VTL, CTC, Lamm, ARC, EAR, Halcro, Mark Levison

David,

One last minor pint of clarification. Your ears and preferences will be the final judge. BUT, I should point out that I had your same preconceived notion of the the C-J preamps as "tubey." When I got the ART-II in for audition I fully expected it to be too "tubey" and that I would not like it when matched to my Lamms and Exquisites. I could not have been more wrong. The older C-J preamps like the PV-10 et al, may indeed be warm and lush and "tubey" sounding, but the ART was nothing like this. Yes, it has the harmonic richness and, in my opinion, more natural timbre and bloom that tubes can give, but it certainly wasn't dark, rolled off, syrupy or too "tubey."

So, if I were you, I wouldn't go into my search thinking the way I did and that it will be too "tubey."

I hope this helps - good luck and I hope you find a great match for your incredible system!!

I have the Lamm L2 preamp with Lamm ML1's and as you would expect this combination is very synergistic. This preamp provides lots of detail and dynamics but conveys it in a very musical way. Even though the output is solid state it does not sound like a solid state preamp to me.

I would suggest giving BAT Vk31se and above, Musical Fidelity kW, McIntosh C2200, Aesthetix, Atmasphere, Pass Labs, or ?? Any of these should fill the ticket "nicely". VTL 7.5 would be nice also.

What a fun position to be in. Happy Holidays

Dear all,
being on Audiogon, I'm obviously searching for a bargain
I've seen CJ ARTII and VTL7.5 on sale right now...must be an ARC Ref3 around as well..
What would you do !!?
Thx

Don 't neglect to hear and consider the ML #32.This is a great preamp worthy of inclusion in the finest of audio sytems. Give this baby what it needs as for as AC power, great amps, and surrounding components and I don't think you'll ever regret owning it. However if SS is not your thing, then I'd stick with the ARC products. They always sound excellent to me and they have had many "classics" in their line up over the years.