Conrad-Johnson Classic 2 Pre-Amp

[Randy Myers]

I am considering the Classic 2 Pre-Amp.

Any thoughts on this little guy? Is it a decent inexpensive per-amp?

I would be using it for digital only from the Teac DAC. I would be running it out to the Goldmund JOB amp. I would also like to run the second outputs to line level input on the REL. Would a "Y" connector be needed or work with the second outs?

[Briz Vegaas]

Ok, i will have a go. CJ do a competitive "entry level" preamp judging by the PV15 and more so by the PV14ls2 that i owned. No reason to doubt their current offering given that their mid and high end stuff keeps getting better. Demo if you can as personal taste almost always varies. Not sure about your hookup issues. Theatre bypass and processor inputs/outputs allow you to run one amp into another. For example, i have a Denon HT Receiver, the pre outs go to my CT5 preamps theatre in then out to my LP70 power amp. I had the same setup into my CA200. My REL sub has the option of high level inputs and REL recommend this for 2 channel integration. Despite this i only use my REL for movies. Even when i first got the REL to go with my old B&w 705s standmounts i quickly found that subs were more trouble than they are worth for music. I know some folks that swear by them, and the $$$$$ Magico q series setup i heard instore last year seemed to integrate seamlessly, if not perfectly ( ie it can be done ). I have not been so lucky.

PS. If you only have line level inputs on the REL i would not consider trying to drive both power amp and sub with a Y connector. I contemplated something similar in my 705 days but CJ amps seem to be fussy beasts ( which i put down to their extreme simplicity approach) and i'm not sure what sort of load the preamp would see with that setup. CJ may be able to help here, but i would be surprised if they recommended it.

[plurn]

I have not heard it but have read good things about it. One thing you might want to consider is that the Job 225 is quite high gain, as is the Classic 2. Could be too much of a good thing?

At least your speakers are not particularly sensitive/efficient so maybe it could be ok? If you went for high gain pre and power amps, and high efficiency speakers it would not be a good idea.

The sort of issue this could cause is that any noise, say tube noise, could be louder than in a system with a lower gain power amp. If your tube is very quiet, it might not be a problem at all.

Also you might be restricted to the lower end of the volume control which can restrict the range of volumes you can comfortably use. You might even need to start using digital volume control upstream which is not ideal.

from this review: http://stereotimes.com/post/job-225-amplifier

"Full power is obtained at 0.75 volts, which makes the Job a high gain design."

"Switching out the passive pre-amp for a Conrad Johnson ET-3 SE preamp yielded even better drive and dynamics, but with far too much gain and tube-noise. The ET-3 SE being also a high-gain design was obviously not an ideal match."

The Classic 2 has even higher gain at 27dB than the ET3 SE at 25dB. Your current Wyred 4 Sound STP SE pre has a gain of 6dB.

I hope you get to try it at least to hear how it sounds, even if it turns out to not be suitable.

Anthony

[Coppy]

Not sure I follow the reasoning here.

Higher gain gives greater dynamics. That's a good thing.

There seems to be a presumption that a tube preamp will automatically have "tube noise". Not so. If it has a noisy tube, change it to a new quiet one. A noisy tube is one that makes sounds or hiss when it's playing... and does not mean microphonic when you tap on it. Tubes are not built to be vibrated by tapping.

Still, you should always check out a pre in your system to be sure it works well with other components. Miss-matches in impedance and cabling can make a difference in SQ.

[plurn]

Originally Posted by Coppy

Not sure I follow the reasoning here.

Higher gain gives greater dynamics. That's a good thing.

Within reason perhaps. I have read that the Job 225 is 35dB gain. The Classic 2 has 27dB gain. Combined that is a very high amount of gain for a digital source. So when using that with a digital source, you will quite likely have the volume control on the classic 2 turned as low as it will go without being silent and at that setting it may still be too loud depending on the situation (eg night time listening with the family asleep).

For the volume control on the Classic 2, if the minimum volume was 7 o'clock on the dial and turning it clockwise until max volume at 5 o'clock, you might only have the range of 7 o'clock to 8 o'clock of usable range making it very difficult to get the right volume. Note that these are estimates not exact ranges. I have not tried this specific set up that Randy is asking about.

Regarding your comments on tube noise and microphonics and tapping tubes - none of those comments apply to what I said except that I wrote this "The sort of issue this could cause is that any noise, say tube noise, could be louder than in a system with a lower gain power amp. If your tube is very quiet, it might not be a problem at all.". I didn't even mention microphonics or tapping tubes. I guess you were referring to someone else's presumptions there.

[bgiliberti]

Originally Posted by Randy Myers

I am considering the Classic 2 Pre-Amp.
Any thoughts on this little guy? Is it a decent inexpensive per-amp?
I would be using it for digital only from the Teac DAC. I would be running it out to the Goldmund JOB amp. I would also like to run the second outputs to line level input on the REL. Would a "Y" connector be needed or work with the second outs?

I have the Classic SE, which has two tubes, but the amps sound the same. Two points (1) The small amount extra for the SE is well worth it. The teflon caps adds pretty impressive clarity and definition, but more importantly, greater extension on both ends, which the standard model could use. (2) The high gain is fine with my CJ MF-2550 amp, but I do find it somewhat annoying to be so low on the 360 degree scale -- the slightest nudge makes too big a difference up or down. However, I've owned several CJ manual volume control amps over the years and they have all been that way. Maybe that makes sense if you have a phono stage model, but for CD/digital only users like me, it's a pain. Still, it's a fine, fine amp and really, amazing for the money. However, I do think the ET3-SE is a tad better sonically, and you don't have the volume control issue, as it is electronic.