality of the latest CJ amps with KT120 and those Teflon caps ? I dont know but I do guess so - and the looks is also much better - bigsmile

Greets to All
Marc

Hi Marc,

The Teflon caps make a world of difference in the 140, for sure. But I think there's still a good distance between it and the more modern c-j amps; I do confess, though, that I'm enjoying this stretch of the road a lot. :music: The KT120s are due next for me to try out again and I'll see what I think about them this time around.

Regards,

[Hatzudokiseizo]

[QUOTE=CJ Premier3;361418]Hi Chris

Then the Premier8a is very special amp if there only exist so few pieces ;-) I do like also the looks of it very much - the most beautiful power amps in my opinion from CJ together with the Premier12 ...




The Conrad Johnson Premier 8a is for me the most beautiful ever built by Monoblock CJ!The Entourage Premier 12:thumbsup::yes:

[CJ Premier3]

Hi Joe

So You let the Teflon Caps burn in and add the KT120 after the burning in? Right? In the other Thread I did see Your treasure (Premier140) with the KT120... ;-))

Regards
Marc

[Joe Appierto]

Hi Joe

So You let the Teflon Caps burn in and add the KT120 after the burning in? Right? In the other Thread I did see Your treasure (Premier140) with the KT120... ;-))

Regards
Marc

Hi Marc,

I have to say they're sounding pretty good so far. As the amp burns in, I've been trying different combinations of tubes to help pass the burn-in period. Not that it's really been any sort of chore. :)

Regards,

[CJ Premier3]

Smile

May be I should have bought the Premier140 which went away for around 2600$ last Year on ebay - grrr - before I got my Maggies - but there will be again a good chance in the future to try more powerful tube amps on my Planars :-)

[Joe Appierto]

Wow, that was a really excellent price. I'm sure something you like will turn up at a good price but sometimes it takes a while.

[CJ Premier3]

Yeah, You are right! The price in Europe would have been over 10000$ for a new PR140 so the price of 2600$ is just roughly estimated, in fact it was 2900€ ...

Buonas Noches, time 2 sleep in Europe ;-)

[CJ Premier3]

And Chris

You are right, no other monoblock matches the BEAUTY of the Premier8 - I am PERFECTLY D'ACCORD !!!

[Puma Cat]

I don't agree...the LP140, LP275Ms and ART monblocks are better looking.

[Hatzudokiseizo]

I don't agree...the LP140, LP275Ms and ART monblocks are better looking.

It's just like everyone's taste and what looks like mono amplifier. Consider the LP 275 and ART is no longer processing the as the Premier 8A. Take times will return the transformer and transformer an.Die have such a new art cover is completely closed and you can not even see with the eye of the transformer and transformer and the same individually elkos.zum the Premier 8A sees everything with the eye is hot kostenaufwendiger.Ich've already asked at CJ factory for spare parts and there is no such cover plate, etc. ....
I think not, and that the sound is not better or worse but! Conrad Johnson remains and is a private company that markets itself on its philosophy, not like many other products in horrendous mass verkauft.Wer it to own such a product has the will to understand what it was and can be proud to have our own. Are not we ..?

Best sound :music::music::music:Regards Chris

[turntable]

I don't agree...the LP140, LP275Ms and ART monblocks are better looking.

Nah Steve

Nude prem 8a and fully clothed ART amps are the best looking cj amps IMO.:smoking:

Do you ,like blonds, brunettes or red heads? Me, partial to sexy brunettes:D

[Hatzudokiseizo]

Nah Steve

Nude prem 8a and fully clothed ART amps are the best looking cj amps IMO.:smoking:

Do you ,like blonds, brunettes or red heads? Me, partial to sexy brunettes:D

The New ART-Amps look to me like from the 30s...
The Premier 8A is an open sky where you can see the sexy tubes and transformers, capacitors and transformers therefore a work of art of CJ.I think the newer ART-AMPs, the outer material saved,Shame:tears::tears:

[Puma Cat]

I personally think the best looking C-J gear including amps was the curved vestibule front panel on the CT-5, ET-2, and LP-70,140, and 275s.

There's no accounting for tastes...

[Hatzudokiseizo]

I personally think the best looking C-J gear including amps was the curved vestibule front panel on the CT-5, ET-2, and LP-70,140, and 275s.

There's no accounting for tastes...

:thumbsup::thumbsup:

[Coppy]

I personally think the best looking C-J gear including amps was the curved vestibule front panel on the CT-5, ET-2, and LP-70,140, and 275s.

There's no accounting for tastes...

+1

[antaresbluespirit]

1984 pv5 and eagle 2a amp 9 if it was great enough for the great j gordon holt....
pv 8 1990
ls 16 line stage 2002
act 2 sr 2 line stage 2007
premier 4 amp 2004
Premier 12 mono blocks 2012

hi,

I remember the PV8, the soundstage ,rythm and dynamic was very impressive at this time.....I 've kept it and partnered with theMV60SE...kind of mix betweeen the old CJ sound and tne new Cj sound....

Regards

Raymond (from france)

[polyglot]

Greetings,

My journey to the right sound has been so far great, coming from Classe, I found the CJ amp better in the mids

Pre:
PV7
PV10AL (went all digital then, still have my TT somewhere)
PV11L black front
PV12L (more detailed than the PV11L, retired to my second 2 ch system)
PV14L
Premier 14 (excellent value for money, wish have kept it for 2nd system)
CT-5

Power
MV50
MF2300
MF2500
Premier 11
MF2500A (a keeper, had 2, tried biamping for a while)
LP140m (will arrive this week!)

Integrated:
CAV50 (used in the 3rd, office system, now replaced with Eastern Electric MiniMax pre and power tube amps)

Still on the lookout for a P350, maybe a CA200 for the 2nd system