No, I haven't heard the current C-J gear . . . .
. . . . .my doctor won't let me. Says it raises my cholesterol too much
Auditioned CJ's ~ LP-140 Mono-Blocks and then a Pair of ~ VTL 450 Tubed Mono-Blocks..
- Thread starter Robin
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Diamonds
Well-known member
My new amplifiers are the Conrad Johnson LP 140 Mono Blocks and I can say with complete confidence that they blow my Pass Labs X600.5 out of the water. The emotion they deliever is quite spectacular!
Diamonds,
I have the CJ LP70S and I have to agree. Truly amazing amp.
Jeff
I have the CJ LP70S and I have to agree. Truly amazing amp.
Jeff
DTB300
Well-known member
A very accurate description for a comparison of the two products.
I have yet to hear the Act2, but heard the CT6 and 350 - very very nice.
tonepub
Senior Member
Hey don't get me wrong, the LP 70 and the LP 140 are fantastic amplifiers...
I was originally going to get the LP 140s as my reference amps, but I went to the Premier 350 only because I often listen 8-10 sometimes 16 hours a day!
I just didn't want to be buying pallettes of 6550's all the time and it was Lew Johnson himself who talked me into the 350!
Another new amp that they have that is also very intriguing is the new ET250, which uses a lot of the Premier 350 technology, along with a pair of 6922 input tubes and will be selling for $7500 bucks. I've got it here for review right now and it is also fantastic! (I'm actually going to buy the review sample for my second system!!)
A lot of it really is component matching/system synergy and what YOU like best. I can tell you that puttting the ET250 in my main system with the Summits is also outstanding. It has a little bit less weight and a little more warmth and romance. (thanks to a little bit of tube rolling with the 6922's, you can adjust that to taste somewhat)
The big VTL's are awesome and I even had a good combination going with the Manley 250 monoblocks.
At the end of the day, finding the flavor that keeps you on the couch is the most important thing.
The best thing about using the Summits as a reference speaker is that they reveal so much information, each amplifier gives the system a totally different personality. My job is just to tell you what I've found.....
I know that we all have very individual tastes!
I was originally going to get the LP 140s as my reference amps, but I went to the Premier 350 only because I often listen 8-10 sometimes 16 hours a day!
I just didn't want to be buying pallettes of 6550's all the time and it was Lew Johnson himself who talked me into the 350!
Another new amp that they have that is also very intriguing is the new ET250, which uses a lot of the Premier 350 technology, along with a pair of 6922 input tubes and will be selling for $7500 bucks. I've got it here for review right now and it is also fantastic! (I'm actually going to buy the review sample for my second system!!)
A lot of it really is component matching/system synergy and what YOU like best. I can tell you that puttting the ET250 in my main system with the Summits is also outstanding. It has a little bit less weight and a little more warmth and romance. (thanks to a little bit of tube rolling with the 6922's, you can adjust that to taste somewhat)
The big VTL's are awesome and I even had a good combination going with the Manley 250 monoblocks.
At the end of the day, finding the flavor that keeps you on the couch is the most important thing.
The best thing about using the Summits as a reference speaker is that they reveal so much information, each amplifier gives the system a totally different personality. My job is just to tell you what I've found.....
I know that we all have very individual tastes!
DTB300
Well-known member
That is EXACTLY what this hobby is all about - Synergy and personal taste. There is NO ABSOLUTE BEST.
Diamonds
Well-known member
I thought I had the best money could buy then I got my new amps. I guess I was wrong.
You did!
You did have certainly among the best Solid State amps money can buy, for sure! But I never tire of watching the expression that comes across the face of a stat owner (any stat) when they first hook up their speakers to a (even moderately decent) tube amp -- mainly because I get to relive the experience all over again with them.
SundayNiagara
Well-known member
Any tube amp worth its salt will sound better after 5 minutes than a solid state amp that's been on for 5 weeks.
eknuds01
Well-known member
LOL. Gotta love these posts.
Erik, it's quite ovbious he hasn't listened to some of the same SS amps that we have heard !!!
DTB300
Well-known member
They probably have.
Remember they are just expressing their subjective opinions on what type of equipment and sound they like best. Not absolutes, not the final truth, just their opinion - and a very subjective one at that.
Trouble with these posts is people forget to put: "In My Opinion"
eknuds01
Well-known member
No kidding. There's a lot of great stuff out there-be it solid state or tubes. I have listened to the top-of-the-line Conrad Johnson tube amps and pre-amps through the quad stats, and yeah, it sounded great. Then I auditioned a significantly cheaper and more 'pedestrian' SS gear (NAD and Rotel 1070) through some B&W speakers. I got to tell you, that set up which was about 7 or 8x less than the Quad system in the next room was really something else.
Then I got to listen to Dan's CLSs and Plinius...
...and your Vantages and the same Plinius amp...
In both cases, the SS amps did a fine job. Even the sales reps at Overture commented on your (Dave's) system, "It's not fair." Joey uses the same amp to drive his Summits. Surely he's listened to tube and SS amps and he's had nothing but positive things to say about the Plinius.
It drives me up the wall when people make very broad and sweeping statements.
Indeed. In this hobby there are very few sweeping generalizations that hold true. There are too many great products in every category and too many different subjective opinions of what "great" sound really is.
Personally, I have a CJ Premier 140 tube amp, a Pass Labs X-350.5 solid state amp, and a Sunfire Cinema Grand multichannel amp -- and I love them all, for different reasons.
tonepub
Senior Member
Double lol...
Anyone that makes blanket statements like this hasn't heard a lot of gear and they certainly haven't heard the best that both sides have to offer.
It's very much a matter of personal preference when choosing between the two. Often times there isn't a "Best" per se, especially as you get to the top of the line with all of the major mfrs.
It's a lot like speakers. Believe it or not, there are a ton of people out there that hate panels! I don't get it, because it's by far my favorite sound, but everyone has their preferences.
I have found that people shake out into a number of categories. Some only care about that magical, bloomy midrange. Otherw just want powerful bass, some like detail, others like imaging, while still others want dynamics above all else.
I haven't heard everything, but between TONE, working for The Absolute Sound and horse trading my own gear around for the last 30 years, i've probably owned, reviewed or listened to most of it in good rooms properly set up and there are a lot of different ways to audio nirvana.
I was a dyed in the wool tube guy till I heard the Premier 350. But that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy the LP140's, the Manley 250's and the ARC Ref stuff tremendously. I've heard the Summits now with about ten different big amplifiers (I still hate em with MC275's, sorry) and its a subtly different presentation with all of them.
I like my flavor the best, but all the ones I heard were very good and I could have easily lived with any of them.
What's really important is finding the flavor YOU love.
What excites me about the Summits with the combination I've put together is that I've had quite a few people walk in my studio door saying "I hate panels, I don't even want to listen to those...." Walk out being blown away.
It's all about the setup! And keeping an open mind!
SundayNiagara
Well-known member
Having been in and around the business for about 25 years, I've heard most of them. I'll take the valves any day of the week.
PS: Has anyone ever heard Quad ESL 63s driven by Futtermans?
PS: Has anyone ever heard Quad ESL 63s driven by Futtermans?
tonepub
Senior Member
I used to say that as well, but I have heard a number of fantastic things on both sides of the fence, especially in the last few years.
I still enjoy both! I have a Mc 275 in my second system, it has a more romantic character and in that setup its fantastic. If I were a wealthy man, I would have the new CJ LP275 Monoblocks, they are also incredible, but as I listen to my system for work 8-12 hours a day, I'd need to be buying pallettes of 6550's!
And I still like at least having some tubes somewhere in the chain. I can't go all solid state yet!!
I still enjoy both! I have a Mc 275 in my second system, it has a more romantic character and in that setup its fantastic. If I were a wealthy man, I would have the new CJ LP275 Monoblocks, they are also incredible, but as I listen to my system for work 8-12 hours a day, I'd need to be buying pallettes of 6550's!
And I still like at least having some tubes somewhere in the chain. I can't go all solid state yet!!
tonepub
Senior Member
we also have a full review index on our site (finally!)
the ET 250 is in for review now and I've already made plans
to buy it for my second system when the review is over....
the ET 250 is in for review now and I've already made plans
to buy it for my second system when the review is over....
I agree with you about the MC275's with the Summits. While they drive the Summits okay, I don't like the sound either. In fact I prefer the sound of the McIntosh s/s gear more than the MC275's. I know others though that swear that the MC275's makes even the most mundane music sound like a choir of angels!
Regarding the debate between the relative merits of tube vs solid state. I've heard s/s gear that sounds like tube, and vice versa. Rather than worry about the topology, I now judge each amplifier on it's own merits - tube or not. My current setup includes a tube preamp with a big s/s power amp. It sounds great and has no problems driving the Summits to concert hall levels...
P.S. I didn't buy my Audio Research preamp (LS25 MkII) because it was tube. I bought it because it was fully balanced in operation; it had all the connection facilities I would ever need; it had a HT processor throughpass, and; it sounded absolutely sublime driving virtually any power amp I cared to plug into my system.
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