Act2 and Classic 60SE (240v) Australia, Melbourne

A nice place to sell, buy, and trade anything (without the fees). See something on sale at another site, talk about it here.
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Big Dog RJ
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Act2 and Classic 60SE (240v) Australia, Melbourne

Post by Big Dog RJ »

Greetings fellow audiophiles, music lovers, audio enthusiasts and dedicated cj ambassadors.

Thought the time would never come but it has, and these two components have served me extremely well.
Planning a long term upgrade path (although many years ago, I said "good enough is good enough") to c-j monoblocks and perhaps the GATS2.

Although the ACT2 is an original ACT2, it was upgraded here in Queensland by the cj distributor to a series 2 (sort of). Upgraded caps and mods on the power supply cable were upgraded, giving it a close enough sound to a series 2 and very close to the original GAT. I had absolutely no intention of upgrading until I actually auditioned a GATS2 with Quads (ESL 2912)- wow! I currently have the ESL 2905 and it is marvellous with the ACT2 and Classic 60SE. Whiles the Classic 60SE is nearly brand new, after trying out the ARTSA with my own Quads, I just realized what I was missing!

Here are the details of both units:

ACT2: purchased in May 2011 (used condition from a single owner in Australia) paid AUD$8,000
Have original manual and all packing, plus extra set of tubes (6N30P Gold Pins)
In very good condition, scale of 10 = 8. The gold champagne colour and glossy black have faded. Compared to the Classic 60SE gold front plate, the ACT2 looks to be two shades lighter...
Other than that, the preamp works perfectly well, the RCA connectors are not as shiny as when new (slightly faded) that's about it.

Classic 60SE: purchased in Aug 2015 (brand new with warranty still remaining) paid AUD$7,000
Original manual and all packing, including swivel stick for tube biasing.
In mint condition, well burned in and sounding marvellous with the ACT2 and Quads.

My email address is: rajeevjayasinghe@gmail.com
If anyone is interested, please email your offers and we can discuss shipping and handling. My only concern is if these amplifiers are to be used outside of a 240V rating, then the required voltage conversion must be done by a qualified technician. I can only ship out in original condition, if the voltage conversion is necessary, the new owner will have to attend to this if needed.
If you require photos, I can easily email these across, please let me know.

It is very hard for me to part with these two components, knowing that I will have to save a lot more in order for the upgrade, which may take several years! In the meantime, I will probably use just a simple 300B integrated from Jas Audio, which drives the Quads adequately for my listening levels.
It's going to be a long wait without that cj sound but I guess at the end it's definitely worth it.
Cheers to all from Melbourne and have a good one.
RJ
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Re: Act2 and Classic 60SE (240v) Australia, Melbourne

Post by Big Dog RJ »

Greetings from the land down unda! from the beautiful city of Melbourne.
just to let you all know, the Classic 60SE was taken up by a lucky gentlemen who will be enjoying this amplifier for a very long time, I hope...
now the only remaining item at my dealer's showroom is my ACT2. This leaves me a step closer to the ART and GATS2 but a long way off in terms of finances...
In the meantime, I have been using a wonderful 300B 8w/ch SE Class A integrated from Jas Audio. This thing driving the Quads (of course within limits) sound just marvellous! It doesn't have the reach of cj gear, but my golly that midrange off the 300B with stats is superb! The GAT amp that cj was trying to develop sometime ago was put on hold or off project due to unreliable sources of the 300B. I have seen this thing at a showroom in Spore and it was a beast, able to deliver some 1,000w of Class A. When I first saw it, I thought it was some spare part from a tank... Boy would that have been a special treat to experience a 300B design from cj. The ACT2 may go this weekend, I was told that many have inquired about it. I guess it's a matter of time.
Cheers to all those who are enjoying your 300B's, I truly understand the joy!
RJ
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Re: Act2 and Classic 60SE (240v) Australia, Melbourne

Post by admin »

Congrats on the sale. Keep us in the loop as things progress. ART/GATS2/Quads seem like an incredible combination,... I bet you can't wait!
-admin
Home Theater in Member Gallery
Main stereo: ART Amplifier and ET7s2. 2nd stereo: PV-14L and MV-55. Previously Owned: PF2 preamp, Evolution 2000 Amp, PV-12AL preamp, D/A-2b Vacuum-Tube Digital Processor.
Big Dog RJ
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Re: Act2 and Classic 60SE (240v) Australia, Melbourne

Post by Big Dog RJ »

G'day admin,
Nice to hear from you mate. Yes, I definitely cannot wait, in fact I'm going completed retarded.
I don't have any cj gear at the moment, have dearly departed with it since April ending. Using a JasAudio 300B integrated as "sadly" noted above, to add to more misery, I think this is going to take a fair while as I had initially thought (due to family commitments). I am enjoying the 300B sound no doubt BUT it definitely is a far cry from cj.
Since, this is going to take a long haul to get back to cj (probably looking at 10 years from now), just thinking whether cj would produce a 300B design if at all... Probably not, since the 300B tube is a dinosaur!

There are newer SE designs coming out that incorporate the KT88 series in SE topology, and not using the 300B due to inconsistent stock. Could well be one major reason why cj didn't even continue with that massive GAT amp that had the 300B.
At least on a more positive note, I will still have my hearing ability when I eventually settle back with cj, it certainly helps to continue with the running and workouts, looking ever so younger than mid forties- so I am told... obviously that extra flab under the chassis is totally mind boggling since I've tried every dam thing to get rid of it but it just wouldn't go away. Perhaps liposuction may help but the cost of that procedure could actually get me a nice cj preamp again!
10 years from now is not so bad, I'm sure cj will have some wonderful sounding gear by then. The cost will definitely go up, and perhaps by then I can go into a nursing home having a vintage system with Quads and cj! Oh, now that sounds like a neat retirement village.
Cheers, Admin. I'm just going to cry now...
Take it easy and enjoy those maggies and the Evo 2000, nice stuff!
RJ
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