[bgiliberti]

I'll get to the point quickly -- I just bought the Conrad Johnson MF2550 (non- Teflon) and have now been listening to it for about 2 days -- it's the best power amp I've ever heard under $10K. (But, if you don't like the CJ sound, which this has in every fiber and circuit, and perhaps also, if you don't really dig the McIntosh sound, which this comes closer to than any other CJ amp in CJ's history, my assessment may not apply to you!) It's far better than the ET250s, which I auditioned for several weeks a while back, and found too reticent and slow -- well, maybe I just don't like tubes in my power amp, even if only on the input stage. There's been speculation that this design is based on the old MacCormack DNA 250, which I think is probably true, but that's like saying the Porsche 356 was based on the VW Beetle, which was also true, but which totally misses the real point. I had the DNA 250, and while it was a good, powerful, quick amp, it really was a great home theater amp IMHO, not satisfactory for true audiophile setups. It's a close call on whether this is better than the PR350, because overall, they sound very much alike. But, I would say yes, because the MF2550 has 99% of the 350's feeling of effortless power, ease, and extension, but addresses what for me was the sole issue with the 350, the slight tendency to sound ever so slightly aggressive in the midrange at times. The MF2550 is super-sweet in the midrange. I would still not say it is a "tube" midrange -- it does not have the lateral expansiveness on voices that many find so engaging, but that others find to blowsy in tube power amps -- but it definitely has the CJ midrange, so intimate and palpable you could kiss Maria Callas's lips (and so real, you could feel the slap on your face if you dared try such an antic with La Divina.) So that's it for now -- this is a ravishingly beautiful power amp at a price that will put lots of people into the true high-end sound for the first time. I hope many others will give it an audition -- and a note to McIntosh fans (of which I am one also.) This is the first the CJ amp that to me sounds rather Mac-like in the way the power just grips every note and sound and keeps it under its potent control -- it reminded me a lot of the gorgeous MC452 -- so give it a whirl if you are willing to forgo the blue glow of meters for the burnished gold face of CJ. You will find what you like here too.