RJ's C-J and Quad System

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Big Dog RJ
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RJ's C-J and Quad System

Post by Big Dog RJ »

Well here it is finally! The absolute sound from the Melbourne storm!
Dam the Storm didn't make it to the finals (those who are not aware, Melbourne Storm-NRL Rugby team) won a premiership couple years ago. Anyway, back to the music and system. Most of my music collection are Jazz and vocals; I have heard Dianna Krall, Nora Jones, Holly Cole, George Benson, Larry Carlton, and Fourplay live! Therefore, I have based my system around that type of sound, and enjoying it every moment I play a disc. The other person or legend as we all know, the well-known bassist Ray Brown, has been one of my idols. Sadly I will not be able to ever see this guy live because he no longer exists but his spirit is there in every disc I have of his outstanding performances.
Enjoy the music with that great c-j gear you all have! Cheers RJ
Quad 2905.jpg
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MV60SE & ACT2.jpg
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MCD301 SACD Player.jpg
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Thor PS10 & Nordost QX4.jpg
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joeinid
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Re: RJ's C-J and Quad System

Post by joeinid »

RJ,

Stunning setup my friend. So happy to see you and your system here.

Joe
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Re: RJ's C-J and Quad System

Post by Big Dog RJ »

Hi there Joe!
How are those Strads doing? Keep enjoying your music mate, you'll live much longer...

Yes, this is a fantastic site dedicated to c-j and all things c-j. It is certainly wonderful to have fellow audiophiles and music lovers, and learn about their quest for the absolute sound. In my case it has been a journey full circle, dating back to the late 80's early 90's. A very old friend of mine known as the Quad guru, probably had the best system in my native country at the time. He had the original ESL63 partnered with Gradient Subs, where the 63's would sit on top of the Gradients, and look like one massive electrostat! The system was driven with a PV12 and Premier 11xs (triode mode), and McIntosh ss amps for the subs. That soundstage was awesome! Still to this day, I have not heard a system that could beat that soundstage and depth. He had the perfect room for it and ample amount of space for the Quads to open up and fill the room without any listener fatigue whatsoever, it was an extra ordinary presentation indeed.

After a few years, I followed suit with the same ESL63, a premier 11a and a PFR preamp. Similarly I also had plenty of room for stats, and the sound stage was remarkable! I then went into silly pursuits of trying to reach concert levels at home and ventured off track as I have mentioned before. Sold off everything, migrated to Australia and started from scratch. Now I have eventually gone full circle to Quads and c-j. I could certainly do with a lot more space for this type of system, and I know for a fact that in a much larger room these big stats would just take off! That day will come, until such time lets just sit and enjoy what we've got!

I really don't plan on changing anything with the current system because it has reached a level of "synergy." Whatever I may add in the future would obviously be in terms of upgrading the overall level of coherency and sound-staging. From what I have learnt since 1986, is that live music cannot be replicated in your home or room. What you can and must enjoy is high quality recorded music! And this can be achieved in every sense of the word...
Cheers mate and enjoy those Strads; Would love to hear them with those awesome ART amps of yours!
RJ
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Re: RJ's C-J and Quad System

Post by joeinid »

RJ,

I absolutely love your enthusiasm. It's infectious.

Love, love, love my Strads. Just amazing speakers.

I picked up the CJ ARTsa amp today from my dealer. I'll run it in a bit and send it in to CJ service to have converted to EL34 and triode mode. That will give me the best of both worlds.

I am so happy for you. Thank you for all your help and advice. CJ forever. :)
Big Dog RJ
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Re: RJ's C-J and Quad System

Post by Big Dog RJ »

Hey Joe, how's it going.
Very glad to hear that you got hold of the Artsa, that's fantastic! I am certainly after one of those as well.
Let me know how it all goes. Very excited to learn your findings. Have a good one.
Cheers mate, RJ
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Re: RJ's C-J and Quad System

Post by joeinid »

Hi RJ,

Thanks. I am debating if I should run the amp as is for a while or just send it in and have it converted. Oh the agony. :)
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Re: RJ's C-J and Quad System

Post by Big Dog RJ »

Hey Joe mate, How's it going?

I can see that this SET bug has bitten you nicely, and yes it is certainly a wonderful thing if you do like that type of sound...
Having said that, I can only suggest one thing, and that is there are many out there who claim to be SET specialists, Cary, Ayon, Manley, and so on but to me there is only one company that makes SET like no other; Lamm.
Yes, they are very expensive, and they are very special designs. This would of course be my ultimate amp to get one day. The ML2.2 and 3 signature series are second to none! Vladimir has set the standard so high, that only a handful can emulate what his design team have done, and oh! boy have they done it extremely well.
If you're lucky enough to audition a pair of Lamm monoblocks with your Strads, I reckon you will leave everything else on the front lawn!

I owned the ML2.2 with Wilson's for a very short time, before all hell broke loose with the financial crisis and job market few years back. The last combination I managed to keep until I just had to let go was the Lamm ML2.2 with Quads; they were simply superb! Hence, all I could hold onto was my little gem of an amp, the MV60se and of course now I'm ready to venture out once again towards the ARTsa and so on... But trust me nothing beats the Lamm SET monoblocks when they are driving a comfortable load. The performance with Electrostats was mesmerizing!

Any other SET versions you may try are just alternatives to me. Lamm SET's are the ultimate in an audiophile classic system.
All the best in your search, cheers mate!
RJ
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Re: RJ's C-J and Quad System

Post by joeinid »

Hi RJ

Thank you for the recommendation. The higher end Lamm gear is totally out of reach, sadly. I've heard others speak very highly of the Lamm gear.
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