The PV-10 can be taken to a much higher level with NOS tubes. I bought RCA 12au7 from Brent Jesse. For NOS tubes, you can't buy them anywhere; but only from someone who comes highly recommended. The phono uses 12ax7, and I don't use that.
conrad-johnson system questions
Hello,
I'm relatively new to the whole audio game, but I'm a quick learner. Let me tell you what my goal is: to require a good audio system, doesn't have to be the best, doesn't have to cost as much as a brand new BMW, but should do a decent enough job to listen to CD's and LP's. I'm guessing almost all separate system will do a better job than my current integrated Akai AM-U33, which makes a horrible buzzing sound by the way (too close to my computer probably, which makes another horrible buzzing sound).
So, recently I've become aware of conrad-johnson, and I immediately fell in love. I like their no-nonsense no-compromise philosophy, and let's face it: it IS highly important, I like their aesthetic designs. An amp should look good. I like the retro look, I'm not too fond of amp that, while thei might be the best, look like a space shuttle. Shiny aluminium and blue leds everywhere are not for me.
So I've been browsing the conrad-johnson sales on this site (nice list), until I noticed that shipping was in 99% of the cases US only. Too bad. But it probably doesn't matter because in Europe we have 220V/50Hz instead of your 110V/60Hz, so I'm guessing the products would not be compatible anyway. If anyone could recommend me a similar EU based site that would sell loads of used c-j components (220V/50Hz), please let me know.
But, I've found a Dutch hifi store that has two c-j products for sale: the MF2100 and the PV10. The MF2100 has a really good price ($520), so I'm in doubt. My favorite combo would be the Classic preamplifier (also won the award of best preamp of 2009 on an other site) paired with either the MF2250 or the MV-60. I'm not sure if I want to combine tube-solid state or tube-tube, certainly since everyting I've read tells me the c-j solid states sound very much tubelike. Could anyone tell me the advantages and disadvantages of both configurations?
I'm guessing a problem is that the MV-60 is only 60W per channel, and that's not much. I haven't encountered any speakers to fit that.
Another problem is the availability of the MV-2250. I haven't seen it in Europe (then again, I haven't found many EU based sites that sell used c-j equipment).
So I guess the MF2100 is the next best thing, a little less power, but I can live with that. Although some reviews are raving, other review tell me to watch out, since the amp can sound pretty bad if paired with the wrong preamp. But I'm guessing all c-j products are compatible, no?
So, there's the question of which power amp to take: MV-60, MF-2250 or MF-2100, knowing that the MF-2100 is cheaply and readily available. Or maybe I could go another way and pair a c-j preamp (like the classic) with thow outlaw monoblocks (since they come cheap and highly rated).
But, there's also the question of which preamp to take. I like the classic. Everything I've seen about it is highly positive. But the store also has a used PV-10 (ex-demo model). Since I haven't found a lot of info about the PV-10 (except one negative review and one positive), what do you people think of it?
So to summarize my questions:
1. EU based webshop for c-j (preferably also used products)?
2. Pairing: tube-solid state or tube-tube?
3. preamp: classic or pv10?
4. poweramp: MV-60, MF-2250 or MF-2100? Outlaw monoblocks?
5. Is the MF-2100 really that bad?
Oh, and any speaker recommendations?
Thanks a lot,
Robbe
I'm relatively new to the whole audio game, but I'm a quick learner. Let me tell you what my goal is: to require a good audio system, doesn't have to be the best, doesn't have to cost as much as a brand new BMW, but should do a decent enough job to listen to CD's and LP's. I'm guessing almost all separate system will do a better job than my current integrated Akai AM-U33, which makes a horrible buzzing sound by the way (too close to my computer probably, which makes another horrible buzzing sound).
So, recently I've become aware of conrad-johnson, and I immediately fell in love. I like their no-nonsense no-compromise philosophy, and let's face it: it IS highly important, I like their aesthetic designs. An amp should look good. I like the retro look, I'm not too fond of amp that, while thei might be the best, look like a space shuttle. Shiny aluminium and blue leds everywhere are not for me.
So I've been browsing the conrad-johnson sales on this site (nice list), until I noticed that shipping was in 99% of the cases US only. Too bad. But it probably doesn't matter because in Europe we have 220V/50Hz instead of your 110V/60Hz, so I'm guessing the products would not be compatible anyway. If anyone could recommend me a similar EU based site that would sell loads of used c-j components (220V/50Hz), please let me know.
But, I've found a Dutch hifi store that has two c-j products for sale: the MF2100 and the PV10. The MF2100 has a really good price ($520), so I'm in doubt. My favorite combo would be the Classic preamplifier (also won the award of best preamp of 2009 on an other site) paired with either the MF2250 or the MV-60. I'm not sure if I want to combine tube-solid state or tube-tube, certainly since everyting I've read tells me the c-j solid states sound very much tubelike. Could anyone tell me the advantages and disadvantages of both configurations?
I'm guessing a problem is that the MV-60 is only 60W per channel, and that's not much. I haven't encountered any speakers to fit that.
Another problem is the availability of the MV-2250. I haven't seen it in Europe (then again, I haven't found many EU based sites that sell used c-j equipment).
So I guess the MF2100 is the next best thing, a little less power, but I can live with that. Although some reviews are raving, other review tell me to watch out, since the amp can sound pretty bad if paired with the wrong preamp. But I'm guessing all c-j products are compatible, no?
So, there's the question of which power amp to take: MV-60, MF-2250 or MF-2100, knowing that the MF-2100 is cheaply and readily available. Or maybe I could go another way and pair a c-j preamp (like the classic) with thow outlaw monoblocks (since they come cheap and highly rated).
But, there's also the question of which preamp to take. I like the classic. Everything I've seen about it is highly positive. But the store also has a used PV-10 (ex-demo model). Since I haven't found a lot of info about the PV-10 (except one negative review and one positive), what do you people think of it?
So to summarize my questions:
1. EU based webshop for c-j (preferably also used products)?
2. Pairing: tube-solid state or tube-tube?
3. preamp: classic or pv10?
4. poweramp: MV-60, MF-2250 or MF-2100? Outlaw monoblocks?
5. Is the MF-2100 really that bad?
Oh, and any speaker recommendations?
Thanks a lot,
Robbe