2. amps-preamps
  3. 136417-13625

What is as tube sounding as Conrad today?

Looking to buy a tube preamp for my Class D Tripath amplifier. It boils down to (from most people) Conrad Johnson older PV series as being the most tube sounding preamp. Or some people who don’t like that sound call it dark. I surely don’t want dark as if you put blanket over your speakers but lush/warm/romantic sound is what I like. Can I buy a used preamp ($300 budget) sounds like Conrad PV line? Don’t care too much if it is from China as I had pretty good sounding stuff from China before.
celo
celo OP
158 posts
 
@bondmanp special thanks to you for taking time and finding out preamps for me. I really appreciate it. 
oddiofyl's avatar
oddiofyl
3,450 posts
 
I love c-j.....enjoy !
lissnr
365 posts
 
CJ is classic American tube.. in all its most obvious character... it can help any SS based system capture texture and body.... These days more than ever I promote USA products amd CJ is America at its best. Good call. Good luck. And
Happy Listening...!
shrapnel
37 posts
 
I have the CJ classic 2 SE preamp paired with the CJ 2275 SE amp driving Magiies and I absolutely love the song. This CJ setup I have is entry level in their line up and I always wonder if there higer end models will sound any better than their entry level line up. I always wonder how it can get any better than this.
hifiman5's avatar
hifiman5
1,823 posts
 
@shrapnel  Perhaps your system is right where you want it to be.  cj stuff has always had a specific sonic signature that renders a slight honey-like sweetness to the music.  The cj trick is having that along with the detail their gear renders.  Good stuff, indeed.  If you haven't already done so you might experiment with footers to further "tune" your system.
Best!
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