I am waiting to get my Premier 14 back from CJ from being repaired. The CJ will have a little more tube bloom, the ARC will be like Solid State without the edge. Both are excellent, the CJ MK16 II might be a better comparison and looses some of the CJ house sound to be more like the ARC. I am looking for the Premier 14 sound versus the newer CJ versions.
The CJ is mechanically noisey when changing Volume, My Placette Active was 200% quieter than the CJ.. it clacks between each volume tick when it is setting up the correct Vishay combination. The Premier 14 doesn't have a removable powercord. If you get one, make sure they put in the 4 moving screws (on the bottom) to keep the tube cage locked to prevent damage to the tubes, the person I bought mine from didn't, hense the repair. Tubeset from CJ is pretty cheap at $100.
Both have remotes which is a "Must Have"
CJ is Single Ended RCA only
ARC is Balanced and Single Ended(RCA)
CJ is a smaller chassis but long and heavy
ARC is almost twice the height
