Whats a good tube preamp?

Of all the ones you mentioned the CJ 16LS is by far the best. I have not personaly heard, but I'm told it is 90-95% of the $17,000 CJ ART. It will offer you more resolution & detail than the others along with that uncomprimised magical midrange that CJ is so famous for. Of course it's not cheap to buy or retube. On the used market you'll find them going for around $4,200.00. One you did not mention & you may want to consider is the Joule Electra LA-100 MK111. I know it will kill all but the CJ 16LS. It will offer the same amount of resolution, detail & 3 dimemtion that the CJ does, but is maybe just a tad warmer. You may prefer this with your particular speakers because they are so revealing to begin with. In additon, you can pick up a Joule for a fraction of what the CJ will set you back. I seen them on the used market from anywhere to $1400-$1900 range. Just make sure it's a MK111. Good luck & happy listening.

I own an ARC LS-25 and I love it... I feel it is pretty neutral... A friend of mine and I did a "shoot-out" with ARC pre-amps on about 60K of other gear, and the ARC Ref 2 was the best!! Between the Ref 1 and the LS-25..... If you like more detail, the LS-25 is the way... If you want a bit more "tube seduction", try the Ref. 1. Between the LS-25 and the Ref 1 -- if they weren't together, you probably could tweek the one to sound like the other with NOS Tubes (Amperex). I have not heard the CJ gear... but others tell me they are a bit colored and provide a "lush" tube sound.

I haven't heard the new, high end CJ preamps. But, in my opinion Greysquirrel hit the nail on the head. ARC for neutrality, C-J for more tube sound. Tube amp w/ML speakers? They need a lot of current(low impedence) to come alive... I'm a certified tube nut, but tubes don't work for everything(they just don't pump current into low impedences). But, if you like the sound of this match, go for it.

Hi T-bone, May I suggest an audition of the Balanced Audio Technology 50se? In my opinion it's a giant killer! I compared the 50se to the ARC Ref 1 in my system, and to my ears the BAT won hands down. I think you should audition the pre-amps in ? in your system, trust your ears and decide for yourself which you prefer. Please keep in mind the cables and "amp" used to drive the Martin Logans. Martin Logans are very picky about the amp they are partnered with do to the impedance load they impose on the amp. This is only my opinion but to my ears compared to the other pre-amps listed the 50se will outperform them even at under half the price of the most expensive one listed. Another pre-amp to consider would be the CAT. I haven't heard it recently but I think it's more than worthy of an audition. Good luck and enjoy the journey! Take care, Tom

I must comment on what some are saying about CJ having colored sound. After owning several models (PV-8, PV-12AL & familiar with the PV-5 , Premeir-14, the 16LS),yes indeed the older models were quite colored, but not the new ones. In fact many CJ lovers prefer the older models & find the newer models to be bright sounding, when they are in my opinion much more nuetral sounding offering a much higher level of resolution, transparency & 3 dimention. I think you would be hard pressed to find a better more nuetral & transparent sounding preamp than the 16LS. Not to mention the synergy it would have with your Premier 11A.