new CJ sound compared to old CJ sound

Hi Brainwater, Tim and Fjn, I've had the Premier 7b in the past. I think it was (and still is) a fine preamp. But to much hassle with tubes, so I changed to solid state (Accuphase C-290V, which is also very good). In my opinion the older CJ's have lots of air surrounding instruments and voices. I thought it could be a bit of false (artificial) "halo" or "air" somehow generated by the tube design I suppose, because it could be heard on nearly every recording. It was certainly pleasant but probably not what one hears in real live.

I also own a CJ Premier 8s amps, driving them with a Hovland HP100 with great results... but.. I am sure I will be in the ACT/ART camp soon enough.

New vs. old???.. I do feel that since the sonic signature of the Premier 8 leans toward the soft, rich & harminic side, a LIVE presmp helps.. I should go for the "new" option in your case.

Regards

Fernando

The new gear incoroporating the teflon cap and latest generation topologies is a more refined sound and I find it a brilliant compromise between their famous richness and hyper transparency. Somehow , they have managed the near impossible which is to marry the two extremes without the sound drawing attention to itself nor abandoning the objectives of accurete musical reproduction. Be warned however that the teflon caps need at least 100 hours before you even LISTEN , and 500 before critical evaluation of the components can be made . Also , I run in system a minimum of an hour before settling down for a session and it continues to improve for at least 4 till it levels out and is constant. Its a little work for sure but nothing worth having comes without some kind os fight. This is a ring i climb into daily.

i have little experience with CJ - i've heard their solid-state power amps MF2250 (if I remember the model # correctly). I've also heard a couple preamps of theirs - one of them I cannot recall the model # (the reason for this is that its sound was very 'blah') & the other one was the 16LS Mk2. The 16LS Mk2 sound was very good - great details, soundstage depth & width &, for me, it was atypical of CJ, which IMHO was a very sleepy sound. I also understand that the 16LS Mk1 was even better! Prior to listening to the 16LS Mk2, my opinions reflect that of member Dazzdax - a sound I'd rather forget!
However, it seems like CJ has woken up from a deep slumber [maybe a beautiful princess kissed Conrad or Johnson or both! :-)] & I'm happy that they have. For such a great name in audio to be slumbering was a travesty. If their newer gear is anything like the 16LS Mk2 then the customers seemingly can have their cake & eat it too - sonic accuracy with optimum colour. The sound of their newer gear appears to be truer to the recorded medium & I'm happy to note that. Now, if we can only arrange that price........

Thank you Brent for the kind words.

While I never thought of CJ preamps as sounding 'blah' or 'sleepy', I agree with Bombaywalla that the 16LS represents a less caramel-colored, less yin-like approach. This is not to say that current models do not reflect the CJ heritage. Rich harmonics, superb dynamics and timing, clarity, focus, vitality, and a lower noise floor - yes, imo, the top of the line continues to progress quite nicely, and the mid-lower price points benfit from their innovations. While reflecting its heritage, the ACT2 is, at the same time, a magical leap forward - a preamp so good I found it far easier to listen to than think about - which is a good place to be!
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