ARC amplifier with Conrad Johnson Preamp

Finding a good deal shouldn’t override what sound characteristics you’re looking for.  The CJ will likely have a much warmer/less detailed sound than your amp, so if that’s what you’re looking for it might be fine.  Personally if you like the sound of your amp I’d be looking at preamps from ARC, Atmasphere, LTA, Backert, etc. that are more neutral like your amp, but again it all depends on what sound you’re looking for.  FWIW, and best of luck.

@cleeds I thought the same thing but I emailed to ARC and they said

should be zero problem with that. I can buy

something like cardas cga adapters, (not sure if I’m allowed to link it)

or go with ARC BL1 adaptor box or some active direct box.

@soix well you definitely have a good point there, I’m gonna listen to the CJ premier 14 this Sunday.. but sadly not with my amplifier..

anyway I have another deal for ARC ref 3 but more than double the price and I’m a lil bit on budget so I might have more room for better speakers with CJ pre.

also I like my system more on the sweet side.. I just hope the CJ enough detailed

anyways ref3 is interesting , tho I think it’s an old pre and I’m not sure it’s worth investing on it 3.5k while cj less than half.

I wonder if anyone have ever tried mixing the two because I don’t find any info on that.

honeybadgertube

I thought the same thing but I emailed to ARC and they said should be zero problem with that.

Yes, you can make the two work together, but you won’t get the best results from either, imo.

@cleeds it might be true , tho ARC said the only down sound will be loss of volume level. I asked few other folks and they agreed on that not decreasing the sound quality. But TBH you might be right , no real clue over here.😅

I have owned both the ARC ref75se and CJ Premier 14. The two brands work well together it gives you a ying and yang combination. Subsequent CJ pre-amps have better defined bass than the 14.