Conrad Johnson Classic Sixty


Anyone have any experience with or heard the Conrad Johnson Classic Sixty Tube Amplifier? I don't have a dealer near me, but am looking for an amp to pair with a CJ Classic Preamp and B&W 805S speakers.
viggen9

Showing 1 response by tubegroover

I am using Quicksilver Silver 88s (no longer made) but I would consider trying the mono 120's at about 4K with KT150 tubes with your CJ Classic preamp. I have listened to 5 different preamps in my system with the Quicksilvers, currently a highly upgraded vintage PV9a which is a very synergistic match. I'm just betting that  pairing  the Quicksilver with your Classic pre would sound superb with your 805 speakers and you'll have no issue with the bass or anything plus plenty of power and only 2 ouput tubes per mono amp. I find the Classic 60 glorious but a bit light in the bass during a limited exposure. The Quicksilver amps  have a beautiful midrange with NO faults that I have yet detected in 3 years of ownership, probably the best amps I've ever owned and among the most satisfying I've heard across the board, they breathe life into the music and NEVER bring attention to themselves or make you question whether something is missing and THAT IME is special. Then I added  2 Rel Strata III subs over the past year, and well, that is a story to itself.


On the general subject of bass, agree with zavato,on the issue of synergy with the speaker and damping factor. But to categorically state that tube amps have fat bass or  lack bass is not accurate for ALL tube amps.I've heard some low powered SET amps that produced bass that was astonishing, and  I have heard SS amps that lack bass as well because of their damping factor. Designing amplifiers is often about choices to attain a desired result..