Preferred Speakers for Prem 14 & Prem 11s

Discuss and chat about all things Conrad Johnson.
Post Reply
Tonydog
Regular
Regular
Posts: 7
Joined: Fri Sep 16, 2016 5:58 am

Preferred Speakers for Prem 14 & Prem 11s

Post by Tonydog »

Hi All,

Any recommendations or "must pair" speakers for a Prem14 pre and Prem11amp.

I currently have them on an Audio Physique Virgo 2.

They sound great but some software can be a get a bit bright.

Thanks
Big Dog RJ
Ultimate
Ultimate
Posts: 2341
Joined: Sun Sep 07, 2014 6:30 am
Location: Melbourne, Australia

Re: Preferred Speakers for Prem 14 & Prem 11s

Post by Big Dog RJ »

Hey there, seems like a pretty good match up already. if certain music sounds bright perhaps re-positioning of speakers is required with some room treatment. carpets, medium sized rugs and curtains can all help with brightness. I would first experiment with that. then move onto other levels in terms of interconnects and speaker cable. some are bright and some are dull, you have to strike a good balance here.

asking which speakers? is like asking what color should my next pair of shoes be?

this is very personal, and only Your ears will be the final judge. I have owned the premier 11A and it is a wonderful amplifier, can match well with most speakers with moderate loads. I've used maggies, electrostas, dynamic drivers of all sorts and the prem 11 was fine.

it all depends on the type of music you mostly listen to and the majority of time spent, is most of your listening during days or late nights, in which case you would want a speaker capable of delivering the full soundstage even at low volumes. obviously a horn type would be a bad idea for late night sessions.

you can also try mini monitors that work extremely well with the prem 11. at one point I used a pair of Proac tablet speakers, simply superb. The other monitors I really enjoyed on the prem 11 were the Sonus Faber cremona auditors, another superb sounding match up.
The prem 11 was also able to drive my mg3.5/r ribbons on its own, of course within limits. ran out of steam only on fairly loud passages that required continuous thump. other than that it worked fine.

I must say this though, the premier11 is a very fine power amplifier, built on premier standards with high quality parts. Therefore, whatever speakers you choose must be of high quality as well. if you don't get this combination to match up right, you will not experience the high-end quality the premier11 is capable of delivering.

The pv14 is ok but not an ideal match for the premier11. I would try any of the premier preamps or even the pfr and you will notice straight away what the phrase "premier" stands for by CJ.
Cheers, RJ
Tonydog
Regular
Regular
Posts: 7
Joined: Fri Sep 16, 2016 5:58 am

Re: Preferred Speakers for Prem 14 & Prem 11s

Post by Tonydog »

Hi!
Thank you for your reply!

Yes. I have a very odd room that is a bit lively. I'll definitely find ways to diffuse and look later on check on the cables.

I have heard that Sonus and CJ have good synergy and actually owned a pair of Cremona Auditors but that was long ago. I'll probably stick with with floor standers as my living room is a bit large.

My Pre-amp is a Premier 14 which took me awhile to hunt down in this neck of the woods. It actually sounds pretty good but would like it tad warmer, hopefully through some damping or tweaking.

Cheers,
-Anthony
petertg
Frequent User
Frequent User
Posts: 17
Joined: Wed Dec 24, 2014 1:48 pm

Re: Preferred Speakers for Prem 14 & Prem 11s

Post by petertg »

I run a pair of Vandersteen 3a sigs with my Premier 11s and the sound is wonderful. The Vandersteens have a balanced and coherent sound that is very musical. Plus they have level controls for the mids and tweeter that allow you to tailor the sound to your room which is a big plus.
Tonydog
Regular
Regular
Posts: 7
Joined: Fri Sep 16, 2016 5:58 am

Re: Preferred Speakers for Prem 14 & Prem 11s

Post by Tonydog »

Hi!
Thanks for you reply! I'll research your speaker cheers
Anthony
Big Dog RJ
Ultimate
Ultimate
Posts: 2341
Joined: Sun Sep 07, 2014 6:30 am
Location: Melbourne, Australia

Re: Preferred Speakers for Prem 14 & Prem 11s

Post by Big Dog RJ »

Yes, that's a definite.

Totally forgot about the Vandy's! In fact my trusted CJ importer for Melbourne also carry's Vandersteen, and they sound superb with CJ gear.
So, in order to fill a large room with good sonics front to back and plenty of depth, the Vandy's would also be a great match with your Prem 11.

Just the other weekend he was driving the Vandy Quatro's with the LP125 Monoblocks with the ET5, sounded real nice. I kept coming back to that demo room quite often, not interested in the rest of the speaker line up other than of course Quads. It had CJ's typical expansive soundstage, great depth and layering, extended highs, smooth open midrange and clean deep bass. The mid-bass was not muddy/and ill-defined like many other box/dynamic floor standers. In fact the midrange off the Vandy's is very open, quite similar to the openness of a stat midrange. Effortless & fast come to mind, doesn't seem to strain your ears.

Vandersteen is good value too and well respected name compared to the more expensive stuff from SF or Focal. I have tried my previous CJ MV60SE and ACT2 on sonus faber's Elipsa speakers, and it sounded marvellous. I preferred this sound compared to McIntosh amplification. However, pricing is in a totally different category here for this kind of speaker system.

I think if you are able to find something in the range of the Vandy's and maggies, you will be able to get the best from your prem 11 & cj preamp.
Sounding bright is definitely a matter of room treatment. I strongly advise sound absorbing material as previously mentioned, and make sure your interconnects and cables are neutral sounding, i.e. they should not add coloration to the sound, cables should be as transparent as possible.

To answer your original question- the best combination I enjoyed extremely well to a certain extent (why certain extent I will explain later); was the prem 11A with Quad ESL's. The sound was absolutely outstanding, and this is what got me hooked onto stat sound. I first had the Quad ESL63's placed on Gradient subs, driven with jamo amplifiers for the bass and Prem 11A for the mids & highs. I used a different preamp then, it was the PV12. This was the most expansive & detailed soundstage I had ever experienced at the time. Only lasted a certain while due to the very high levels of humidity in that country (Colombo), and the Quads simply perished. I had several panel failures, various issues with arcing since the wiring started to oxidise and all sorts of issues. Then I moved onto maggies and the sound was equally good but lacked that Quad midrange. However, this system definitely lasted longer...

Once again, I am now using Quad stats (ESL2905) and all I can say to my preference, Quad and CJ are a match made in heaven! BUT Quads aren't for everyone and they are not reliable. Therefore, unless you are willing to experiment and spend quite a lot for such speakers, I wouldn't recommend Quads or stats unless you've had a bit of experience with similar stats such as Martin Logan or Inner Sound.

Let us know what different types you try, and take your time- don't be in a hurry.
Cheers, RJ
Post Reply