Teflon Cap upgrade or new set of NOS tubes for conrad johnson PV12A Preamp?


Unit sounds good now but was wondering -- of these two choices what will sound better?? For CJ PV12A  to have CJ install new Teflon CAPS or replace all stock tubes with NOS high end?
planapo63
I recently had new Teflon caps installed in my CJ PV 11.  It certainly was worth it.
 It’s like acquiring a new premium preamp. If yours has a phono section, it’s especially worth it. Probably superior to any stand alone phono preamp out there,
the CJ phono section is very special.
Btw, two Telefunken NOS 12 AU7s are not too expensive and sound wonderful in the line stage.
I have a humble c-j Classic 2SE with the teflon caps....   it is such a great sounding pre.  It was a $500 premium over the base Classic but well worth it.  I auditioned it against a base  ET3 in what had to be a $50k system and liked the Classic 2SE better. 

If you really like it, why not do the caps ?   It's a great preamp that is worth the upgrade.  Outfit it with the best new production tubes , or NOS if you have a reliable source like Brent Jessee or Jim McShane and have the $$$ .    The teflon upgrade isn't cheap , but it's a fraction of a new preamp.
You have loved the preamp, plan on keeping it in any case?

BOTH!

Why not? Money? I can understand that, not to mention packing/shipping/return shipping. I would do tubes first.

Tubes: can you bias them yourself?

many tubes last 10,000 hours. Buying new tubes, original, or, a different type/breed. Someone like Brent Jesse will take them back, let you try a different brand if you don't like them after a 60 hour burn-in.

i.e. I bought new KT88's, liked them better than my 6550's. I have the 6550's as spares, so I will never be in a hurry in the future.

i.e. I bought sylvania for pre-amp, didn't like them as much as original, burnt them in 60 hrs, sent them back, tried some GE's, half the price, sound great.

You can always do the caps later.