Conrad Johnson Premier 350 ss vs Premier 140 tube

Chuck, I know your a CJ man, me too, I've owned 2 CJ preamps and currently using premier 14. I also have the 3.6's and urge you to give Mcintosh C501 mono's a listen. I compared directly to the 350 and preferred the 501's. Just midrange magic with a great bottom end with detail galore but not etched or fatiguing in any way. Just an integral part of the music. They really put my Thiels in another league. The CJ 350 was very nice also, the deciding factor for me was the effortless ability to drive the Thiels no matter the volume level. They just have total command of the speakers. If your interested you better checkout the output impedence match with your 16 and the 501's, they are low at 10K and the 16 is on the high side.

I can't wait to hear your impression of the 7.2's when you get them...good luck.

Thank to the both of you for your feedback. I must admitt I do have a soft spot for vacum tubes. It happened when I purchased a Premier 11a and then subsequently sold it. Not enough power for my 3.6's but I did love that mid and high end magic. So I find myself gravitating back to vacum tubes. I also agree that the Premier 350 is rather dull and unassuming looking. Of course most of the ss amps just don't have the romance associated with that tube glow.

Chuck

Pops

I see that the Mcintosh is a sloid state piece. I went to their website and it looks like the c501 is a mono bloc design on a single chassis. Did you compare it to any of the Pass amps available?

Chuck

Chuck,

No I didn't, I don't have a pass dealer near me. I was so surprised when I heard the Mac's it really changed my perspective and I was a little relieved that I didn't have to compare 5, 6 or more brands to be really satisfied.

I've had a classe amp for several years so I really was leaning towards the new delta series or the CJ premier 350...until I heard the Mac's. The classe M400's sounded like the house classe signature, nice, polite, some bloom but just a little lean. There are some great reviews on the 501's and the 402, a 400 watt stereo amp. Alot of good press all over the place...FWIW.

Jerry

Chuck, they are monoblocs but not on 1 chassis if I understand you correctly. You get two 92 pound monsters.