TjeerT
New member
For a long time I'm ESL-fan;
After listening 6 years (1990-1996) to the Sequel II and almost 13 years to my very lovely SL3’s, I was in for a speaker-upgrade and now have since 3 months the Summit X (in fact, it was the first sold pair in the Netherlands…).
And i like them, real giant step!!
As you see I don’t often change gear, much more I like listen to the music and so now and than playing with room-tuning and f.e. power-conditioning.
Till now my Mark Levinson no23 did the amp-work very well (already 20 years! -- from 1996 with a Mark Levinson no39 and later on a ML 390S), but the Summit-X, I think, “deserves” also an amp upgrade.
After much reading reviews (and of course this forum!!), talking and listening, I brought back, together with my very friendly dealer, my choise (in the price-range around 15.000 euro’s) to:
the Conrad Johnson combi CT5 & ET250S (250 watts into 8 ohms, 400 in 4)
and the new integrated amp from darTZeel CTH-8850 (200 watts RMS @ 8 ohms - 330 watts RMS @ 4 ohms; see: http://www.dartzeel.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=16&Itemid=32 ; overhere they have exact the same price: E 15.000).
Of course so many more company’s as a “CJ-tube-alternative”: ARC, VTL, BAT, MacIntosh, Manley (and in the Netherlands for sure: PrimaLuna!) and even more SS-alternatives. But you can’t listen & compare everything (until you’re a professionel reviewer…).
Thus Conrad Johnson, where I heard it, I liked it and you almost never read serious negative comments, specially with ELS,
and darTZeel because of worldwide praise as a top SS-amp with about tube-like “silk-sound” (this is of course for the big pre-amp & amp, but the CTH-8850 has definitly the same signature, says also my dealer, he knows the darTZeels).
Today listening:
frontend ML 390S, speakers Summit-X, Transparent & Yter interlinks and Yter-loudspeakercables, we just changed, and re-changed the amps, with normal cd’s and audiophile cd’s, all kinds of music. Listening in a normal high-end dealers listening room, no special room- or device-tuning, just interested in hearing the difference between the darTZeel & CJ-amps.
So:
Both amps did the job very, very well; both made the Summits singing & swinging! Total control, musical, fluent, very good with dynamic changes/oscillations.
Also my dealer said he didn’t hear the Summit(-X)’s so good before.
Buth then the difference between CJ & darTZeel:
for me very clear, the CJ-combi was more “open”, more air in the music, deeper soundstage, also more “loose”. You feel yourself IN the music.
With the darTZeel more looking AT the music in front of you, more “compact”, punch, other kind of control.
I guess the old story: do you like tubes or transistors? Listen for yourself!
I ordered the CJ CT5.
And the CJ ET250S? There is some doubt. Why?
CJ has also the LP140M’s… still more tubes(sound)…
Geert
After listening 6 years (1990-1996) to the Sequel II and almost 13 years to my very lovely SL3’s, I was in for a speaker-upgrade and now have since 3 months the Summit X (in fact, it was the first sold pair in the Netherlands…).
And i like them, real giant step!!
As you see I don’t often change gear, much more I like listen to the music and so now and than playing with room-tuning and f.e. power-conditioning.
Till now my Mark Levinson no23 did the amp-work very well (already 20 years! -- from 1996 with a Mark Levinson no39 and later on a ML 390S), but the Summit-X, I think, “deserves” also an amp upgrade.
After much reading reviews (and of course this forum!!), talking and listening, I brought back, together with my very friendly dealer, my choise (in the price-range around 15.000 euro’s) to:
the Conrad Johnson combi CT5 & ET250S (250 watts into 8 ohms, 400 in 4)
and the new integrated amp from darTZeel CTH-8850 (200 watts RMS @ 8 ohms - 330 watts RMS @ 4 ohms; see: http://www.dartzeel.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=16&Itemid=32 ; overhere they have exact the same price: E 15.000).
Of course so many more company’s as a “CJ-tube-alternative”: ARC, VTL, BAT, MacIntosh, Manley (and in the Netherlands for sure: PrimaLuna!) and even more SS-alternatives. But you can’t listen & compare everything (until you’re a professionel reviewer…).
Thus Conrad Johnson, where I heard it, I liked it and you almost never read serious negative comments, specially with ELS,
and darTZeel because of worldwide praise as a top SS-amp with about tube-like “silk-sound” (this is of course for the big pre-amp & amp, but the CTH-8850 has definitly the same signature, says also my dealer, he knows the darTZeels).
Today listening:
frontend ML 390S, speakers Summit-X, Transparent & Yter interlinks and Yter-loudspeakercables, we just changed, and re-changed the amps, with normal cd’s and audiophile cd’s, all kinds of music. Listening in a normal high-end dealers listening room, no special room- or device-tuning, just interested in hearing the difference between the darTZeel & CJ-amps.
So:
Both amps did the job very, very well; both made the Summits singing & swinging! Total control, musical, fluent, very good with dynamic changes/oscillations.
Also my dealer said he didn’t hear the Summit(-X)’s so good before.
Buth then the difference between CJ & darTZeel:
for me very clear, the CJ-combi was more “open”, more air in the music, deeper soundstage, also more “loose”. You feel yourself IN the music.
With the darTZeel more looking AT the music in front of you, more “compact”, punch, other kind of control.
I guess the old story: do you like tubes or transistors? Listen for yourself!
I ordered the CJ CT5.
And the CJ ET250S? There is some doubt. Why?
CJ has also the LP140M’s… still more tubes(sound)…
Geert
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