Conrad Johnson and Herron comparisons

big question, hard to answer

you need to at least narrow to specific models

cj has made preamps for decades, within their own line the sound of the product has changed significantly over time

I felt if I narrowed it down, there’d be even fewer responses.....but Ill try -

Herron VTSP 3a (revisions 1-3) vs...CJ ET3’s/ET5’s

can't speak to the herron in comparison to the cj units
but tim herron makes top top notch stuff... his customer are super happy super loyal

re the cj units, if you can afford the delta by all means get the 5 over the 3... significant performance gap

I had a CJ ET3 SE for three years. It was ok. But it just lacked dynamics. Always seemed to round of the top end. Also it loves to eat tubes. Had to change them every 9 months. I finally demoed a Luxman CL 38U SE and it took me all of five minutes to switch preamps.

I live near Keith's workshop and will be talking with him soon about auditioning a phono pre. I've never heard Herrons before, but can't find a single negative thing on this or any other forum