Any Experience With Conrad Johnson ET3 Preamp?

Hawk28. Sorry, I have not compared the standard to SE. You can always upgrade to SE later if you think you need to move up in performance. I don't think the upgrade is much more than the price difference between the two units.

I auditioned a ETS SE for a weekend and came away less than thrilled. The sound was like a warm misty summer morning. It was a great effect, but it wears on you. I just could not get around the slower, more edge intangled, heavy and less detailed soundstage. And yes, my sample was noisy, too. At the end of the session, the left channel tube started scratching and sizzeling bringing the audition to a standstill.

So, the unit clearly wasn't 100% prior to the outright tube failure, but it had a LONG way to go to be what I would be happy with long term. I used Dynaudio C4's and they are pretty unforgiving if you have a unit that lacks clarity in presentation. Switching back to my XP-10 was a HUGE change in detail and speed and maybe too much, even. But, the two units live at opposite ends of the sound spectrum. I'm still looking for a middle ground pre-amp (possibly a RLD-1 with a 2012 series platinum SMc mod).

I'm not against tubes at this point, I just haven't heard the tube magic yet that would make me accept the more temporary performance peak of tubes. Tubes just change more and faster than SS. The newer single tube per channel SS (I think J-FET) output tube units seem promising, though. They seem to try to manage what is good about tubes and remove the bad (poor ability to drive longer leads).

Rower30,

If you are looking at the RLD-1, have you looked at the LD-2 with the CJ Teflon upgrade. The LD-2 has the SMc upgrades already (I believe). The Teflon cap upgrade is another step forward. I owned the LD-2 and it is very nice but I don't think it will match the Pass XP10. XP10 is $5250 retail. It is at a high level (price) even compared to the ET3 SE.

In the audition, you need to confirm a few things on the ET3 SE.

1. It needs 500 hrs on the Teflon capacitors for the sound to fully bloom. This is the misty morning or a bad tube.

2. It is a very high gain preamp as is all zero feedback tube designs (25 db gain - pass xp10 has only 10 db) If you have a high sensitivity amp you (under 1v for full power), you may hear some hiss with high sensitivity speakers. This is not a good synergy for the system.

3. You need to make sure the tube is good. I had a couple problems with the tubes on mine. They are inexpensive tubes. . They are $16 tubes. You may want to make the investment in auditioning from Jim McShane in a gold lion tube.

I had the MAP-1 (6 channel version of the RLD-1) and it was great. The LD-2 was a step improvement (the factory upgrade with teflon caps by CJ will take it to a new level after 500 hrs) and the ET-3 SE is Large step forward with a good tube and 500 hrs. The Ld-2 will be dead quiet. The Et3 SE may have a slight hiss with a high gain system but sounds better than the LD2. Keep in mind the Pass is 25% more expensive, I am sure it is a great preamp. You may want to keep it.

Happy hunting ont the RLD and LD2. This may be the sound your looking for. If you really want something in the ET3 SE sound quality with tubes, you should look at an ARC LS26 as you can lower the gain to keep it quiet like a SS but with the Tube magic. I owned one and it sounds great and is very flexible. Again, this would be a $6k preamp . Best regards.

Well, I sent off a RLD-1 for the 2012 platinum upgrade. OK, the box, PC board and remote are about the only things that aren't changed. Yikes! It's been since November, as Steve is cranking on his VRE-1C for the show(s). Can't say I blame him. I hope it adds some body and warmth to the sound. It may not be the end-all, but then I can't afford what probably is! Steve seems to have a good ear, so I doubt it will be a mistake. The XP-10 isn't a mistake, it's just TOO good on certain types of music, and that makes it TOO detailed on others. I'm trying to split the difference some.

But still, preamps are seriously overlooked on their sound quality. It will be a haul for thr RLD-4000 (about what I have in it) to break in. I'll just sit that Sony tuner on as station in the basement and walk away!

Good luck! I am sure it will have outstanding sound quality. Let us know.