Conrad Johnson--does anyone use this brand anymore?

I had CJ gear for years. I had an MV60SE amp and a 17LS2 preamp. I've since  switched to Pass, an XP20 and X250.8. I've lost nothing and gained much by switching. Ultimately I found CJ gear a little too golden. I hear zero solid state nasties on my Pass gear and the noise floor is definitely lower. To each their own. 

I think all agree that Mr. Pass is an excellent designer.  Not suggesting you should change anything, but modern c-j amplifiers are just that bit more linear.  Some miss the golden sound, while most enjoy the expanded accuracy.  And, don't you miss that something that comes with tube sound?  My P350 is excellent even today but I always come back to the LP140s.  It's a personal choice and a great deal depends on our speaker choices as well.  I'm a Wilson guy with a new pair of Yvettes.

Regarding people's worry about the companies future, I wouldn't stress about it. It's tube electronics any competent tech should be able to fix it. 

As zavato mentions, cj does have that "Golden Sound" to match up with their golden faceplates.  My guess would be that a cj tube pre matched with a cj tubed amp may in some systems be a bit too much of that golden glow.

linnlingo-

the ET-3SE is a very fine pre-amp and mates well w/ other tubed or solid-state gear.  Which other gear, including cabling, is in your system?

Happy Listening!