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Conrad-Johnson It just sounds right

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  #11  
Old 11-04-2013, 10:19 PM
Vhiner Vhiner is offline
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Having owned a CJ Premier 17LS a CT-5 and an ET-5 I would choose the ET-5 hands down! I think it has an warm liquid midrange that is not bloated or heavy but in my opinion almost perfect. I think that the 17 is slow and bloated compared to the newer CJ preamps it sounds very warm and inviting but tends to be short on detail and Rhythm. The CT-5 sounds the most sterile of the lot in my opinion and I think a lot of that sonic signature comes from the use of the 6N30P tube as opposed to the 6922 tube in the ET-5. I have not been a fan of Preamps using the 6N30P tube and I think CJ learned that lesson with the ACT series and CT-5. They went back to the 6922 tubes for the ET-5 and the GAT.
Repman,

Thanks very much for the report. Could I ask what your set up is and what kind of music you lean to? I'm pretty eclectic in my tastes, but I lean in the alt rock, folk and jazz direction. I listen to classical ocassionally.
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  #12  
Old 11-04-2013, 10:21 PM
ronenash ronenash is offline
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Originally Posted by repman View Post
Having owned a CJ Premier 17LS a CT-5 and an ET-5 I would choose the ET-5 hands down! I think it has an warm liquid midrange that is not bloated or heavy but in my opinion almost perfect. I think that the 17 is slow and bloated compared to the newer CJ preamps it sounds very warm and inviting but tends to be short on detail and Rhythm.
The CT-5 sounds the most sterile of the lot in my opinion and I think a lot of that sonic signature comes from the use of the 6N30P tube as opposed to the 6922 tube in the ET-5. I have not been a fan of Preamps using the 6N30P tube and I think CJ learned that lesson with the ACT series and CT-5. They went back to the 6922 tubes for the ET-5 and the GAT.
CJ moved from the 6h30 to the 6922 because they moved to a hybrid design with the mosfet buffer after the tube gain stage to achieve low output impedance as opposed to multiple parallel triodes. The ACT2 is one of their best amps to date IMO and easily surpasses the ET5. With that said I agree that the ET5 is better than the CT5, better detail, rhythm and imaging.
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  #13  
Old 11-04-2013, 10:33 PM
Vhiner Vhiner is offline
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My real concern here is whether the ET5 attains this detail, rhythm, speed and transparency at the expense of the midrange musicality that I think the CT5 has. I do not really favor the old euphonic sound of early CJ gear, but I am also not attracted to a more solid state sound. I like tubes and would use more of them if I could. I love holigraphic imagery and an expansive soundstage.
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  #14  
Old 11-05-2013, 08:41 AM
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repman repman is offline
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Originally Posted by Vhiner View Post
Repman,

Thanks very much for the report. Could I ask what your set up is and what kind of music you lean to? I'm pretty eclectic in my tastes, but I lean in the alt rock, folk and jazz direction. I listen to classical ocassionally.
My musical tastes run the gamut from prog. rock to country, bluegrass, hard rock, jazz, ect I run electrostatic speakers with subs, solid state and tube amps depending on months of the year ( tubes are too hot in the summer for me in Atlanta)
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  #15  
Old 11-05-2013, 09:04 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Vhiner View Post
My real concern here is whether the ET5 attains this detail, rhythm, speed and transparency at the expense of the midrange musicality that I think the CT5 has. I do not really favor the old euphonic sound of early CJ gear, but I am also not attracted to a more solid state sound. I like tubes and would use more of them if I could. I love holigraphic imagery and an expansive soundstage.
the ET-5 has detail, rhythm, speed and transparency it does not sound euphoric like a 17LS for example but has what I would describe as a very natural midrange and warmth that is very involving. If you like the CT-5 midrange I think hearing a ET-5 would be in your best interest. A deep and wide soundstage is no issue with a ET-5

Think of it as a CT-5 with more !!! they are both great preamps and you cant go wrong with either but for my dollar I would choose the ET-5 and never look back.
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  #16  
Old 11-05-2013, 11:49 AM
rlw3 rlw3 is offline
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Dont judge the 6h30 tube until you have heard a chryoed version. much more dynamic and lively. any member can PM me if they have further interst
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  #17  
Old 11-05-2013, 06:01 PM
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Originally Posted by rlw3 View Post
Dont judge the 6h30 tube until you have heard a chryoed version. much more dynamic and lively. any member can PM me if they have further interst
Hmmm...not sure I'd want a cryo'd 6H30....might make the sound too "hard". Had this problem on some tubes for the Premier 17.

Though, cryo-treating some Mullard CV4003s for my PV-12 did wonders for them. I think it's really tube dependent.
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  #18  
Old 11-06-2013, 06:09 AM
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Nah, just swap out those diodes in the CT5. :-)
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  #19  
Old 11-06-2013, 09:35 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ronenash View Post
Diodes in the power-supply regulator have a huge impact on sound. You can certainly do better than the stock diodes CJ uses (faster and less noisy) although they come at a hefty price.
I can clearly see how a change in the power-supply diodes made a difference.
Okay, which diodes are these?
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  #20  
Old 11-06-2013, 10:42 PM
ronenash ronenash is offline
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Originally Posted by Puma Cat View Post
Okay, which diodes are these?
There are 4 rectifier diodes for the B+ power supply (high voltage) and 4diodes for the heater power supply. There is actually another PS for the logic circuit but these have no effect on sound.
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