Information on the Conrad Johnson Evolution 2000?


I buying this amp on the recommendation of a friend. I will try this on my Apogee speakers. I understand that they were way overbuilt and fairly rare. I did a search on these hybrid amps from around 1990 and found very little. What are the strengths and limitations of this amp. Are there any tricks to make this amp sound its best? Bob
128x128baranyi
It's nice. You'll like it. Warmer than most amps because its CJ and because the driver stage is tubes (5751)Should sound nice w/Apogees. No limitations it's a 200 WPC amp and doubles at 4 ohms because of the good power supply. As for tricks I say the same as any other amp: good power cord, better tubes would be nice.

ET

Here is a link to it: http://conradjohnson.com/It_just_sounds_right/classic-products.html

You'll see Evolution 2000 on the left 3/4 of the way down.
Electroid,
Do you use the amp currently? What type of tubes do you use in your unit? I am still awaiting the unit to arrive. I think it did not have a detachable power cord because of the unit being older. What speakers have you used the amp with? Bob
No I don't have one but sold a few. I have an earlier CJ MF-2500 and MF-2100. It wasn't difficult to modify them to accept a detachable IEC power cord. You'll need a dremel tool. I think that this is more important than internal upgrades like caps. As for tubes I like RCA black plate 5751's.

ET
I wonder if you purchased mine (lost it in a divorce) If so you are lucky. Great shape new tubes from CJ and had not been used in nearly 3 years. I looked into modifications and there really were none worth the time and money. For the sound, I felt it was dark however tons of punch.
i owned both the amp and preamp of that series. it was very dynamic and punchy, but lacking in bloom and richness.
Plasma, I lost much gear in a divorce also. I had an entire vintage collection sold to pay attorney's fees. Who did you sell it to originally? Mr.Tennis Did you try the amp with other preamps? What speakers did you use them with?
i believe at the time i was using a tmpani 1b speaker.
i only used the evolution 2000 preamp.

i have heard the amp in another system. i still stand by my assessment.
Mrtennis,
I was wondering if you remember which preamp that you heard with the CJ.
I have been told that it could take a week for these amps to properly reveal themselves. My pair of Evolution 2000s have only been playing for 8 hours. Before this the previous owner had not been played them for at least a year. After 8 hours, they seem very transparent but not with the bloom and richness that you mention. I will report back after the amps get a few days to break-in again. Even in the few hours that they have been on, they sound does seem to be softening from the original hardness that I heard. I am using the amps with the Supratek Chenin on Apogee Scintillas. They seem to have no problem at all with the Scintillas 1 ohm load.
The amps now have about 36 hours on them and they are quite rich sounding. I can't imagine how good they will sound after a week! At this point, I am a very happy camper! Bob
Electroid,
the amps are very nice! I wonder what others have used for preamps with these amps. I have them playing for 6 days now and they keep getting better. Bob