Tim,
Talk with Downunder (lots of posts in AGon and very knowledgable). He owns Strads and uses CJ Premier 8s which he had CJ overhaul 12+ months ago with Teflon capacitors used in their current ref series. and and ART III. I have Strads and use Gryphon Antileon SS and CJ Act 2. I am tempted to go balanced with ARC Ref 5 (CJ is SE only).
What i found in this combo was a tremendous power and depth of sound (and quickness of bass) along with the lifelike pitch and tone i always seek in my music. I've heard the Strads (Annis, and nearly the rest of the entire SF family back thru 1993)...and found that SS amp and Tube pre was a nice combo (to my ear). I used to own tube SS (CJ) and CJ pre...and moved to SS amp Gryphon about 2 yrs ago. hope that helps. enjoy and please update!
Talk with Downunder (lots of posts in AGon and very knowledgable). He owns Strads and uses CJ Premier 8s which he had CJ overhaul 12+ months ago with Teflon capacitors used in their current ref series. and and ART III. I have Strads and use Gryphon Antileon SS and CJ Act 2. I am tempted to go balanced with ARC Ref 5 (CJ is SE only).
What i found in this combo was a tremendous power and depth of sound (and quickness of bass) along with the lifelike pitch and tone i always seek in my music. I've heard the Strads (Annis, and nearly the rest of the entire SF family back thru 1993)...and found that SS amp and Tube pre was a nice combo (to my ear). I used to own tube SS (CJ) and CJ pre...and moved to SS amp Gryphon about 2 yrs ago. hope that helps. enjoy and please update!