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CJ PV10AR upgrade?

Type in title: PV10AL!

OK I will describe my system. But PLEASE don’t tell me my system is crap, "get rid of" this or that, etc. It’s not at all helpful and will only serve to make angry. Not all of of us can just replace components will-nilly;  as this is not my only expensive hobby. So if you don’t have a helpful, specific to my ultimate question just please don’t reply to this thread.

System:
  • CJ PV10AR Preamp from about 2000 (my have had a slight upgrade to caps before I bought it but otherwise it’s as it came out of the factory - aside from regular tube replacement with tubes recommended by CJ; which were just replaced.
  • Emotiva XPA-2 Gen3 amp
  • Primarily use Bluesound Node 2i as source these days
  • Maggie 1.7i speakers
  • All speaker cable and interconnects mid-price of the Straightwire line.
Questions:
  • Is there a burn-in on the new tubes? If so, how long?
  • CJ wants to do some "major" cap upgrade that they say is WAY overdue as the original parts are past their sell-by date. What should I notice with such an upgrade?
I don’t want to influence the answers (yet) with my impression of the current sound.

Cheers
John



jkf011
hifiman5's avatar
hifiman5
1,823 posts
 
jkf011

Obviously cj can perform a cap upgrade and perhaps they should. First off, they should be able to tell you what you will hear with their upgrade!
Before you settle on cj, I would urge you to check out RHB Dezigns. Bob Backert and his son have modified many, many cj preamps over the years. Bob has worked on my PV12L three times, each a performance upgrade over the last. Bob has his own designs that he employs in his upgrades. His emphasis is on the power supply. Your PV10 will be more open and dynamic. If you call Bob he will discuss what he can do for what cost. He lives in Churchville, PA and can be reached at 302-723-7549.

Bob’s workmanship is impeccable. He is an absolute gentleman and can take your cj to a new level.
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oldhvymec
5,101 posts
 
At 20 years it might be more maintenance, than upgrade, but while you're at it, might as well replace the old with BETTER.. Teflons?

CJ likes the teflon upgrades, takes a while to break in, aren't cheap, but a good upgrade. With the Emotiva..It can only help.. Second they want to swap out the filter caps. Never a bad idea.. 20 years again, a long time.

I'm guessing, but I'm close. :-)

Regards
erik_squires
15,646 posts
 
Hey John,

I had an original PV10 and worked on it extensively. There are a handful (maybe like 4) electrolytic caps which should be replaced, but that’s all I can think of as getting old. Everything else was film. There was also an undersized (compared to the 12) heater cap as I recall.

The PV 12 was the same preamp, with a 3 stage voltage regulator. This made it more reliable as well as better channel separation.

The sound however was in large part due to the output caps which were high quality film, but probably not teflon. :) As I recall they were around 4uF.  An alternative to teflon you should consider, if they fit, is copper foil.
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