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Which Conrad Johnson pre is a step-up from PFR?

Hi
Recently for some unknown reason i sold my beloved PFR preamp and after numerous preamp changes realized that i cannot recapture the magic i once had in my system when it was in it.My question is:which other CJ preamp has the same kind of sound (golden glow sound,big presence in the midrange,wide soundstage)?To be precise i am looking at the Premier line but not with the "new school"ultra transparent sound that CJ switched to around 2000-2001.I know that Premier 15 is very good but i already own CJ EV-1 phono stage so it kinda defeats the purpose.Would Premier 14 or 16 be a substantial step-up from PFR?Thank You all for your advices.
overhang
pops
2,273 posts
 
Another vote for Premier 14, simply a great sounding preamp.
Ag insider logo xs@2x
superhonestben
199 posts
 
to URU975 which Mac preamp did you hear against your CJ ??
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uru975
684 posts
 
The McIntosh preamp was/is the C-45 and it cannot begin to compare to the Premier 16 by CJ thnaks for asking Michael
kw6
692 posts
 
Hi,

I owned the PV-10AL but haven't heard the other c-j pre-amps mentioned, but I can tell you that the 17LS Series 2 makes music in my system. Great tone, soundstaging, inner detail, natural dynamics and most importantly conveys the essence (continuousness) of music!

Good Luck!
nglazer
846 posts
 
I "moved up" from the PFR and the closest CJ I heard to it with an improvement was the 17. I bought a Hovland HP100 although the 17 was a close second. (I have since moved on to a Wyetech Opal -- different level entirely).

I later bought a modded PFR on Audiogon (not sure who modded it) for my second system because I missed it so much and now live happily ever after with it. But the 17 offered some greater resolution and clarity, but still with the traditional CJ "magic".

Neal
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