Conrad Johnson Premier 140

MartinLogan Audio Owners Forum

Help Support MartinLogan Audio Owners Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Cherian

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 1, 2005
Messages
1,214
Reaction score
0
I just closed the deal on a CJ Premier 140 tube amp. I have done much research on the net regarding this amp and everything I have read about this amplifier is positive. My plan is to bi-amp the Premier 140 and Premier 350. Use the Tubes for the panel and the ss for the woofer. My questions is this is the Premier 350 overkill for this application? How will this bi-amp combo sound? Any ideas positive or negative?

Thanks

Cherian
 
Wow!

Report what you find on this thread!

I would personally think you could get away with a lesser amp for the bass... I expect the class Ds used in my Descent would sound bl**dy awful trying to do full range, but at low bass freqs they have bags of power and sound good.

So there's a thought - try a cheapish class D based amp for the bass, sell the 350 (which never impressed me - but some really like it). Provided you like the 140 for the panels, that is!
 
I love the Premier 350. To my ears it is the best sounding amp I have listened too, to date. It has everything going for it. I want to play with tubes again thus the Premier 140. I had a CJ MV65 but it was underpowered for the monoliths.
 
Last edited:
I just closed the deal on a CJ Premier 140 tube amp. I have done much research on the net regarding this amp and everything I have read about this amplifier is positive. My plan is to bi-amp the Premier 140 and Premier 350. Use the Tubes for the panel and the ss for the woofer. My questions is this is the Premier 350 overkill for this application? How will this bi-amp combo sound? Any ideas positive or negative?

Thanks

Cherian

Beware of amp sensitivities!
 
Cherian,

I own the Premier 140 and it is an awesome amp! You will love it. I think the 350 probably is overkill for the bass. Although it will perform just fine, I doubt you would be able to tell much difference between it and a much less expensive amp. I used the Outlaw Audio M2200 monoblocs to biamp the woofers with the premier 140 running the panels on my Ascents and the combination worked great. The overall sound was much better than just the 140 alone. You may want to try some other less expensive amps on the woofers and sell the 350. Just make sure to match your voltage gains. I think the gain on the 140 is 27 db.

The outlaw monoblocks are hard to beat for the money at $600 for the pair. I'm sure there are lots of other options to consider. I wish I would have talked to you before you made your purchase. We might have been able to work out some kind of trade between the 350 and the 140. I have wanted to own a 350 for some time now. I love the CJ sound, but am not big on the heat output of the tubes. Enjoy.
 
cj

find another CJ premier 140 and use it for the bass that way you have identical amps no problems with senstivity problems. you will love it. i always liked CJ tubes for their bass.
 
find another CJ premier 140 and use it for the bass that way you have identical amps no problems with senstivity problems. you will love it. i always liked CJ tubes for their bass.

Might be worth a try since everyone's taste is different, but personally I would disagree with this assessment. The CJ 140 is just not as precise and tight with the bass as a SS amp. And that is a lot of extra heat and replacement tubes to deal with.
 
I just closed the deal on a CJ Premier 140 tube amp. I have done much research on the net regarding this amp and everything I have read about this amplifier is positive. My plan is to bi-amp the Premier 140 and Premier 350. Use the Tubes for the panel and the ss for the woofer. My questions is this is the Premier 350 overkill for this application? How will this bi-amp combo sound? Any ideas positive or negative?

Thanks

Cherian

Cherian,

If you want, I can bring my Bryston for some a/b comparison. That amp has killer bass, and would be much cheaper than having the CJ 350 powering the woofers.

Also, have you considered the CJ LP series monoblocks? For the price of the CJ Premier 350 + premier 140, you can get some killer tube monoblocks.
 
You know I did listen to the CJ LP70 and I did like the sound. Again did not want to spend 6 to 7k for the used monos. True, I could have sold the 350 and get the 140 monos but this way I can have 140 watts of tube power and still keep the 350. I love the 350 I don't plan to sell it anytime soon.
 
Congratulations Cherian

Hey, congratulations on scoring your 140.

I have a pair of premier 12's on the panel of my ReQuests and a Hafler 500 on the bass. It sure takes care of my wants and needs. I think a 140 on top and a 350 on the bass would be a fantastic combo. It may be a little more than you actually need, but think of how gorgeous that matching Champagne color would look and having that combo, well, as a cj lover, it would have to be KILLER.

I am supposed to pick up my Summits tomorrow (I just upgraded speakers-I hope- I really enjoy my ReQuests). I plan to "retire" my wonderful old Hafler but those premier 12's will be cooking on the panels. I love tubes driving those panels.

Wonderful score, have a ball
 
I did have a set of Premier 12 monos on the hook but the deal went south. Then I found a great deal on the premier 140 so I jumped on it. In a way I'm now glad I did not score the Premier 12s as I don't know where I would have placed a set of mono blocks. Its going to be hard enough to find a place for the premier 140 as it is 8" x 19" x 19" and 85lbs. Be assured I will find a good place.
 
I just closed the deal on a CJ Premier 140 tube amp. I have done much research on the net regarding this amp and everything I have read about this amplifier is positive.
Many congratulations on scoring the tube amp for the panels. You're in for a real treat with mids & highs. A quick peek at the measurements at SoundStage.com reveals the following sensitivities for the CJs:
  1. Premier 140: 24.6x gain or 27.8dB
  2. CJ 350: 54.8x gain or 34.8dB
So, you'll need to attenuate the 350 down by 7db to balance both gains to 27.8dB. There are various in-line attenuators you can get to achieve this value. I've used these Harrison Labs In-Line Attenuator with good results. I think 6dB attenuation is good enough in this case, I don't think you need to get exactly 7dB to perfectly match the gains of both amps.
My questions is this is the Premier 350 overkill for this application? How will this bi-amp combo sound? Any ideas positive or negative?
I think the 350 is overkill for this application given that your crossover point is quite low at 100Hz, beyond the midrange frequency. If it were the Prodigy where the crossover point is at 250Hz, I'd seriously consider the 350 simply due to the fact that the woofer is handling some of the lower midrange frequencies. Recall that the middle-C note is hovering around the 270Hz area. But that is NOT the case for your Monoliths. I think that an amp with a vise-grip on the bass is better served for your Monoliths just to complete the transformation. A Bryston or Krell is better at handling bass than CJ. Generally speaking, CJ has been known to be soft at bass duties. That said, most people can only dream of having to deal with the problems you're facing with :bowdown:

Good Luck
Spike
 
Thanks Spike good information. I will keep all of this in mind.
 
Just got it today. The newest member of the CJ / CJ family. I hope to be bi-amping soon. I have been listening to it for an hour and it has the power to drive my Monoliths and sounds oh so CJ golden.
 

Attachments

  • DSC02307.JPG
    DSC02307.JPG
    99 KB · Views: 602
  • DSC02308.JPG
    DSC02308.JPG
    102.3 KB · Views: 607
  • DSC02311.JPG
    DSC02311.JPG
    81.6 KB · Views: 733
MY GOD THE PREMIER 140 IS GOOD!!!! No strike that it is GREAT!!!:music:

I plan to pring it bring it Wayne. It may tweak my back but it will be worth it.
 
Congrats Cherian, Hope you'll be bringing that beast with you on Sunday

Wayne, I am bringing the the 350. If you are willing to untangle your wires, I can bring the Ayre and/or BAT also to see what the Summits and CLS can really do. Should be fun either way.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top