The all new ET7-2 Pre-amp is here

[admin]

We need pics!

Here is the beauty.

[AnotherJohnson]

Seller’s remorse …

It’s a beautiful look. I prefer it to the look of the GAT series.

[Big Dog RJ]

Nice one Admin! well done and very well deserved.

You've held your mind and heart for quite a while and used the pv12 & Evo2000 for longer than the age of this forum! Had the opportunity to go for the ART amplifiers, which you did and that was an excellent match with the Maggie's. Then you held your patience again and landed a top deal with one of CJ's SOTA in preamps, and that's as good as it gets! This combination will elevate the overall performance of your Maggie's like no other. It will open new horizons and make you discover yet more detail about your favourite recordings. Now there's only one thing to do, just sit back and enjoy those fine tunes!

WOOF!!! RJ

[admin]

Like the old saying, "good things will come to those who wait." And this has certainly been the case for me. The PV12 and Evolution 2000 were great units. I would highly recommend them to anybody. But as we have discussed here on CJO, that gear is now an older generation. The level of quality that these recent purchases have achieved is really notable and was self evident within the first few minutes of listening. Acquiring the ET7s2 was perhaps the most rewarding/painful as I was actively looking for over a year specifically for that unit. I also had a sale fall through when I got a "bad feeling" about a seller and decided to pass on the buy. The ART amps were a little easier as a local seller popped up with an incredible price so that kind of "fell into my lap" unexpectedly. But that was a wonderful surprise.

I am just really enjoying the sound. High end CJ with my maggies really just sounds like heaven. I just have to find more time to listen!

[roberto]

Chicos,

I'm going to make a confession. I have an updated PV-5 with all the new parts that Jeff sent me, and I put in my system this NuForce P-9. Why I did this? The main reason is: Because I am going to be listening to this level of preamplifier, when I will get mine in 15 days or so, the difference in quality sound is going to be BIG! HUGE! IMMENSE! COLOSAL! VOLUMINOUS! EXTENSIVE! ASTRONOMICAL! EXPANSIVE! BIG AS WHALE!!!

I got a good damn-walking from RJ, because he does not like even the screws that are used in the NuForce preamp. He thinks this is a joke pre. And he might be right. Listening my system with a down sized level component is a pity. I am missing so many things already. I do like the pepper and salt from the CJ recipe.

I hope you understand me!

Happy listening!

[admin]

I got a good damn-walking from RJ, because he does not like even the screws that are used in the NuForce preamp.

I laughed when I read this. Ah Roberto, I think you are going to be a very happy man in 15 days.

[AnotherJohnson]

You can put up with anything as a short term spare.

The PV 5 is a great option! I wouldn’t mind having mine back for fun.

Regarding the screws, it’s funny how we cue in on subtleties like screws.

Thomas O’Keefe of Nocturne Audio (official US importer of Frederick Lejonklau’s Swedish minimalist components) believes that the screws and their torques affect the sound, especially for the Linn LP12. He has a list of his personal best torque values and will set your deck up with his precision torque screw driver for a fee.

One of Frederick Lejonklau’s products was reviewed in the latest issue of TAS. In that article they mention his evaluation method which involves listening from an adjacent room rather than from the sweet spot. I’ve mentioned him and this method in other posts.

Thomas is an interesting guy, and may be the most highly regarded LP12 set up technician in North America. But I am not alone in my skepticism about his optimal torque strategy.

[roberto]

...Thomas O’Keefe of Nocturne Audio (official US importer of Frederick Lejonklau’s Swedish minimalist components) believes that the screws and their torques affect the sound, especially for the Linn LP12. He has a list of his personal best torque values and will set your deck up with his precision torque screw driver for a fee...

Resonances, that's the clue here. He must have super great ears. These resonances are not part of the music and with the screws tighten to the right pressure might kill these unwanted resonances.

From my Studio Goldmund TT, I learned a lot with the different material of the springs that holds up the turntable. There are three special made springs for this purpose and they are placed in a special points. Same as the Linn LP12, which I love. There are good natural resonances (the sound of the musical instruments and voices are pure natural resonances) and the bad ones are the ones that do not belong to these natural resonances.

Oh well, tomorrow Sunday, I will be visiting my parcel and then going to lunch near by, so I am going to be all day out of my home...Monday I will do the change PV-5 for the P-9. O course I am accustomed to the convenience of the remote control...a little bit lazy getting up and so...but quality sound demands it!

[admin]

It should be fun to have 3 different preamps in the system over a relatively short time. Hopefully it will allow for appreciation of the difference in sound that each one delivers. Very few of us have the luxury of such a close comparison in our systems and usually only happen at dealers where listening time is very limited compared to our home systems.

Again, the next few weeks should be fun times.

[roberto]

TX Amin!,

This PV-5 came to my hands for a repair. The power supply was a mess. Jeff sent me all the parts needed. And the customer is away somewhere. I called, left messages, all you can imagine, and he hasn't showed up. So, I'm going to set it up here, in my system. Recently I had an ET-3SE. It did a great job, of course not close to the ET-7. ET-7 belongs to a different upper level...almost touching the GATSII.

The ET-7S2 looks splendid and special inside. There are many things that Jeff had taken in care while designing and building it.

I can't wait to have mine!

Happy listening!

[admin]

Interesting story with the PV5. Makes me wonder who just "forget" about their preamp that has been in service? Again, having the comparison of old and new generations of gear from the same company is a fun endeavor.

You are going to have to put with having no remote control for awhile (until the ET7s2 arrives, anyway). But at least there is only one volume control,... correct me if I am wrong, but I believe the P9 has two volume knobs that are connected electronically.

[AnotherJohnson]

Resonances, that's the clue here. He must have super great ears. These resonances are not part of the music and with the screws tighten to the right pressure might kill these unwanted resonances.

He calls it torque tuning.

The idea of having nominally best estimates for torque is a good one.

The screw torques establish boundary conditions for plate and link vibrations.

But since wood has variable properties, it’s not really feasible to establish universally applicable absolutes.

Of course final tuning is done by ear, and those who have let him do it have been pleased.

Most LP12s in the US are NOT set up right, so Thomas’s tender touch takes things to the top. How’s that for alliteration .

Meanwhile, back at the abandoned PV5, people do this sort of stuff all the time, especially with non essentials.

If they didn't, we wouldn’t have the Hunter Biden lap top story.

Tom Brucker closed the doors of his Hi Tech Services on retirement during Covid, and for years every shelf in his facility was stacked high with completed work. He had a major sale as he departed to clear things out.

In many parts of the US, for motorcycle, boat, guitar, AND High Fi repair, etc, when you sign the paperwork to authorize the estimate, the fine print says that if you don’t reclaim in X days, it can be sold to recover the costs due.

[roberto]

Our Country is like a Village. Also, we have that law too.

Anyhow, I will be listening and having fun with those.

Thanks AJ!!!

Happy listening!

[SteveFord]

Admin,
I'd say you have your end game system right this very moment.
Enjoy!

[roberto]

RJ was totally right!, the PV-5, 40 years old, smoked the NuForce. This PV-5 was resting in the shelf just before the pandemia. I would say that this unit has over two years resting there. Once it in the test bench, I took off the top cover to see that the caps have a neat look, which they did. Turn it on, and one 12ax7 started to do sparks. Changed and everything was OK, but some odd rattle noises came out too. Touched the tubes and V5 was doing funny noises. Turn the unit off, clean the tube pins and put it back.

I think that all what this PV5 needs is to be on for some time. I am playing Sarasota: Virtuoso Works for Violin, with Gil Shaham (violin) and Akira Eguchi (piano). Oh my God! 40 years old!...the detail and musicality by this PV5 is very good.

Humidity is the big enemy of the electronics. The unit farts once and then...but it is doing it less and less. Humidity is the culprit. They dry mid range is gone, now it is sweet.

[admin]

Admin,
I'd say you have your end game system right this very moment.
Enjoy!

I would have to agree. The truth is that this is the first time in my audiophile career that I feel all my components are top notch. This is not to say I didn't like the sound of my system in the past. But I always had older or mid-range components that I new could be improved with better quality gear. I loved my CJ Evolution 2000 amp, but again, it was pushing 3 decades. Loved the PV-12AL, but new that CJ had better modern offerings that would out perform.

It feels nice to know that I am really getting close to the border of what a stereo system can produce. Yes, I'm sure people will argue that the 30.7's are better than the 20.1's, or the GATII is superior to the ET7s2, and not saying that isn't true. But there are truly no overt "weak links" in the audio chain at this point and that's a first for me. I am really enjoying the tunes right now. Just very happy how the new equipment that has entered my system in the last 1-2 years has taken everything to a higher level.

RJ was totally right!, the PV-5, 40 years old, smoked the NuForce. This PV-5 was resting in the shelf just before the pandemia. I would say that this unit has over two years resting there.

Amazing that a good design decades ago can outperform modern equipment. There really is an "art" to electronics that CJ seems to have mastered. I'm amazed that the owner has not contacted you about the status of the unit... how odd.

[roberto]

Hola Chicos,

I have on the PV-5 in the R channel a hum. It is not volume dependant and also it is almost imperceptible, but it is there...any clues? I don't want to chase my tail...it is waving a lot now,

[AnotherJohnson]

60 cycle? All sources?

Power supply filter cap?

Bad ground on rca socket?

I know that Roberto, and probably most others, realize that this sort of issue pops up with regularity in 30+ year old gear.

In the case of the PV5, the design and execution were excellent compared to contemporary competition.

But that was then and this is now.

I would probably like the PV5 better than the P9, mostly due to the PV5’s phono stage. The PV5 line stage was not that great … the PV5 would not be nearly as attractive to a streamer as to a vinyl aficionado.

Here’s a review of the P9.

https://www.soundstagehifi.com/revequip/nuforce_p9.htm

The reviewer’s call for a phono ground screw as a minor quibble is actually a non issue. No line stage preamps have phono ground screws. The ground screw is on the phono preamp, not the line stage preamp.

Nevertheless, they liked it quite well as transparent and neutral, two things no one would likely argue as strengths of the PV 5. And don’t forget, I said I’d like to have one again. It was a great product … but it was unsupportable. Many component parts were no longer available from CJ.

Frankly, I don’t want a PV5 OR a P9, and neither does Roberto … when he gets his new ET7s2, all he’ll be able to say is P Who?

But if you had the PV5 and P9 side by side, they’re so different that the listeners would divide into at least two groups.

[AnotherJohnson]

One of Frederick Lejonklau’s products was reviewed in the latest issue of TAS. In that article they mention his evaluation method which involves listening from an adjacent room rather than from the sweet spot. I’ve mentioned him and this method in other posts.

The Lejonklau review was in Stereophile, not TAS. The product was the Entity Phono Preamplifier.

I’d just fix it in the original post, but with the new time window for edits, I can’t go back and fix it.

[roberto]

Checked, and the hum is only at the right. channel. The power supply is for both channels...there is a ground missing somewhere or a bad cap in the right channel...I will do a better check tomorrow. Here in Costa Rica right now is 6:20 AM. Its a right thought the power supply AJ.

The hum is like a bad cable...that kind of hum. Yes, it is a 60HZ Hum

Thanks,
R.