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Conrad-Johnson It just sounds right

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  #11  
Old 02-20-2011, 03:33 PM
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Life is Good in PumaVille!
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  #12  
Old 02-20-2011, 03:33 PM
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CT-5 in the Sanus Euro II audio rack on it's homemade roller blocks/plywood board/inner tube isolation "shelf".



Sure looks nice in combination with the LP70S.
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Last edited by Puma Cat; 02-20-2011 at 03:36 PM.
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  #13  
Old 02-20-2011, 03:37 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Masterlu View Post
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.
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  #14  
Old 02-20-2011, 04:24 PM
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Looks great... how does it sound???
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Old 02-20-2011, 04:37 PM
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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.
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Last edited by Puma Cat; 02-20-2011 at 06:55 PM.
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Old 02-20-2011, 04:46 PM
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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.
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  #17  
Old 02-20-2011, 05:16 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jdandy View Post
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.
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Old 02-20-2011, 05:59 PM
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Stephen...congrats on your new cj piece looks great and bet it sounds wonderful.

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  #19  
Old 02-20-2011, 06:50 PM
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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
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  #20  
Old 02-20-2011, 07:00 PM
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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.
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Last edited by Puma Cat; 02-20-2011 at 07:05 PM.
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