Conrad Johnson PV-10 vs. PV-11

Had a PV-11 and it is the only piece of equipment I am truly sorry to have sold, not to have moved on, but have sold.
Best I can give, not having heard the PV-10, is that the PV-10's come up here fairly regularly, the PV-11 by comparison is a rarity.

The PV11 is the better preamp and it cost almost twice as much as a PV10 new. New price for a PV10 was $995. New price for a PV11 was $1895. These preamps are about 20 years old now and may be due for service.

PV-11 is a much better preamp, as it should considering the disparity in price.

I've owned both of these preamps. I still have the PV10 but sold the PV11. The PV11 was an outstanding unit. The only reason that I sold it was due to an ongoing problem with static in the volume control knob. I had it worked on 3 times and decided to bail on it. I upgraded to The CJ CT6. As for the PV10, I still use it for my vinyl rig. It's hooked up to a Crown DCA 300II amp. The 11 is the better of the two but the PV10 is still a great sounding unit.

Does the PV-11 go one louder? lololol

PV-11 is an excellent preamp, and I bet with some upgraded caps and such would compare to some of the better units available. I owned one for 10+ years and enjoyed it tremendously. My understanding is the PV-12 has a similar line stage as the PV-11 and the PV10B replaced the PV-12, so that also may be similar.
I picked up a Modwright preamp to "upgrade" from the CJ.
I ended up selling the CJ and the buyer auditioned it before buying it. I was shocked how good it sounded compared to my Modwright and I thought I may have made a mistake selling it then. The Modwright did the audiophile stuff better, more dynamic better tighter bass, not as warm, but dare I say the CJ was more musical. I now own a Supratek which gives me the warmth of the CJ and the speed of the Modwright. (the Modwright did improve its sound after some upgrades - thought I settled with the Supratek) The PV-11 is definitely on of the best bargains out there for a used preamp.

I still use a PV-10 and a PV-12. They can be taken to a new level by replacing the 12AU7 tubes with NOS RCA"s which are not too expensive. The electrolytic capacitors should also be replaced; this goes for all older equipment.

Conrad Johnson did not use any electrolytic capacitors in a PV11

No electrolytic capacitors would make th PV-11 much better than the PV-10.

The PV-11 should easily best the known inferior PV-10. However, each to his own. I had my PV-11 modified which made it the best of all of them.

Look under my virtual system review of Zu Speakers, Almarro 318B Tube Amp, and Linn Basik Turntable for system setup hints.