CJ service

[admin]

I would try the output with a 1 meter cable (even if just temporary). That may be the culprit. And ideally with a shielded cable. Like a Belden 1505F or 1694A (https://www.bluejeanscable.com/store/audio/index.htm).

[whnay1]

I have sold CJ products since the early 80’s and always found them to be supportive of me and my customers big time!

If they go direct and fire the dealers that will be a fatal business mistake. He doesn’t have the resources to support direct sales unless he hires a full time sales manager/support manager. They need help with managing customer questions, inquiries, service calls, and goodwill.

I am willing to perform that role at no charge to help them. Not sure they will accept my offer.

I love CJ. Not just the products but also a great history with them going back to 1979.

[whnay1]

This is a common issue at this time. I am a dealer who lives close to CJ.

Please send me you info about the issue and I will text Jeff directly so he can reach out directly to you.

I think they have a systems issue when they recently changed their web site. It may be the contact form is not pointing to the correct CJ email address.

I am happy to help anyone (not looking for money) at any time get the service they need and should expect.

There is no excuse for them not responding to you or anyone.

Regards,

Bill Nay

[Big Dog RJ]

Now that's service!

Hopefully we can get all our issues resolved and get our precious gear working up to spec once again. If not then what's the point.

Down unda, I've got access to a fabulous techie and as long as he's around, we're in good hands. For those of us who don't have close access to CJ HQ, we can only rely on our country importers, and when they can no longer support, this is where alternative services play in. There are equally highly experienced and qualified techies out there... it's just a matter of finding one.

As Bill Nay very rightly pointed out, our CJ gear is really remarkable! With such great history and many fantastic products being made over the decades... CJ simply can't be ignored. The brand is far too valuable to drop. It's always been faithful to the music, especially high quality recordings, nothing falls short. I truly hope that this is just a temporary glitch in CJ world... and sooner or later JF will sort it out!

As far as purchasing or upgrading to CJ's latest gear, I hope CJ can support all of its new customers, as well as existing customers. It's the existing customer base that acts as the marketing front. Keep that base happy and well looked after, and your future sales is secure. Upset that loyal base and you're pretty much hitting a brick wall. Just a little something I learned during my under-grad and post-grad in Business Marketing & Management (that was in the US & Aus).

In my case, I'll continue to use my CJ gear for as long as possible, keeping it up to spec and well serviced. After all, it's a marvellous combination with ML stats! Couldn't be any happier at this stage.
Cheers, RJ

[admin]

I think they have a systems issue when they recently changed their web site. It may be the contact form is not pointing to the correct CJ email address.

This is an interesting question. Perhaps it does have something to do with the lack of response. If you can't leave a message and the website contact is having technical difficulties, CJ would not even know if there is a problem.

I think CJ could implement some alternative avenues of support that other companies have done successfully. For example, tube replacements could be done via a direct checkout. They sell t-shirts that you can buy directly without speaking with someone, so why not list tube replacements there as well. You really don't need to pull Jeff away from his work just to order a tube or fuse replacement for your PV-12. I've seen some other companies implement this lately (including my speaker manufacturer Magnepan).

The other thing that CJ should really consider is support forums. I hate to suggest this as our website here serves that kind of purpose, but this really does save significant time away from staff. First, many people have the same problem, so you don't have to field every ground loop hum question when you can read what 10 other people did about it to remedy the situation.

If Jeff ever wanted, I certainly wouldn't mind giving him an elevated account here on CJO where he could just check the "troubleshooting" section a few times a week and respond if other users are not giving the right recommendations or input. We already have a large "database" of issues and problems with many suggestions that have led to resolution of problems.

These would be interventions that don't require significant capital or time investment from CJ.

I suppose only time will tell how these service issues are resolved.

[kzhtoo]

I would try the output with a 1 meter cable (even if just temporary). That may be the culprit. And ideally with a shielded cable. Like a Belden 1505F or 1694A (https://www.bluejeanscable.com/store/audio/index.htm).

I tried that and not much different if not slightly worse. 3M RCA is Siltech 330i and 1.5M RCA is MIT EVO Three, so I assume they are properly shielded.

[admin]

I am not familiar with what kind of shielding those have. High end cables often don't have extensive shielding as in most setups it is simply not needed. Not saying it will get you results, but a 1M or less long cable with shielding is a reasonable thing to try to r/o interference picked up by the RCA cables is a reasonable thing to try.

[whnay1]

The Siltech cables are great

[whnay1]

I am hearing Russian and Ukraine tubes are in very short supply, particularly KT150, KT88, and 6922.

If you need tubes I don't sell them but can refer you to someone who has a great stockpile.

[Joe Appierto]

I'm being sincere in that you're making a kind offer with the tube situation being what it is.

Reminds me of the (very) old days when the saying was "dope can get you through times of no money but no money can't get you through times of no dope."

I'm revealing my age but it's still true.

[AnotherJohnson]

I am hearing Russian and Ukraine tubes are in very short supply, particularly KT150, KT88, and 6922.

If you need tubes I don't sell them but can refer you to someone who has a great stockpile.

I had a tube availability discussion with some key figures this week.

At least for now a big part of the shortage of those tubes is due to stockpiling by major manufacturers (ARC, McIntosh, etc). Manufacturers are limiting sales to gear customers. Upscale is doing this too. You want tubes from Upscale, you need to own an Upscale sourced amp.

[whnay1]

Good points. During short supply there are those who will do it.

Jay Truitt has tubes but he doesn’t gouge people. CJ has limited supply of certain tubes and appear to be managing them for just in time delivery.

I am breakingbin gold lions on a gats2 for a good friend. They need 150 hours……

[AnotherJohnson]

When the US based tube industry folded up 40+ years ago, WZJ did three things.

He offered to buy the main suppliers operations, but all the engineers were retiring and it did not appear to be possible to sustain the operation.

He did buy their entire inventory to provide a short term path forward for his tube based product line.

He began the transition to solid state, as McIntosh had done earlier.

WZJ believed that he could design SS products that sounded as good as tubes, but that it was more difficult and more expensive. And then the reviewers did not like his SS efforts in juxtaposition to his tube efforts.

Fortunately, tube sources outside the US rose up to meet the challenge, and tube based audio was saved from extinction.

McIntosh and ARC are both very large compared to CJ. McIntosh is very large compared to ARC.

If you look at Dunn & Bradstreet type analyses, CJ have just a handful of employees (including Bill and Lew listed) and maybe $5M in annual revenues. Based on a mix of products and typical margins, they’re probably selling fewer than 25 units of all types per month. So they don’t need to stockpile a super large inventory of tubes unless the bottom falls out completely… and even then, consumers will lose interest in tubes (I think they already have), and the focus will be on a transition to SS, or on how to fold up.

So … FWIW the audiophile tube market is far less significant than the guitar amp tube market. But guitar tubes do not have to be held to tight tolerances.

I wish we’d kept our manufacturing base in tact. Cheap labor and government subsidized means of production were just too tempting. But in their hearts, our leaders over the last 35 years should have seen this coming.

[AnotherJohnson]

I should tie that rant to CJ. My point is that CJ is small enough that they can get along with a smaller tube inventory than say ARC. Plus, because each tube is biased separately, they can get along with tubes of wider specification.

I hope the tube situation stabilizes in a positive way soon, but the politics do not look good. I hope Western Electric and others are close to bringing back US based manufacturing.

More importantly, every industry should be bringing their critical manufacturing back … WWII was won because national companies were pushed into government service. If the companies are global, allegiance is uncertain and manufacturing capabilities are seriously diluted. Sigh …

[whnay1]

CJ is looking into internal email issues. So this may be at the root of the poor response. Jeff sent me an email and I never got it and my customer didn't either.

I have an extensive data background and will try to guide them through on this.

Bill

[admin]

CJ is looking into internal email issues. So this may be at the root of the poor response. Jeff sent me an email and I never got it and my customer didn't either.

I have an extensive data background and will try to guide them through on this.

Bill

Good info to have. It would be great to hear that the communication difficulties are mostly due to a technical issue that I'm sure could be remedied.

[kzhtoo]

Hi, I just want to share that the intermittent noise issue is finally resolved. I tried a set of cable risers with the output RCA from ET7-S2 and I’d say 99% of noise magically disappears. I was quite skeptical at first, but I’m glad I tried the cable risers. I was ready to move on. So glad that I’ll now get to enjoy the ET7-S2 to its fullest. It’s a sonically remarkable pre-amp.

Thank you admin and others who helped me with this.

[AnotherJohnson]

Great!

[admin]

Great to hear. Make sure any power cables are a good distance away from any RCA cables. Also, if you have too long power cables, don't wind them in a single loop, make it an infinity sign to dissipate the magnetic field instead of amplifying it.

[Big Dog RJ]

Now just sit back and enjoy those fine tunes!
RJ