Conrad Johnson and Herron comparisons

Languidcrane, I don't mind at all, thank you for asking and enriching this thread.... interesting that The Herron VTSP 3A & 360 are so highly rated here....they aren't the easiest to come by used tho'.....and the VTSP 360 new is quite a chunk of cash.... I'd love to get my hands on a VTSP 3a rev3 or a 360.
Also interesting to learn that the CJ ET5 has a propensity to burn out tubes....that might make one reconsider one's options..JJSS49's suggestion of using the 7DJ8's is a potential solution, I wonder what other ET5 owners feel about the effects on the sound using the 7DJ8 variant.

@saika2

short answer on et5 and 7dj8 pcc88 - it completely solves the premature tube burnout problem, plenty of options for tube rolling, excellent sound, and a good bit cheaper than 6 volt versions to boot

cj has been out there in the market buying lots of better old stock 7 volt tubes i understand, as they have made the switch in their manufacturing of their higher end units with this issue

I concur with jjss49 regarding tubes and the ET5.  I am using a Siemens EC88/6dj8.  Not only does it sound excellent it is a workhorse.

I think CJ had a bad batch of EH 6922's and I went through several.  

Let me chime in again. First, good discussion. To clarify the ET5 does not burn through its tube. CJ initially shipped that preamp with an EH6922 and that tube by its nature would get noisy faster than other tubes. So, jjss49's suggestion to replace the EH is correct. I had a 1962 CCA in my ET5 for 2 year and then tried a NOS Mazda 7308 which sounded even better. That tube has been in my ET5 for about 1 year now. CJ currently ships the ET7S2 and GAT with Philips PCC88 tubes, the US equivalent is a 7DJ8. The Philips is a more expensive and better sounding tube than the EH and should last 3000 hours. CJ has a significant stock of both of those tubes. As for CJ buying up NOS 7 volt tubes, Jeff has been buying a handful of different tubes to try out. Not anything significant. And, I still go back and forth between my CJ and Herron equipment. 

And don’t let that magical CJ Premier 2 slip away - an important bit of gear on the long upward arc of Audio 

loved mine, I let her go many many moons ago to fund some University, no regrets but super fond memories