A history of PC's CJ gear....

[Puma Cat]

I thought I would kick things off with a pictorial/editorial history of my C-J gear.

My first C-J component was a C-J PV12 LS tube preamp. The PV12 used two 12AU7 tubes in the line stage. This preamp was also available with a phono stage at the time it was being manufactured. I bought this from a friend that I met in Rasputin's Records in Berkeley. It served me well for over a year and a half.



Really nice sounding preamp, sweet and musical. Gave me my first taste of C-J gear. Not as rich as the classic PV-5, but warmer than neutral than the current crop of C-J entry preamps (with the possible exception of the recent C-J Classic, which is very similar in sound). A great entry into the C-J lineup, these can be had used on Audiogon for a median price of about $800.

After some tube rolling, I found that the mil-spec Mullard CV4003 12AU7 equivalant sounded best to my liking, especially after cryogenically treating the tubes. The PV12 also sounded great with the famed RCA "clear-top" 12AU7s.

Conrad-Johnson now has a capacitor upgrade for these where they will install their famed Teflon capacitors. My guess is that this would take this fine preamp to performance levels very respectable to today's preamps in the $2500-$3000 price range.