Pros/Cons of moving from CJ PV 10 to SS?
First of all CJ has good resolution under normal operating conditions. The unit you've described has problems. Call conrad johnson and ask for service help--they're the good guys in audio. They will guide you to the right solution, whether repair or replacement. IMHO you WON'T get greater resolution with a solid state unit necessarily--certainly not the 'warmth' or musicality that the cj offers. Good luck. Larry |
PV-10 Review It coincides with what the owner hears. |
In my experience and in general you need to move up the food chain $ to get more resolution that is what you pay for. I went from a cj PV-10 to a cj premier 16ls II and better resolution was one of the improvements along with better frequency extention. Tubes sound different than ss so that is something you have to decide you want. But a tubed pre with ss amp is a great combination at least in my experience. And as others have said something is wrong with your PV-10 as mine was very quiet. Chuck |
Oldnslow: I bought a C-J PV-11 here on Audiogon about 4 years ago. Not sure when they started, but I have had some issues with it. First, like yourself, I get an intermittent high-pitched whine or whistle out of one channel. After two re-tubes (one done by myself, one done by C-J), I still have this issue. I think it is tube related, since moving positions on the tubes moves the whine. Second, I have a fairly pronounced channel imbalance. It is big enough that the PV-11's balance control is not always able to compensate. This is also variable, and seems to deteriorate as the PV-11 warms up. A year ago, I sent the unit into C-J for a retube, repair of the channel balance issue, and check-up. Although C-J is pleasent to deal with, they could not reproduce the channel imbalance in their lab. The unit got a clean bill of health from C-J, but the two issues persisted after the check up and retube. Although I found the PV-11 to be very musical and detailed, I was not willing to make any more attempts to repair it. I decided to go in another direction, which so far seems to be a success. However, I did stay with a tubed pre. This is the only tubed component in my rig, and I feel tubes provide a certain musicality that a 100% SS system cannot. YMMV, but before you commit, try to audition whatever $2K SS preamp you have in mind in your system, and judge for yourself. If the PV-11 did not have these two issues, I could have lived with it for many more years. It is quiet (for a tube pre), dynamic, detailed, natural sounding and fairly extended. That said, my replacement preamp offers even more detail, a better soundstage and more bottom-end extension. If you are willing to spend the money to use RHB Design's services, perhaps they can do a better job than C-J itself. I considered it, but the idea of taking a big, non-reversable chance that RHB could fix everything and improve the PV-11 appealed less to me than just getting something a bit better, with none of the issues of my PV-11, and add some long-desired features as well. Let us know how you make out! |
