2. amps-preamps
  3. 1111360532

Which Conrad Johnson pre is a step-up from PFR?

Hi
Recently for some unknown reason i sold my beloved PFR preamp and after numerous preamp changes realized that i cannot recapture the magic i once had in my system when it was in it.My question is:which other CJ preamp has the same kind of sound (golden glow sound,big presence in the midrange,wide soundstage)?To be precise i am looking at the Premier line but not with the "new school"ultra transparent sound that CJ switched to around 2000-2001.I know that Premier 15 is very good but i already own CJ EV-1 phono stage so it kinda defeats the purpose.Would Premier 14 or 16 be a substantial step-up from PFR?Thank You all for your advices.
overhang

Showing 1 response by russellrcncom

russellrcncom
305 posts
 
I suspect that the PFR was probably the best value product ever offered by CJ. I have no doubt that the Overhang has experienced a superior product with the 16LS2 but for what price - $8000 new and $5k to $6K used on the open market? I consider myself to be one of the more jaded audiophiles and can only tell you that the PFR is one of a very few products that made a difference in my system (I picked mine up at ebay for $900!). What saddens me is that no-one to my knowledge has ever offered an upgrade to this venable product. why is that? There has to be quite a few of these units still being used...

I have not heard the Lamm's but I suspect that reading some of the reviews on this site that this would be a good starting point for you (other than the 16LS2).
More to discover