Conrad Johnson Act 2 series 2 First Impressions


This will be an ongoing thread as I will periodically post my impressions as this unit breaks in . I owned the Act 2 series one for over a year and became quite familiar with its strengths and sonic character. The Act 2 series 2 has just arrived and I have 90 hours on it thus far . What is immediately obvious is the improvement in the midrange to the lower midrange . The notes and their color are fleshed out with greater ease and immediacy . I was listening to Diana Kralls Steppin Out and on virtually the entire disc , the difference between the two units is startlingly obvious. There is more depth and decay to acoustic bass notes imo. The brushes as they glide across the drum kit reverberate for a longer period and her voice has more of her chest in it. This is not to slight the Act 2 as I loved every second I listened to it . Its just that this new preamp is digger deeper in the midrange. The Teflon caps in their new gear takes 300 hours to break in in my experience so this observation is initial and superficial . I just wanted to begin this in public so those interested could follow my journey. More to come after 150 hours. Thanks .
brainwater
I spoke with CJ about upgrading - the have not put a price on it yet. It will require a virtual complete overhaul, new PCB board and power supply.

The retail price has increase from $13000 to $16000 for the series 2. So it seems anything under $5000 would be worth it.

As a short term fix. I have upgraded the tubes to NOS DRs and most important treated the tube pins and RCAs with Xtreme Quick SilverGOLD. The change was dramatic, a big improvment in dynamics. In fact, I almost jumped out of my chair on the first listen. I would also replace the stock PC, I've had alot of luck with the Nordost Valhalla PC coupled with the Thor conditioner - this also increased the dynamics , improved the musicality, and widened and deepened the soundstage.
Hi Brainwater, did you do a review on CJ Art 3? What is the difference between Art3 and Act2.2? TQ. Happy listening

Here is some info about the differences in the ACT2.2 upgraded from the original:
- improved power-supply architecture;
- eight-fold increase in size and upgrade from polystyrene to Teflon for the capacitor by-passing the input filter;
- upgrading the remaining capacitors in the audio circuits from polystyrene to Teflon;
- improvements in grounding;
- added internal shiled results in a 5dB noise reduction.

Fwiw, I'm running the 'NOS' 6H30П-DRs - *maybe* they yield a faint increase in higher frequency extension. Now that the price has really jumped on these - purportedly the last stock available - I'm not sure there is a lot of payback for this tube roll in the ACT2.

I really wanna hear the new CJ TEA1 phonostage - anyone had a listen yet?

Cheers,
Tim
Tim,

Have you tried any treatment to the tube pins? It seemed to make a bigger difference then the DRs and cheaper.

Do you know what the 2.2 upgrade will cost?

Thanks