Aesthetic Calypso or CJ Et3 or Primaluna Dialogue 3

Where are ya- frozentundra?

Very nice- jeffstarr

CJ pre-amps are special indeed.  Happy Listening!

Jeff,
there used to be a few shops in the Madison & Appleton areas.
Milwaukee is not far from Chicago.  Get out there and listen, listen, listen to the gear! 

Jeff,
I am trying to figure out if the CJ 350SA can drive my Thiel speakers properly.  It is a beast of an amp for sure, I do not know if it dips down below 4ohms though?

I will be traveling more this new year and auditioning gear that is on my must-demo list.  Happy Listening!

frozentundra-

good to see you in this new year!  The CJ ACT2 Series2 and ET-3SE are going to be on par w/ one another. The ET-3SE is  a tough competitor because of the teflon caps (SE version only).  Otherwise the ACT2 will trump a non-SE ET-3.

At this level of performance, I would audition both CJ and Aesthetix.
I was disappointed w/ the Treo/Quattro. These speakers do not present like a Thiel, especially, the CS 2.4, 2.7 or 3.7 models.  The "2" and "3" series from Vandersteen are much closer but do not image nor sound as timbral.

Jeff, where are you  located?

TY- tls49
Excellent advice.

Additionally,
I have demo'ed the Aesthetix Calypso in an all Aesthetix system w/ Vandersteen Treo/Quattro speakers and Silent Source cables/cords throughout.  A very nice, all tube system. I did not spend as much time w/ this system, as I did, with the CJ system. If I can answer any further queries let me know.  Happy Listening!

2nd Note;
my reference demo as of this date is a CJ ACT2 Series2 pre-amp (until I can audition an ART or GAT) with the CJ Premier 350SA power amp.
Eggleston speakers and Audience cables/cords round out the system.
I played everything-Classical, Rock, Metal and Jazz- all sounded excellent and never disappointed. Played very loud as well w/o issue!

Jeff,

look into the CJ ET-3 (ET-3SE is even better).  I know that CJ products do well w/ Rock music, as does, Pass Labs.  In fact, Jeff Dorgay of TONEaudio.com has recently added the CJ GAT2 (over $20K) to his TOTL Pass Labs power amps ($80K) in his reference system.

At one time he had all TOTL CJ gear in his reference system.  Clearly, this man is very wealthy and can (and does) buy whatever he wishes. This is a sound endorsement (no pun) for me.  What is the other gear, including cabling, in your system?  Happy Listening!