ET250S : a sleeper?

[Rafale]

ET250s seems underestimated and he stays in the shadow of the Prem 350A, contrary to certain Anglo-Saxon articles the French press has praised this amplifier and considers that he is one of the best amplifiers produced by CJ ever, we find him at present on the second-hand market at very good prices thank you for your opinions and comments
Philippe

[Puma Cat]

Philippe...this is exactly what I've heard, also. A friend who has one (and a CT-5) also thinks the amp is under-rated and a sleeper. They are more numerous on the used market...you almost never see Premier 350s for sale.

Love to actually hear an ET250S sometime.

[jdandy]

Philippe.......Here is a review of the Conrad Johnson ET250S at Enjoy The Music. http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/equipment/0309/cj_et250s.htm


http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/equipment/0309/conrad_johnson_et250S.jpg

[Tonepub]

It's a nice amp. Doesn't have the weight of a Premier 350 though. Slightly warmer sounding and also doesn't have the bottomless power of a 350. But the good news is they are a bit less expensive and you can tune the sound a bit more to your taste because of the tubes.

The 350 is more dynamic, and has a bigger sound than the ET-250, but it's still a fun amp. Having had both, I'd still go for the 350...

[Rafale]

Philippe...this is exactly what I've heard, also. A friend who has one (and a CT-5) also thinks the amp is under-rated and a sleeper. They are more numerous on the used market...you almost never see Premier 350s for sale.

Love to actually hear an ET250S sometime.

stephen

for information there is two 350 on the European s/h market at the moment at the 4500 and 5900 euro....
I wait for the conclusions of my friend on the association CT5 / ET250s versus CT5 / LP70s
Philippe

[Rafale]

Philippe.......Here is a review of the Conrad Johnson ET250S at Enjoy The Music. http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/equipment/0309/cj_et250s.htm


http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/equipment/0309/conrad_johnson_et250S.jpg

Thanks Dan....

[ronenash]

Jeff, what would be your preference between the ET-250s and the CA200? I am using the CA200 as a power amp through the theater input. I am considering an upgrade to the ET-250s. Any thoughts?

Thanks

[Tonepub]

The CA200 sounds a lot closer to the Premier 350 in terms of voicing than the ET-250. It's all solid state. So if you'd like a bit of warmth and the ability to fine tune via the tube, it's certainly not a bad move.

[Rafale]

Gents,they are the last days of my LP140M :tears:, the road towards ART or LP275M led me to their resale, to wait I shall have an ET250s which should arrive next week I shall not miss to announce you my impressions of listening....

[joeinid]

Gents,they are the last days of my LP140M :tears:, the road towards ART or LP275M led me to their resale, to wait I shall have an ET250s which should arrive next week I shall not miss to announce you my impressions of listening....

Way to go Philippe! :banana: We are all curious for your impressions.

[jimtranr]

Way to go Philippe! :banana: We are all curious for your impressions.

+1

[Rafale]

It seems to me that Coppy has LP140M and ET250s and that each have their key points

[Jerome W]

It seems to me that Coppy has LP140M and ET250s and that each have their key points

Philippe,
Imho you should first upgrade this budget TT you have....:lmao:

[Puma Cat]

Philippe,
Sorry to hear of the LP140Ms going...while I anxiously await your impressions of the ET250S, my expectation is that you will prefer the LP140Ms.

[turntable]

Gents,they are the last days of my LP140M :tears:, the road towards ART or LP275M led me to their resale, to wait I shall have an ET250s which should arrive next week I shall not miss to announce you my impressions of listening....

That is awesome. Lp275's or ART's will give you more of everything, then some. Don't keep us in suspense. What are you getting?

[Coppy]

It seems to me that Coppy has LP140M and ET250s and that each have their key points

Coppy has a Premier 350 and the LP140s. Commented before, for Rock music or anything really loud with many base lines, the P350... otherwise for transparency and that intimate the room feel for mids etc... the LP 140s excel. I've heard from an important C-J source that they consider the KT120 the new super tube. But beware, it's taller and may not fit inside all chassis/tube covers. Looking forward to our friends results in his Premier 11.:music:

[Rafale]

Ok Gents, ET250S in da house, very heavy and less than 300h according the first owner....
will keep you updated.....:yes:
At the moment I have another problem to be adjusted, I activated a crisis of renal colic having lifted the LP140M, I am going to remember it for a long time of these amplifiers :tears::tears::tears:

[joeinid]

Thanks for the update. I've been looking at that amp for a long time. Looks like a nice balance of tubes and solid state. A month in heavy rotation and she should be singing sweetly. Congrats!!!!!

Enjoy!

[joeinid]

Hi Philippe,

Hope you are feeling better. How is the ET250S sounding?

Joe

[jwhite613]

Philippe... I didn't notice this before. I too hope that you are feeling better. Also Congratulations on the new gear!

[Rafale]

Thank you my friends
the pain is bearable because the stone is too big to go out of the kidney on the other hand I have hematuria +++ , next week I am scheduled for lithotrity

THE ET250S is one rather a pleasant surprise I you will say about it more in some time.... but I think that my Elipsa appreciates the power
What I can say right now it is that he is very transparent and very dynamic the first listening was bad but I had forgotten that he too inverts the phase...

[jimtranr]

Philippe...I'm very sorry to hear about your problem. Best wishes to you on getting it taken care of.

[Rafale]

Jim...thanks....c'est vraiment gentil et très apprécié

[Puma Cat]

Philippe,

How is the ET250S working out?

[Rafale]

Hum, my ET250s likes in no way my Yter HP cable, have of much better results with an old MIT terminator 2 of the 90's

[Rafale]

ET250s update :
things are set up, but I am going to have to change my speakers cable, this amplifier is an animal very sensitive to its environment, he can be puzzling when he is badly associated but when upstream and downstream that corresponds well.....IT IS THE HELL :drums:

[joeinid]

ET250s update :
things are set up, but I am going to have to change my speakers cable, this amplifier is an animal very sensitive to its environment, he can be puzzling when he is badly associated but when upstream and downstream that corresponds well.....IT IS THE HELL :drums:
Thanks!

That's one thing that makes me nervous, finding the right speaker cables and interconnects for my gear.

Good Luck!

Joe

[cmalak]

Does anyone know how much the ET250SE puts out into a 2ohm load? I know it's rated at 250wpc into 8ohms and 400wpc into 4ohms. Is it's power supply as robust as the Premier 350 that it can deal with tough loads below 3ohms? Thx

[Puma Cat]

Yes.

It will drive Maggies very effectively, arguably one of the hardest speakers to drive on the planet.

Regarding power supplies...that's what separates the men from the boys, and C-J amps are exemplary in this regard. We're talking being in the Burmester leagues here...

That amp will kick ass....

[ronenash]

Yes.

It will drive Maggies very effectively, arguably one of the hardest speakers to drive on the planet.

Regarding power supplies...that's what separates the men from the boys, and C-J amps are exemplary in this regard. We're talking being in the Burmester leagues here...

That amp will kick ass....

This is very true. All CJ amps I have used had over built power supplies. My Motif ms2001 has 240,000uf of power suppy capacitors and a power transformer the size of a basket ball. For comparison most 200w amplifiers out there have around 80,000uf of power supply capacitors!

[Rafale]

My ET250s really begins to please me, it is faster and better in the bottom than the LP140 m, it misses that a little of density and liquidity in the medium which is too much ethereal to my taste but 6922 Gold Lion sharply improved things, I wait for NOS Mulard CV2492....

[Puma Cat]

Cool, Philoppe, I was just going to write and ask you how the ET250S was settling in. It will be a bit more neutral than the LP140Ms, I think. Tough to get that density and liquidity in the midrange without tubes, methinks.

[dpod4]

Cool, Philoppe, I was just going to write and ask you how the ET250S was settling in. It will be a bit more neutral than the LP140Ms, I think. Tough to get that density and liquidity in the midrange without tubes, methinks.

Density is the best descriptor I've read to describe tubes. More meat on the proverbial bones.

[Puma Cat]

I'm right there with ya...

[Rafale]

I replaced the Gold Lion 6922 in the ET250s by Mullard Holland..... it is another world.... and I shall not return to the GL... it is more silky and delicate in the treble among others....

[joeinid]

I replaced the Gold Lion 6922 in the ET250s by Mullard Holland..... it is another world.... and I shall not return to the GL... it is more silky and delicate in the treble among others....

Yes, that is great to hear!

[Rafale]

The last song of the ET250s in my system, it leaves in its native country much to my regret....... it is really a great CJ amp .....mais c'est la vie..it is going to be replaced by twins .....fingers crossed

[joeinid]

The last song of the ET250s in my system, it leaves in its native country much to my regret....... it is really a great CJ amp .....mais c'est la vie..it is going to be replaced by twins .....fingers crossed

:banana:

[medward0]

Hi all,

New to posting (long time lurker) and have had my CJ pair a little over a year. Lots of reasons I bought 'em: wonderful voice, no listening fatigue, amp muscle, great synergy with my vintage speakers (Dahlquist DQ-10s that I've had since new and heavily upgraded awhile ago).

I'm looking for a new set of speakers for this preamp and amp pair.

I'm currently looking at Sophia 3's, VA Kiss, Revel Ultima Studio 2, B&W 803D, Devore 9s or Silverback, Aerial 7T. So budget is, well, in those ballparks.

Music tastes all over the map: Alternative, blues, Jim White, baroque chamber, jazz, vintage rock, country, techno, oratorios/operas. Room is 15 x 17 or so, medium furnished.

Any recommendations/thoughts on synergies with the hardware would be greatly appreciated.

thx

[joeinid]

Hi medwardo!

Welcome to AA !

Very nice system.

[Puma Cat]

Hi all,

New to posting (long time lurker) and have had my CJ pair a little over a year. Lots of reasons I bought 'em: wonderful voice, no listening fatigue, amp muscle, great synergy with my vintage speakers (Dahlquist DQ-10s that I've had since new and heavily upgraded awhile ago).

I'm looking for a new set of speakers for this preamp and amp pair.

I'm currently looking at Sophia 3's, VA Kiss, Revel Ultima Studio 2, B&W 803D, Devore 9s or Silverback, Aerial 7T. So budget is, well, in those ballparks.

Music tastes all over the map: Alternative, blues, Jim White, baroque chamber, jazz, vintage rock, country, techno, oratorios/operas. Room is 15 x 17 or so, medium furnished.

Any recommendations/thoughts on synergies with the hardware would be greatly appreciated.

thx

I would make a gentle suggestion to consider Dynaudio Confidence C2s as well.

[chessman]

medwardo, welcome aboard! :wave:

[CDLehner]

I would make a gentle suggestion to consider Dynaudio Confidence C2s as well.

Seconded!

[joeinid]

Seconded!

+1 Thirded :)

[Elberoth]

I would also add s/h pair of Magicos V2 (can be found at a great prices right now - also as exdemo from dealers) and the new Avalon Transcendent to your short list.

In fact, next to Sophia3 those would be the first 2 speakers I would try.

[medward0]

Thanks for the warm welcomes and recommendations on some other speakers to audition.

I'll let you all know how it goes.

[medward0]

Thanks again for the welcome and the recommendations.

It's been really interesting to listen to modern speakers as I haven't really paid much attention for the last 30 years since I got my ole DQ10s. Gotta say that this modern technology stuff is a wonderful thing.

Here's a quick update on my quest (none of these auditions have been done with my equiment...yet):


Sophia 3: love 'em and am about ready to pull the, errr, write the check
Confidence C2: loved the sound at the dealer, but they failed the WAF (a "robot" is one thing, but a tall robot is another)
Avalon: not certain I have a dealer in this area (Seattle)...no response to email to company for a dealer
Magico: no dealers in area to audition that I can find; no s/h in area I can find
Devore: lovely, lively sound, but not as musical to my ear as Sophias
Aerial 7T: great bass, lovely midrange, plays loud well, harsh treble to my ear
VA Kiss: meh. Beautiful cabinet, but not as dynamic as I'd like and bass lite, I think; lovely midrange tho'
B&W: big 'n' bright to my ear
Revel Ultima Studio 2: very dynamic, big, a bit bright to my ear

Short list now is: Sophia 3 & Revel.

Sophia 3 extended audition set up for Sunday..

[rthomeint]

I was looking thru the literature I got at CES and noticed no ET250 sheet. The website shows the ET250 is now discontinued. It looks like CJ is now strictly a tube company again.

[cjfan]

ET250s update :
things are set up, but I am going to have to change my speakers cable, this amplifier is an animal very sensitive to its environment, he can be puzzling when he is badly associated but when upstream and downstream that corresponds well.....IT IS THE HELL :drums:

I have had the same experience. CT5 and ET250s with Aerial 9's. Very sensitive to its surronding environment, but what a great setup. Sounds fantastic.

[javedbk]

Enjoyed this thread very much. Not many threads out there solely focused on the ET250S.

Am currently using an ARC SP17L with the CJ ET250S which is driving a pair of KEF R500. My first preference was to go for a CJ ET3SE pre but could not find one within my budget in Asia and so gave up and went for the ARC entry level pre. The ARC may be entry level but has a pleasing sound...not as golden as the CJ but not bad at all.