Premier 14 - with ARC amp

[HoneyBadger]

Hello guys!
I sold my gear 2 years ago (except my Ref75se power) and thrilled to start rebuilding it.
I got an offer on a CJ premier 14 which sadly I can’t audition with my ARC Ref75se ..

I would like to know if any of you guys ever combined ARC amp with CJ’s preamps. I know usually ARC amps combined with arc pres. but I’m kinda on a budget and the only REF3 pre is double the price of the premier 14. Since I’m on a budget and anyways adore cj gear I think it might be the better deal dropping the ref3 deal for the premier 14 and have more coins for the speakers!!
I heard once CJ pre+power with SF monitors and it was amazing.

Also what about specs matching, the Ref75se impedance input is 300k ohms and is only balanced xlr , tho I can use some adaptors, direct active box , or arc BL1

Any synergy between arc and CJ?
Hoping to join the family

[admin]

First, welcome to CJO.

Many people have used ARC and CJ in combination. You can read posts here on CJO about them.

I have to say that I have not had great experiences with RCA to balanced adapters. But that is just me.

If guaranteed synergy is what you are looking for then keeping the gear uniform with one manufacturer is obviously a guaranteed good outcome. But it's not an absolute requirement.

[HoneyBadger]

First, welcome to CJO.

Many people have used ARC and CJ in combination. You can read posts here on CJO about them.

I have to say that I have not had great experiences with RCA to balanced adapters. But that is just me.

If guaranteed synergy is what you are looking for then keeping the gear uniform with one manufacturer is obviously a guaranteed good outcome. But it's not an absolute requirement.

Tyvm!
First it’s good to hear that people have done it before.
I’m going to hear the premier 14 in Sunday.

Which kind of adapters have you used and what you felt was missing?
I emailed arc and they said : There should be no issues with using XLR to RCA cables. You will lose a bit of signal level using RCA outputs but it will not cause any damage or cause any issues.

Maybe there is a better and worse way to do it. I would like to find the best solution if I do go for the premier 14.

[admin]

I've never done it in my system but I've listened to a few setups at audio shops that have used them. It's not that their overtly "bad", I think the 3 db signal difference between the two specs is the problem. So some kind of mismatch is inherently introduced. Your millage may vary. I wouldn't go dumping any of the equipment right off the bat, but trying out the setup is ideal. Maybe it's the volume change that I was hearing only, who knows?

[HoneyBadger]

I see that’s good to know anyways.
I have found 2 other CJ pres
1 17ls
2 ET6

Something in my heart telling me to go with premier 14 tho
Even tho I haven’t heard any of them yet.
Might as well get the 14 and upgrade it… but it looks like it a special piece of gear.

[HoneyBadger]

Also what are your thoughts on the premier 14? Is it worth investing in the 2k usd price range?

[admin]

All very fine units. Hard to say better or worse. I think one big difference is the reliability issues. The Premier 14 is 30 years old. The ET6 is in the current lineup. I think some prefer to more "classic CJ sound" vs the newer one and vice versa.

Sorry, that wasn't very helpful!

[HoneyBadger]

All very fine units. Hard to say better or worse. I think one big difference is the reliability issues. The Premier 14 is 30 years old. The ET6 is in the current lineup. I think some prefer to more "classic CJ sound" vs the newer one and vice versa.

Sorry, that wasn't very helpful!

It’s helpful! Do you what the upgrade cost on upgrading the premier 14 if I send it to CJ?

[admin]

No idea. I would contact CJ headquarters to get a quote.

[Big Dog RJ]

I've already replied to your other post HB, on my thoughts and experience using adapters. In my particular set-up, which is highly transparent to the core, the adapters had flaws, and these were the ARC Ref160M's. Fairly top of the line ARC monoblocks using KT150 topology.

With adapters it was passable but I didn't like it. Without adapters using an ARC preamp, it was much better, all areas were improved by quite a margin.

However, like I mentioned before, if you prefer this type of sound with the adapters then just enjoy it! We all have personal preferences... so none of us on this forum can tell you whether it's a good thing or not. All we can offer is advise based on your own findings... and in my case on my particular system, it wasn't upto par.

All the best, cheers
RJ

[HoneyBadger]

I've already replied to your other post HB, on my thoughts and experience using adapters. In my particular set-up, which is highly transparent to the core, the adapters had flaws, and these were the ARC Ref160M's. Fairly top of the line ARC monoblocks using KT150 topology.

With adapters it was passable but I didn't like it. Without adapters using an ARC preamp, it was much better, all areas were improved by quite a margin.

However, like I mentioned before, if you prefer this type of sound with the adapters then just enjoy it! We all have personal preferences... so none of us on this forum can tell you whether it's a good thing or not. All we can offer is advise based on your own findings... and in my case on my particular system, it wasn't upto par.

All the best, cheers
RJ

A big thank for the reply.
That’s interesting since arc said it won’t affect it. Can I ask which adapters did you use?
Another thing is that anyway my source isn’t balanced so the signal running from pre to power won’t be as well, the only thing that I can think of is the impedance imbalance that may occur

[HoneyBadger]

There is the Jensen Transformers ISO-MAX Model PI-2RX Single Ended to Balanced
Might solve my problem

[Big Dog RJ]

It was some fancy looking adapter cables, one end SE with the other end XLR. From the first note onwards I said no thanks. Can't even remember the make... goes to show i wasn't interested at all. Anyway we listened for a while because the ARC dealer who brought over his Ref160M's was more keen to listen to my CLX's. So he really didn't care about total synergy or that perfect balance, he was interested in the speakers.

With me I'm very critical... I don't allow for compromises, especially at this level. If I were to allow for compromises then I wouldn't even have this particular system that I've put together since migrating to Aus in 2004/05.
Apparently these adapter cables were the same ones another mate of mine used between his GATS2 and the Gryphon Mephisto, which only takes XLR. Again, it wasn't any good compared to direct SE or XLR connections all the way. That's how I got hold of those cables.

But this is just my personal experience and something I opted out of. Therefore, like I said, if you try them out and it suits you or least gets to 90% of your enjoyment then keep them! There's no such thing as 100% so just enjoy the tunes in any way possible that suits your preferences.

We can only advise... we can't tell you what's right or wrong for you. That's up to you mate

Cheers, RJ