It's just like Christmas...

[Puma Cat]

Was up teaching DFSS at one of our sites in Eugene, OR all this week. After finally getting home Saturday (got scr*w*d by everyone's favorite airline, UAL, once again when I should have been home Friday night), I stopped off at work on my way home from SFO and found this under my cubicle....

http://photos.imageevent.com/puma_cat/fujif31andf20photos/CT-5-1.jpg

Opening it up reveals: a manual, a piece of gray foam, a small hex driver and a small white box.

http://photos.imageevent.com/puma_cat/fujif31andf20photos/CT-5-2.jpg

The small white box:

http://photos.imageevent.com/puma_cat/fujif31andf20photos/CT-5-8.jpg

Hmmmm...what could it be?

[Alberto]

Congrats Puma - Waiting for FedEx is a b*tch, but it's sooooo sweet when you get your goodies!

Enjoy!

Alberto

[Puma Cat]

Why, why...it's a conrad-johnson CT5!

http://photos.imageevent.com/puma_cat/fujif31andf20photos/CT-5-9.jpg

Expertly packaged....that's what I like...

http://photos.imageevent.com/puma_cat/fujif31andf20photos/CT-5-3.jpg

[Puma Cat]

And here it is....

http://photos.imageevent.com/puma_cat/fujif31andf20photos/CT-5-5.jpg

As the Aussies say, "Beauty". :D

It's owner absolutely loved it but decided to upgrade to the new C-J GAT preamplifier (which is a cool $20,000).

It's literally only a couple of months old....

Oh, and picked this up for the best price I have ever seen on Audiogon for a CT-5.

[RoadDawgWest]

Congrats on the CJ. Makes me wish I had my CJ Premier 14 & 15 Pre Amp and Phono Stage to listen to again. Good memories. Enjoy.

[jdandy]

And here it is....

http://photos.imageevent.com/puma_cat/fujif31andf20photos/CT-5-5.jpg

As the Aussies say, "Beauty". :D

Stephen.......Looks brand spanking new. It's a beauty, mate! :)

['cisco]

That's purdy :drool:

Their remote looks better than the Mc's :sigh:

http://photos.imageevent.com/puma_cat/fujif31andf20photos/CT-5-8.jpg

[Puma Cat]

Setup on an small end-table to do some comparisons with the Premier 17LS....

http://photos.imageevent.com/puma_cat/fujif31andf20photos/CT-5-4.jpg

[Puma Cat]

Stephen.......Looks brand spanking new.

It is, effectively. The owner only had it a few months when one of his buddies who also had a CT-5 and upgraded to a GAT and convinced him he had to as well.

The seller wrote me an email last night that now he's sitting home waiting for his dealer to get in a GAT, and the sound of his system "sucks"...he misses the CT-5 already.

My seller was lamenting he was just getting the Teflon caps on the CT-5 burned in and now he's going to have to start all over. He was absolutely terrific to deal with in the transaction. Fast shipping, expert packing and excellent and transparent communication on the shipping, tracking, etc. A perfect gentleman.

[jdandy]

It is, effectively. The owner only had it a few months when one of his buddies who also had a CT-5 and upgraded to a GAT and convinced him he had to as well.

He was absolutely terrific to deal with in the transaction. Fast shipping, expert packing and excellent and transparent communication on the shipping, tracking, etc. A perfect gentleman.

Stephen.......It doesn't get any better than that. :thumbsup:

[Masterlu]

Life is Good in PumaVille! :)

[Puma Cat]

CT-5 in the Sanus Euro II audio rack on it's homemade roller blocks/plywood board/inner tube isolation "shelf".

http://photos.imageevent.com/puma_cat/fujif31andf20photos/CT-5%20Rack%202.jpg

Sure looks nice in combination with the LP70S.

[Puma Cat]

Life is Good in PumaVille! :)

Yep. Today will be spend doing some more comparisons with the Premier 17LS.

Have to say the Premier 17 gives the CT-5 a h*lluva run for it's money.

[two dot]

Looks great... how does it sound???

[Puma Cat]

It sounds wonderful. More neutral and not as warm than the Premier 17, though it has 6dB less gain. Not used to having to turn it up more to get same SPLs for a given recording. VERY quiet, though. Seems to be more transparent, faster and more resolving with cleaner images. Based on some initial comparison listening last night, the jury is still out on which I prefer, though, believer it or not. It may turn out to be one of those "Do you prefer a Cabernet or a more full-bodied Pinot Noir?" kind of things.

It's an admittedly a rather expensive experiment. I always wanted a CT-5, or at least have one in my system to really know if I wanted one. Will live with both for the next several months, and then decide. At the price I got this beauty for, I can always flip it for as much or more than I paid for it if I decide I prefer the Pr17LS for the long term.

The Premier 17 is d*mn good preamp.

[jdandy]

Stephen.......Keep in mind the CJ Premier 17LS is your comfort zone. Listen with an open mind without the analytical switch turned on in your brain. Right now you're wondering if the new preamp can best the old friend. A couple of months should allow the best performer to make itself known.

[Puma Cat]

Stephen.......Keep in mind the CJ Premier 17LS is your comfort zone. Listen with an open mind without the analytical switch turned on in your brain. Right now you're wondering if the new preamp can best the old friend. A couple of months should allow the best performer to make itself known.

i couldn't have put it any better myself. That is exactly the plan.

Also, the seller told me that his friend who sold his CT-5 to upgrade to a GAT said the CT-5 didn't fully open up until it had 1500 hours on it. Whoa. Mine has an estimated 900-1000 hrs as the seller was running it 24/7 with the CD player on repeat to get the caps burned in. Fortunately, there's only two tubes in the CT-5 and they are readily available and inexpensive, so I am not worried about tube life. And there's really only one model and manufacturer of this tube, so there's no need to think about expensive tube rolling. A set of three NOS Ediswan 6922s for the input stage of my LP70S cost me 450 clams! And that's for miniature tubes, we're not talking power tubes like the original Genalex Gold Lion KT88s from the 60s.

[f1 fan]

Stephen...congrats on your new cj piece;) looks great and bet it sounds wonderful.

Dave

[turntable]

Congrats Puma, beautiful and matches your LP70.

I remember when I listened to the ACT2 and CT5, nice pre amps. The 6N30P tubes in these cj pre amps does have a sound which is different to the 6922 based triode circuits.

You will be able to make that choice of what is best for you resonable soon into the listening.

BTW, are you using 6550 or KT88's in your LP70?

cheers

[Puma Cat]

Turntable,
Believe it or not, I am just using the stock C-J 6550s that come with the amp. I tried my Genalex Gold Lion KT88s from my Premier 11A in the LP70S and the amp did not seem to like them at all. So, I stuck with what C-J recommends. The LP70S is a wonderful amp; one of the nicest I've ever heard. The owner at Spearit Sounds, one of the larger C-J dealers in the U.S. thinks it's the nicest-sounding amp C-J has ever built. Not sure I agree, the guy who sold me my Premier 17LS and who had just bought the ACT 2 S2 had a Premier 350, and that was pretty amazing, I have to say.

The other maker of tube amps that I've heard that I like as much as C-J are the Octave amps from Andreas Hoffman. Also truly superb.

As far as SS amps go, Tonepub's Burmester is the best sounding SS amp I've ever heard, with the C-J Premier 350 a close second.

The best integrated I've ever heard, hands-down, was the DarTZeel CTH-8550. That thing is amazing.

[Tonepub]

i couldn't have put it any better myself. That is exactly the plan.

Also, the seller told me that his friend who sold his CT-5 to upgrade to a GAT said the CT-5 didn't fully open up until it had 1500 hours on it. Whoa. Mine has an estimated 900-1000 hrs as the seller was running it 24/7 with the CD player on repeat to get the caps burned in. Fortunately, there's only two tubes in the CT-5 and they are readily available and inexpensive, so I am not worried about tube life. And there's really only one model and manufacturer of this tube, so there's no need to think about expensive tube rolling. A set of three NOS Ediswan 6922s for the input stage of my LP70S cost me 450 clams! And that's for miniature tubes, we're not talking power tubes like the original Genalex Gold Lion KT88s from the 60s.

That's a little out there. The Teflon caps come out of the fog substantially at 300 hours and are broken in by 500-600 hours tops. Running a tube amp or preamp 24/7 can lead to other problems.

And there are still some NOS 6H30's out there that are another step up....

[Puma Cat]

And there are still some NOS 6H30's out there that are another step up....

Interesting. Would it be these by any chance (http://thetubestore.com/russian6h30pdr.html; the DR version)? I'm only familiar with the Sovtek ones. My understanding is that the Electro-Harmonix are made by Sovtek and branded EH.

[Tonepub]

Nope. Gotta find the old ones that BAT used to sell. Usually about $200 a pop.

[Puma Cat]

Nope. Gotta find the old ones that BAT used to sell. Usually about $200 a pop.

I believe this is the tube that BAT used to sell...from the link cited above:

"This tube was made by Reflektor throughout the '80's up to 1992. This is the same 6H30 Supertube offered by Balanced Audio Technology as their premium replacement."

Price is $200/tube.

[turntable]

Turntable,
Believe it or not, I am just using the stock C-J 6550s that come with the amp. I tried my Genalex Gold Lion KT88s from my Premier 11A in the LP70S and the amp did not seem to like them at all. So, I stuck with what C-J recommends. The LP70S is a wonderful amp; one of the nicest I've ever heard. The owner at Spearit Sounds, one of the larger C-J dealers in the U.S. thinks it's the nicest-sounding amp C-J has ever built. Not sure I agree, the guy who sold me my Premier 17LS and who had just bought the ACT 2 S2 had a Premier 350, and that was pretty amazing, I have to say.

The other maker of tube amps that I've heard that I like as much as C-J are the Octave amps from Andreas Hoffman. Also truly superb.

As far as SS amps go, Tonepub's Burmester is the best sounding SS amp I've ever heard, with the C-J Premier 350 a close second.

The best integrated I've ever heard, hands-down, was the DarTZeel CTH-8550. That thing is amazing.

I too use the stock cj 6550's. That is the way cj voice their amps and I am happy with the sound. I did try Kt88's a few years back and they did add some sparkle, however I find the 6550's are better integrated in the bass and a smoother in the tope end.

Having 16 x 6550 tubes makes it expensive to tube roll.

I would luv to hear the new ART amplifier - too rich for me ATM

enjoy the playing around with the new toy.

cheers

[cmalak]

Turntable,
Believe it or not, I am just using the stock C-J 6550s that come with the amp. I tried my Genalex Gold Lion KT88s from my Premier 11A in the LP70S and the amp did not seem to like them at all. So, I stuck with what C-J recommends. The LP70S is a wonderful amp; one of the nicest I've ever heard. The owner at Spearit Sounds, one of the larger C-J dealers in the U.S. thinks it's the nicest-sounding amp C-J has ever built. Not sure I agree, the guy who sold me my Premier 17LS and who had just bought the ACT 2 S2 had a Premier 350, and that was pretty amazing, I have to say.

The other maker of tube amps that I've heard that I like as much as C-J are the Octave amps from Andreas Hoffman. Also truly superb.

As far as SS amps go, Tonepub's Burmester is the best sounding SS amp I've ever heard, with the C-J Premier 350 a close second.

The best integrated I've ever heard, hands-down, was the DarTZeel CTH-8550. That thing is amazing.

Stephen...I heard the CT-5 with the LP-70S at Spearit Sound. It's a very nice sounding combo. Are you in the Boston area by the way? In any case, good luck and enjoy the new CT-5. Will look forward to read about your impressions. :thumbsup:

[cmalak]

I believe this is the tube that BAT used to sell...from the link cited above:

"This tube was made by Reflektor throughout the '80's up to 1992. This is the same 6H30 Supertube offered by Balanced Audio Technology as their premium replacement."

Price is $200/tube.

Yes...the NOS 6H30-DR is the main upgrade option to roll in place of the 6H30. It comes recommended for the ARC preamps that have the 6H30s. I have not tried them in my Ref 3 so can't give you any feedback on them.

[chessman]

Yes...the NOS 6H30-DR is the main upgrade option to roll in place of the 6H30. It comes recommended for the ARC preamps that have the 6H30s. I have not tried them in my Ref 3 so can't give you any feedback on them.

Cyril ... so when the time comes, do I want NOS 6H30-DR or something else for the BAT VK-52SE?

[cmalak]

Cyril ... so when the time comes, do I want NOS 6H30-DR or something else for the BAT VK-52SE?

Randy...if you do a quick search on the Gon, you will see quite a few threads on the 6H30-DR and some people swear by them and others have not noted such a big difference. I checked on BAT's website and on the VK-52SE's product page, it does not list the complete compliment of tubes but it says it has the 6H30 BAT supertube which is the NOS 6H30-DR I believe. So I think you are good to go. Does your manual list what all the tubes are in the preamp?

[chessman]

Cyril ... the manual is not handy, but as I recall it just said 6H30. I was curious primarily as between NOS and Sovtek. Thanks for the help. (And sorry about the threadjack).

[JONERVI]

Puma Cat,

any update on your comparison of the CJ CT5 pre vs the LS17.

Thanks in advance.