Conrad Johnson Phono Preamps

I have a CJ ART Phono now, before that a TEA 1 Series III, before that an ET5.  Generally for most cartridges I prefer to use the low gain input with an SUT and generally a 10:1 ratio or less.  I have a few SUTs.  You can’t go wrong with one from Bob’s Devices.  His SUTs sound great and are reasonably priced and he is knowledgeable about matching your preferred cartridge to your phono stage.  Remember you will require an extra set of phono leads too.  These should be kept reasonably short and be high quality.  

@billstevenson +1 Definitely, use low gain phono pre with a SUT.   It’s been a number of years ago so trying to remember the specifics but per Bob, he did not recommend using his SUT (any ratio) with the Pr.15. 

OP 

An AI is a great place to start  on any general questions. Sonic characteristics, theories of consciousness, what spice pallet would you recommend for use with lamb. When you get to specific components... you have to be more careful and check all the recommendations... it can get those surprisingly wrong. 

Thanks for the responses, gentlemen.

I had an unforeseen opportunity come about yesterday and bought a Premier 15. I also have CJ's Premier 12 mono blocks and their Premier 16LS Preamplifier. So, this should all work together nicely.

I realize this limits me in cartridge, but I'm old school and love the CJ Premier equipment. I'll be fine. 

Thank you, @marco1 for sharing your experience with this piece, stating "so if you like the CJ golden sound, you’ll love this pre" I absolutely do. AND "per Bob, he did not recommend using his SUT (any ratio) with the Pr.15" That's good to know.

Thank you, @billstevenson for stating "You can’t go wrong with one from Bob’s Devices.  His SUTs sound great". Should I ever change this setup out and need a SUT, I will start here.

Thank you, @ghdprentice for the word of caution!

Your Cartridge output of 1.0 mV is a problem, too weak for most MM RIAA and too strong for most SUTs 

And, let’s not forget, some people get HUM from some Grado Cartridges

so, love CJ, get thee a MM cartridge with a normal high output of 3 to 5 mV to go straight into a MM RIAA input.

and, next get a true low output MC cartridge, with output of say 0.3 to 0.5 mV that requires a SUT, perhaps 10:1, so out of the SUT would be 3 to 5 mv

And, if you go LOMC, you need to learn about impedance. What fun!

I got help here, and put this on the site after making my 1st MC choice, AT33PTG/II

https://www.audiogon.com/systems/11318