Conrad Johnson--Best used Model

Going w/ don_c55

a Pass Labs x-10 is excellent matching pre-amp.

Greetings to you from the frozen tundra of Wisconsin south of Lambeau. 
I can't speak to the compatibility with the pass. But I suspect 
unsound and don c55 are correct. What I can say is that I own a 
PR 16 which I upgraded to a 16-2 . Either version is an awesome preamp that has the full bodied musical sound you are looking for.
it is IMO better that the 17 or 17 2 which I have also had in my system. (PR 12 monoblocks B&W Signature 30s) But just barely.  The 16 can be had 
for about 3-3.5K. The 17-2 for about 2.5k and since it has the Teflon caps it's just a bit faster than the 16 but not quite as rich. The PV 14
my brother has with his PR 11 is a very musical set up but not up to the 16 or 17. Heard the ET5 in my system for a week or so and as you get to the newer CJ models after the Premiers they are faster and cleaner but IMO not as musical as the older models. IMO you trade lush and full and easy to listen to for faster cleaner and more detailed and I am guessing you bought the Pass because it's warm sounding class A solid state. The CAT 6 is also a nice pre that excels in throwing a great soundstage that I heard with an MV60. I think most of the magic in the music comes out when you optimize the synergies in your system to match your personal tastes. I've always had CJ and I obviously like their house sound and I think the preamps are what influence the sound the most. The 17 or 17 2 are in the sweet spot and you can try different tubes to tailor the sound
to your liking at far lest cost than you can with a 16 that uses 6 6922s where the 17 used 2 if memory serves. Check out Help Wanted: Bass in the forum if you decide to try tube rolling with a
CJ pre for my experience in that department. Enjoy the Music
RBP

RbH;

You are the real Frozen Tundra!  If in GreenBay & my guess is Depere?

Everytime I drive past Lambeau I get the " Dry Heaves"
Im a Bears fan, due to kid dancing the " Super Bowl shuffle" at 1
The turned into a Cubby, too

I'm from Menomonee Falls 

so you are a CJ fan & one I'm looking for 

How does a CJ Pv-12 sound next to Pv-17!
30% of albums are the 80-90's overprocessed sound that I'm trying to get to sound good/ok vs bright/ hash/digital

im hoping to find that " middle" between the old CJ warm/ plodding & the new CJ that sounds like ARC- Electronic sounding

A few on Ag have said the Pv-12
A few have said the 16-17 is the " sweet spot" with good detail, soundstage and Lush
A few have said ET3

so, now I don't know

ive listened to a few of the tube ( preamp) stuff that just does not do it for me

Rogue....naw
ARC.......sounds like electronics
PrimaLuna........maybe ok?
BorderPatol amps.......real nice sounding... but no preamp
Cary SLi 80 integrated ...... Ok, but not the lush I was expecting

So, help ?

jeff

ps: Pass is really nice, went from Class D to Pass
ps: Snowing up there yet?

Frozen tundra  I am a cj PV-12L owner.  When reading your 1st post, you mentioned the lush house cj sound without being plodding.  The PV-5 fits your description but has the overly bulbous bass of that era's cj sound.  The PV-11 that preceded my model fit your description to a tee.  I went for the PV-12L which promised to be a bit more revealing with less cj house sound.  I don't know if there are many PV-11s out there but they would be worth a look.
Good luck in your quest!

Watch out for impedance mismatch when pairing a CJ tube preamp with Pass.   The CJ Act 2.2 did not do well at all with the Pass X250.5.  I later inserted the Pass external cross-over (XVR-1), and it fixed the impedance issue (as well as split the signal to a sub) and sounded great, but without the impedance fix, it was not a pairing that worked.