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Driving ALON V with CJ Premier 11: Can I improve?


Looking to tap into your wisdom and experience: do you have any idea of how I could further improve the sound of my already good sounding system?

I am driving a pair of Alon V MKII with a CJ Premier 11 and a CJ PV 14 pre-amp (soon to be upgraded to a Premier 17).

Source is a Marantz DV9500, interconnect are Straightwire Maestros and cables are Acarian Black Orpheus (tri-wired).

Room is under the roof so has titled ceiling with carpet on the floor and insulation foam in the back of the speakers. I also use a powerline conditioner from Monster.

For example may be I could improve the bottom end by using a stronger amp. I love the Premier 11 but may be an Evolution 2000 (Hybrid) would drive the Alons even better.

Any body has experience with this?

Or I also heard that Synergistic Research provides the best cables for CJ? Is that true?

Or may be I should replaced the CD player?

I don't have unlimited funds for this so of course the cost will be a factor.

Many thanks to share your thoughts?

Patrick aka audioaddict
audioaddict
nmmusicman
276 posts
 
I'm not sure but do the Alon V's have seperate inputs for Low, Mid and Highs? If so, you would need to use the set of jumpers that came with the V's and I would suggest using those to jump from the High input over to the Mid input or to avoid the signal degrading jumpers and the cost of tri-wired cables, you could pull the woofer out and move the Midrange internal input wires over to the High input binding posts. I did this on the tri-wired external passive x-overs on my Lotus SE mk ll's with no problems and there was no signal degradation in doing so.

Cheers
richlane
167 posts
 
I had a pair of Alon IV's for many years and I was driving them with an Aragon 4004 Dual Mono Amp and a VTL Super Deluxe preamp with great success. The Alon V's go down to 4 ohms and like lots of power to get the best out of them. I would suggest a powerful solid-state amp that doubles it's power down to 4 ohms, to be used in conjunction with your CJ premp. Perhaps a used Krell, Pass Labs, Simaudio, Edge, or Bel Canto Ref1000. These all have lots of power and will control the Alon's bass very well. It's difficult to recommend a particular brand, since I don't know your budget?

Rich
downunder
1,329 posts
 
If you like your prem 11, upgrade to the premier 12 monoblocks. they would be very tasty indeed and would drive the Alon's no problem.

If you can afford and find a premier 16, grab that. the prem 17 is nice, however the prem 16 is in another league and competitive with any pre amp out there for twice the price.

cheers have fun
audioaddict OP
2 posts
 
It's a good idea to consider buying a more powerful amp including a pair of CJ monos... and of course the Premier 12 would be nice. Have you heard how the Evolution 2000 compares to something like the Premier 12 or Premier 8? This would be easier on my budget in this recession!

I also heard the Aragon 4004 or (was it 8008?) and I was quite impressed by what I heard.

Cheers
audioaddict OP
2 posts
 
By the way the Alon V are triwired and I've heard several people commenting that they do benefit from separate wires for the mids and highs. I also played with a pair of Kimber 8TC but in the end couldn't hear much difference with the Black Orpheus.
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