CJ vs. BAT vs. THOR preamps, who's best?

Swampwalker... yeah, mostly. Legally, yes. Entirely, no. Can't drive anymore... except a riding mower, and a jet ski slowly...and only in open waters. haha. The PC does talk though.

downunder.. dead on. The dealer told me when I remarked about the overall lack of warmth, that Lou Jhonson said the CT line especially, is the "most neutral preamps we've ever made." .. and so much for the legendary CJ pres. A new path is taken and a revered one now gone. They have decided to cast their lot into the arena of neutrality. Along with countless others that intend to offer up similar sounding units. I've nothing against neutrality. Not at all. My tastes lean me towards an older sort of sonic embrace. Lush, rich, wet, and warm, with resolution detail and inpact enough to become involving... and as of late with my last little comparison shopping for happiness in the guise of getting another preamp, I found that simply with a different set of tubes, and a new IC from pre to amp.. I have all the above, save a touch more quickmness. that last item is not actually a good enough reason to drop 6 to 11K on another pre. That new set of NOS tubes has solidified things quite well. The upcoming MIT IC (renting the one I have now), is simply ridiculous. I'd never have tought a lesser level of IC, especially in between the pre & amp to be quite so good a match. though I do have another MIT in the system as well.. and the latest addition of some Sig 10 speaker wires has been a nice one too. I've actually been able to take off the grills from the JR's for the first time ever.

So in fact it would appear my complaints/desires for another level of performance have been realized at this point... and for way less than the cost of a new pre. Though one never knows what winds may blow their way. So long as it ain't just the need/desire to change for the sake of change, I'll be fine. thanks a lot for the input/insights... all of you have saved me tons of 'ducats'. and it would seem the answer to this thread, now, is the Thor. Mr. Marks product maintains the lush yet quickly nimble magic that sounds so appealing to me.

Blindjim- Bummer about the blindness but kudos for the truth in advertising (grin). Never heard a Thor. Nuetrality is over-rated if it eliminates the emotional context of the music. Good luck, let us know how you progress with the Thor.

Well, thanks much for all the info. I surely do appreciate it as always.

Now, near a year later though not quite, the die seems cast. there really is no 'best' whatever the device. Certainly some have performance levels that are well above average, yet 'best' terminology is a misleading tag in an audio system as the integral word here is "system" which infers some degree of synergy of the whole of things.

OK. Good. When you hear that synergistic cohesion perform at a level that immediately upon hearing it you know the sound is one of those, "that's it.". sounds, why not then obtain the thing?

Consequently, my most recent audio epiphiany was hearing the thor TA 1000 and the Thor monos (30wpc) on the VR4 JRs... with Audience wires and a tube CDP. Apart from the amps, obtaining the Thor pre would put me quite close to that fascinating sound.

By all rights at this point an original Thor TA 1000 MK II should be delivered to me shortly.

My single concern was/is compatibility with my balanced only amp. Electrically? probably no. otherwise? We'll see.

Then there will be all the which wires? which tubes? Isoing? ...etc.

Just thought it only fair to show some closure, my sincerity, and my gratitude.

Congrats Jim, let us know how it sounds when you hook it up. Is the user interface better than your VK-5i? I know that was one of your reasons for changing.

John

John
We're still in the same boat there. Just volume. the esthetics changed, there are less tubes, likely as I recall it not as great a degree of warmth or darkness in the sonic envelope, and there are two pieces now instead of one, to give me fits isolating. But no. No greater flexibility for me. it seemed just not in the cards this time 'round. So be it. I foresee a major step up in sonics though, and I’ll take that every time.

Flexibility is nice. Quite special. Looked forward to it. But the bottom line is what is "to me" that I can do? given a choice I feel I made the proper one. No less functionality and if it's half the results from the all Thor deal I heard, it will be a delightful change.

All accounts point to the thor TA 1000 MK II as being superior to the non MK II in all aspects. Given that and this one has the Gold inlay, knobs and such... the added improvements in speed, bass resolve and transparency of the mids was better by some good measure than that of the BAT VK5i, no matter what I did to it. I took some time doing a lot to it as well. But no dice. The TA 1000 is clearly on another level. Probably has something to do with it being more money, huh?

I did however try to do something in regard to a sideways step with added flexibility. I even auditioned (if you can call it an audition) locally of the Ayre K 5xe SS pre.

The dealer for Ayre in my town, (Audio Visions South) sells also wilson, ML, krell, etc. They were kind enough to let me listen to a grand total of two songs. Well almost two. The salesman halted the Gordon Goodwin track part way through as he said he had no more time. It took two hours for them to give me that much of a break. I had to make an appointment for this episode too. I sat patiently and waited for almost nothing. Wilson Sophias, Ayre 7 CDP, Ayre 400 wpc monos, and all Transparent wires.

Twelve minutes of music wasn't enough for me to decide. though I was asked to decide 3 times before they ever played a track off their CD. I had brought my own but they weren’t interested in me hearing familiar music I guess.

Lets put it this way. right now? My HT receiver as preamp to my BAT amp does a better job by far. That's only if you actually want to hear the soul of the music and have more than a two dimensional sound stage. Obviously Audio Visions South feels 10 or 12 minutes is enough for someone to make a $3,000 decision. I simply do not. They did me no justice, nor did they give the Ayre products they represent justice. Not even close. they did offer me $50 off on it, so I did get pretty excited by that. it was the poorest exibition of equipment and professionalism I've seen in over 30 years. A home audition was mentioned but cost $150 IF I didn't keep it. No mention of the time frame however. I would gues it would be a whole day though, given the length of the in store demo.

things always work themselves out. always. later that day, other Audiogone members pointed the thor out to me. i made contact eventually, and here we are. I'm way ahead quite soon, they got what they deserved from me which was nothing. though I do feel bad Ayre was so wrongly exibited. they deserve better I’m sure. Anyone deserves better.

Audiogone, by far and away, continues to out distance themselves from some of the established high end audio store fronts simply by providing a resource for those "GENUINELY" interested and sincere buyers who have long since become tired of the arrogance and elitist attitudes some ‘dealers’ display so commonly.

So many positives came from that debacle. I saw the Sophias for the first time. Found out what sort of value they constitute. Removed them from my short list of speakers. Transparent as well. So in all, there was indeed gain. I suspect I should now be owing that dealership a debt of gratitude, rather than disgrace. They saved me much time and lots of money in the long run. All in all an eventful week has passed.