conrad-johnson Preamps

JakeJ · « **Reply #40 on:** 31 Jul 2021, 04:34 am »

Would musical and non fatiguing be a fair analogy?

SteveFord · « **Reply #41 on:** 31 Jul 2021, 09:16 am »

Yes, I'd say so.
I would even throw in the word involving.
It just really sucks you in.

I had a friend of mine come up years ago and he said my stereo left him paralyzed.
That's pretty much it.

mick wolfe · « **Reply #42 on:** 31 Jul 2021, 03:59 pm »

Not quite paralyzed, but total involvement was my feeling in regard to the PV5 and Premiere 3. Not so much with the PV8 though.

SteveFord · « **Reply #43 on:** 6 Aug 2021, 11:33 pm »

Huh, this preamp is breaking in after the factory refurb.
I've got David Byrne's Rei Momo in the cd player and all of a sudden the sound just changed (for the better).
It went from sounding kind of average to really crisp in the middle of a song.
Kind of like someone turned up the volume, midrange and treble all at once.

SteveFord · « **Reply #44 on:** 9 Aug 2021, 10:31 pm »

The Russian rocket ship tubes (like my SFL-2 has) are NOT a good match.
Thin and grainy sounding, just terrible.
Think I'll order some JJ Teslas and see how they work out.

A couple of guys with old tubes (Sylvania and Tungsram) are supposedly poking around for me, too.

FullRangeMan · « **Reply #45 on:** 9 Aug 2021, 11:55 pm »

Quote from: SteveFord on 9 Aug 2021, 10:31 pm

The Russian rocket ship tubes (like my SFL-2 has) are NOT a good match.
Thin and grainy sounding, just terrible.
Think I'll order some JJ Teslas and see how they work out.

A couple of guys with old tubes (Sylvania and Tungsram) are supposedly poking around for me, too.

Would be Ulianov factory.

SteveFord · « **Reply #46 on:** 10 Aug 2021, 12:53 am »

Sounds like an obscure movie star from the 70s.
Guess I learned something new: what sounds really good in one piece can sound really bad in another.
That kind of makes me look at the tube reviews in a new light.

SteveFord · « **Reply #47 on:** 16 Aug 2021, 08:08 pm »

The JJs are just god awful in this preamp, no bass and a really weird soundstage.
Maybe they'd be good in a guitar amp?

A buddy sent me some Amperex tubes and they're much, much better than new!
He also sent me some 70s Toshibas which I'll try sooner or later.

The rankings so far for the conrad-johnson:

Voskhod - hopeless
JJ - UGH!
stock EH - eh (or maybe even meh)
Amperex - real good

Tyson · « **Reply #48 on:** 16 Aug 2021, 11:35 pm »

Quote from: SteveFord on 16 Aug 2021, 08:08 pm

The JJs are just god awful in this preamp, no bass and a really weird soundstage.
Maybe they'd be good in a guitar amp?

A buddy sent me some Amperex tubes and they're much, much better than new!
He also sent me some 70s Toshibas which I'll try sooner or later.

The rankings so far for the conrad-johnson:

Voskhod - hopeless
JJ - UGH!
stock EH - eh (or maybe even meh)
Amperex - real good

Not surprised at all. There are no modern tubes that compete with NOS tubes for the 6922.

Amperex is excellent, so is Philips JAN, and of course Siemens.

SteveFord · « **Reply #49 on:** 16 Aug 2021, 11:51 pm »

I was also sent 4 Toshiba 6DJ8s which I almost didn't try.
Japanese tubes? I think not, I'm far too snobby for these things!

That would have been a mistake, they sound the best of the bunch in this system.
Now I can stop putting my finger in my ear and trying to pop it open!

Tyson · « **Reply #50 on:** 17 Aug 2021, 12:59 am »

Quote from: SteveFord on 16 Aug 2021, 11:51 pm

I was also sent 4 Toshiba 6DJ8s which I almost didn't try.
Japanese tubes? I think not, I'm far too snobby for these things!

That would have been a mistake, they sound the best of the bunch in this system.
Now I can stop putting my finger in my ear and trying to pop it open!

That's been my experience too - Japanese tubes from the 70's in particular have been excellent.

FullRangeMan · « **Reply #51 on:** 17 Aug 2021, 02:02 am »

Quote from: Tyson on 16 Aug 2021, 11:35 pm

Not surprised at all. There are no modern tubes that compete with NOS tubes for the 6922.

Amperex is excellent, so is Philips JAN, and of course Siemens.

And when there is they are terrible expensive and short life.

SteveFord · « **Reply #52 on:** 26 Aug 2021, 01:53 am »

It turns out a buddy on another site also has a 17LS so he's been sending me boxes full of tubes from his hoarde (there's no other way to put it).
Amperex have a LOT of bass and lower midrange which eventually proved to be too much for me. Frank Zappa sounded like a 300 pound ogre but a great soundstage.
One of the Toshibas failed so I asked him what else he had.
I have Sylvania and GE, he says...
The Sylvanias sound great, best of the bunch. The bad news is these appear to have a lot of hours on them so I don't know how long they'll last.

I also have 5 GEs which look like they were fished out of a river but test really strong (like new tube strong) so I'll have to give them a shot.

JakeJ · « **Reply #53 on:** 26 Aug 2021, 02:03 am »

Don't make no difference what the tubes look like, you listen with your eyes closed anyway.

jjss49 · « **Reply #54 on:** 26 Aug 2021, 02:50 am »

i have not personally tried toshiba branded tubes but i have many matsushita/national tubes... they are excellent... the plant was set up with mullard uk tooling and for several years production was under mullard/amperex's managerial oversight

these tubes are marked by their seamed tops, and they are as good sonically and in durability as any old stock mullard or amperex from the 70's forward

kmmd · « **Reply #55 on:** 26 Aug 2021, 02:53 am »

That CJ must sound really nice, but 4 x 6922’s can be expensive. I liked the Amperex PQ USA’s in my VAC’s, but the best are definitely the Telefunken’s. If you purchase them from Upscale Audio as a certain “stash,” you’ll be in for sticker shock. That being said, they are incredible and worth every penny.

SteveFord · « **Reply #56 on:** 26 Aug 2021, 08:47 pm »

That could very well be.
The GE's sound like they look.
I was kind of hoping it would be an ugly duckling situation but nope.

Back to Sylvania we go!

SteveFord · « **Reply #57 on:** 4 Sep 2021, 10:25 am »

Jeepers, this thing sounds swell, the 3.7s never sounded so good but if only it had the dynamics of my Sonic Frontiers SFL-2 I'd have it made. That guitar intro from Revolution was really quite something.
It just needs a little nudge or a kick or something to give it a little more pop.
Maybe Majik Tuning Phuzes or Shakti Stones or plop it on a Delrin slab wrapped in audiophile grade tin foil or maybe they set the hook and are reeling me in.

Tyson · « **Reply #58 on:** 4 Sep 2021, 04:19 pm »

I'd take a look at the output coupling caps (if there are any) and maybe replace them with some ODAM caps from VH Audio. Orange Drop caps are also very nice, measure as well as anything out there, and have a nice vigorous sound to them (and they are cheap).

rpf · « **Reply #59 on:** 5 Sep 2021, 10:09 pm »

I had the CJ 17LS which I liked a lot. It had NOS Philips 6922s in it which were wonderful. I sent it back to CJ for the Series 2 upgrade and didn't like the result: teflon caps are definitely not to my taste (I haven't heard VH Audio's Cu/Teflons though). Thus I sold it - and with what I later learned, have regretted it (the only piece of gear I feel that way about). An 17LS-S1 with copper foil caps would be heaven.