kennesawjet,
My local hifi store store used to use that same preamp for demo’s. If you were auditioning speakers or amps or whatever he would usually use that exact same preamp and it ALWAYS sounded great. I thought it was a tremendous value every time I would listen to it. If working properly it’s a fantastic preamp for the money.
The first question I have for you is which preamp did you use before you got this CJ pre?
One of the the members who responded said that the input impedance of the DNA 500 is only 10k. If that is correct then that is unusually low but that’s not going to cause all the issues you describe so I would look elsewhere. If you are going to replace the C J pre there are not a lot of preamps out there that will work with that low of an input impedance. I don’t know what your budget is but I would look at the Backert Labs Rhumba or Rhumba Extreme or the Rhythm models as he uses a proprietary circuit that he designed himself that has an unusually low output impedance of just 75 ohms, that’s not a typo, 75 ohms. Their preamps are supposed to sound great and they start at $4000.00. That would be ideal for that amp.
The people that that are claiming the system is too bright, are these people who have heard YOUR system? I don’t understand your statement of “I’ve read that some people claim the system is too bright” are they saying that the ET3SE can be bright? CJ gear can be a little darker sounding but some people like that.
Also, how old is this preamp? Due to the fact that it’s been discontinued I would be surprised if it’s not broken in yet. I doubt if that’s the problem.
When I look at the equipment list the weak link (no offense) is maybe the home made speaker wire. Did you use that same wire before you changed the preamp and did it sound good with the old preamp?
With regard to getting a specific type of tube that’s just personal preference. You may love a certain 6922 and I may not like that same tube so no one can tell you what tube to get, they can tell you what they like but you have listen to determine which tube you prefer. Trust your ears.
The first thing I would do is replace what may just be a bad tube. If you put in a new tube you will be able to tell right away if it’s a bad tube. I would call CJ because the head of the service department just recently bought the company Conrad & Johnson. I would buy one of their replacement tubes, it won’t be expensive, if it’s the tube the used when they ship new ET3SE’s it’s probably a descent tube, they’re not going to ship it with lousy sounding tube. That will at least tell you if that’s were the problem is. If that solves the problems you’re hearing, then you can start tube rolling to determine which tubes sound best to your ear.
If all that doesn’s Fix the issues there might be something wrong with the preamp and you may need to send it back to CJ for service. I would call CJ first and talk to their service department. Good luck, I hope you get it figured out soon.
Scot
