New Member, long time CJ owner

[AnotherJohnson]

My first "high end" component was a conradjohnson PV5, which I purchased for half of its original price when it was 6 months old from a fellow who decided that he could not live without remote control. I've since owned PV8, PV11, ET3SE, and ET7 preamps, TEA2MAX HG phono preamp, CA150, MF2200 and MF2550SE solid state amps, and MV52 and LP275M tube amps. I agree with the motto "It just sounds right."

My musical interest is mostly Jazz, but with excursions into rock and classical too. I have a large vinyl collection, and a not insignificant CD collection, at least as far as Jazz is concerned. I have special interest in Jazz guitar.

I'm not that gear oriented, but I do like the signature CJ sound, and over the years, Jeff Fischel has been a wonderful resource, even dating before he became the Principle.

[joeinid]

Welcome to the forum. Great taste in gear.

[roberto]

Hola AnotherJohnson and welcome,

It is great to have you with us!. We are in the same boat. And I am with you too, Conrad Johnson sounds right!

I am another ET7 user, and everyday my system gets me amused with the quality sound. I am not accustomed yet to this fantastic quality sound. My ears keep telling me, wow! you have never heard that before!...and on, and on. and on...

My speakers are very sensitive to little changes and when these changes are for good, you can't stop to listen your music and find things that were masked before, and now are there with incredible details.

Happy listening and welcome again!

[admin]

Welcome to CJO, great to have you with us. For somebody, not "gear oriented", you sure have a list of top notch equipment that you have used! Congrats!

[Big Dog RJ]

G'day Another Johnson...

Welcome to CJO, the best place in the world! Thanks to our good mate, Admin Mr G!

Interesting alias btw, I'll refer to you as AJ.

Cheers mate, RJ

[AnotherJohnson]

I reassembled the CJ system today.

The room was originally my motorcycle repair, lutherie, gunsmithing, and turntable building shop.

It evolved into a third system, then got bumped up to second system status, and for the last four years it has been home to my main system.

Notice the taxidermy sound absorbers (coyote, wild hog, bobcat, and more bucks not visible).

Notice the work shelf sound defractors.

Notice the easy access rolling wire rack for components.

The LP12 set up jig is visible on the upper left.



It really does sound good. The room is 16’x32’ with 9.5’ ceiling. It is quite dead from the standpoint of reverberation time. The picture is taken from the listening chair.

[AnotherJohnson]

Still working on new room. You can’t see the bookshelf diffractors. The sub is waiting to get boxed up for shipping (out). There is a CJ TEA2MAX under the TT. It is in a trial with a PH8, but the TEA2MAX has the lead.

This room is 16’x34’ with 10’ ceiling. These two pics are of main systems vying for title of main system.

Again, picture is taken from listening chair.

[admin]

Very nice. As I said, you are very fortunate to have multiple listening rooms and be able to try different configurations and setups in real time. That audio research amp is a beast!

[AnotherJohnson]

And it only weighs 47 pounds! This is the first stereo 75 wpc amp that I’ve ever found to handle the lower registers so well. Most of the height seems to be to accommodate the input wires running above the KT150s.

The meters are a waste of money. With the F228Bes, they barely move even if you’re playing Madonna or Michael Jackson (think bass) at club levels.

The detail of the LS28SE/REF75SE has been the unexpected positive. Some folks talk about listening fatigue that comes with detail. My opinion is that a reproduction system that extracts more detail is giving a better rendition of what’s in those grooves. The ET7s2/LP275M system is no slouch… it is really believable. I never would have picked up on the detail issue if I’d not been listening to German language opera.

[admin]

The meters are a waste of money.

Yeah, but they sure look cool! Are they backlit like McIntosh? If so, maybe you can post a picture with the lights off. When I was a kid my parents had one of those early 80's Fisher stereo's and I remember they had these beautiful huge lit VU meters. Really cool stuff.

[AnotherJohnson]

They’re underlit, but not blue. The illumination is white LEDs. You can turn off the LEDs if you prefer.

The most useful part of the meters is that they are used for the bias setting activity. It’s like CJ in that there are individual adjustment screws for each power tube. You flip the knob to the tube, and adjust until the needle is on the bias setting mark.

The amp runs pretty cool. ARC often puts fans in their amps, but this one doesn’t need fans if it’s not enclosed.

[Big Dog RJ]

Good stuff AJ!
Yes, the ARC gear pre-power combination is as good as it gets. The REF75SE is a great amplifier, high definition in all forms, and when partnered well, it will deliver. It gets me wondering, when it sounds this good at the given price, why on earth spend 4 times more just for marginal upgrades... doesn't make sense. I think the REF75SE is real vfm, and it gets the overall performance at a top notch level.

Cheers mate, enjoy those fine tunes!
RJ

[AnotherJohnson]

At this point, these are legitimately two “main systems.”

When I returned from the Boro last night, I spent a couple of hours listening to materials I’d played while in the Boro.

Up until I got the second pair of F228Bes (both systems have these now), the return to the main house always brought a sense of “this is best.” Now, not so much. Both are “best” in their own way. There is no let down with one or euphoric joy with the other. Just equally euphoric joy with both.

Regarding the amp/preamp combos … they’re both very different in many ways, but both are genuinely special. The Levinson was too… while it worked. When it returns, it will re-set in motion my sell down. At 62 pounds, and with its delightful sonic character, it will create more food for thought. How reliable will it be? If it fails out of warranty, how will it get repaired? I have to admit, the idea that it would fail had not been part of my thinking.

The REF75SE has been the biggest surprise of all the changes. It has what must be considered mediocre specs. But it sounds superb from the lowest bass on up to the limits of my hearing. You don’t listen to specs.

The price of the REF75SE was fair ($12000) while it was a current model, but the close out price as they’ve transitioned to the new model, is more than fair. Paragon Sight & Sound in Ann Arbor has them new, factory sealed, for $8500. Of course there are new CJ amps that cost even less, and maybe they are as good. I bought the REF75SE as a complement for the LS28SE … and it has not disappointed. The resolution through the F228Bes was unexpected, and is awesome.

[Big Dog RJ]

That's an absolute good point! "You don't listen to specs"...

This is what gets me turning green ever so often, and so many people think various things about specs and pre-judge gear even without listening! Then, when they finally do listen, they're shocked and shattered, and most leave some of the demo's I've personally given, completely changed for life! This I do appreciate, simply because they've finally realized the truth in what that particular gear can offer. I only use specs as a guideline, especially on speakers and power amps. Heck, some power amp brands don't even state their full specs and when you eventually try them out, they crap themselves! I always look for the Class A rating or Class AB rating, the lowest impedence it can handle and the weight, that's about it! If the weight isn't over 20Kg, I don't bother. Under 20Kg... that tells me puny power supplies.

When it comes to speakers, I look for only three specs: efficiency rating, lowest impedence curve, and power handling capacity. The rest is not important. Though the weight can also determine whether it's heavily braced or not, and the materials they use to add that more solidness to the overall design. For example, the CLX's are 50Kg all up (each panel) and the Maggie 30.7's are around 90Kg each, so that's saying something solid. Also feels good when set up right, knowing that these don't flap around like those flimsy panels during LF drive...

Proper set up, careful positioning and close matching, will always yield better results. The music must flow naturally, effortlessly in it's true form, and the satisfaction of the entire playback chain must be totally engaging. Only then will you realize that you've got it right! Oh! and obviously the room.
Cheers to that great system synergy!
RJ

[roberto]

Yup, specs are meaning less. They are just a guide, but not necessary a better sound quality. If you look the CJ specs and do a comparison between other brands, you will find that these specs are a way conservative. In other words, you must have a critical listening session when doing comparison with goods that are similar. As an example, if you look the specs of a portable CD player, the specs are about the same of a very good CD player, but the sound quality differs a lot.

Just trust in what your ears are telling you, not in the specs. Your ears are the final judges. If you like what you are hearing, then you do know if the unit is OK. Remember to use your long term memory, have a listen for three hours or more when the unit is good. When you listen something, as a comparison, then write down what you did like or what you did not in a certain music passage. Your immediate memory is bad for this purpose. You can get confused. Use always the same music material for comparisons.

Happy listening!!

[Big Dog RJ]

There's a funny one that actually happened on one of those other audiophile forums, where this so called expert was comparing gear and specs. It went onto comparing particular amplfiers that were also on review in TAS & Stereophile.
The expert was claiming that this particular amp is by far the best he's ever heard and beats anything hands down simply based on specs. So he ordered two of these amplifiers straight away. Then someone threw in another amplifier with fantastic specs and asked the guy what he thinks... the expert replied that this other particular amp is superb, and must be the best in the world, such that it's specs were by far the most accurate and highly sought after. So he claims...

After the comparison, the other forum member was very pleased to divulge the actual amp that had such top notch specs, it turned out to be a Kenwood car stereo... Uh?

That expert ended up dropping off the forum site! And that's all she wrote.

Cheers, RJ

[AnotherJohnson]

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A few other shots at the CJ system.

These highlight the LP12 build.

Chris Harban of Woodsong was lucky enough to get some wood from a 600+ year old oak that had been harvested as part of the maintenance of Woburn Abbey in Leicestershire.

He wanted to finish it by fuming, using ammonia as the gas. Gustav Stickley pioneered this process, and I am a Stickley fan.

Chris and I were hooked up by Peter Swain at Cymbiosis.
Chris did some experiments, and I got his first plinth.

Fuming gives a depth to the wood that is not obtained through traditional staining. It just keeps getting prettier and prettier.

Of course the Lyra Etna is always pretty.

The gap on the right of the armboard is an artifact of the wide angle lens. The gap is actually uniform.

[AnotherJohnson]

I am the listener … but there are several watchers, including these.

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[admin]

That wood is beautiful. Interesting methods as I've never heard of using ammonia to "finish" wood. Is there any conditioning that needs to be done? I posted on here about how I condition my antique wood furniture but also do some periodic conditioning on the wood of the maggies.

The animals are so life like, I thought the first one was a picture of your cat jumping. It wasn't until I scrolled down where I figured out what was going on.

[AnotherJohnson]

That wood is beautiful. Interesting methods as I've never heard of using ammonia to "finish" wood. Is there any conditioning that needs to be done? I posted on here about how I condition my antique wood furniture but also do some periodic conditioning on the wood of the maggies.

The animals are so life like, I thought the first one was a picture of your cat jumping. It wasn't until I scrolled down where I figured out what was going on.

You have to make and learn to control a fuming chamber.

Stickley was one of the more successful companies to use fuming over 100 years ago.

I used to be involved in making and using late 18th century stains and finishes as part of my 18th and 19th century gunsmithing/gun building. I’ve built some very pretty curly maple stocked muzzleloaders. The “stain” is iron in spent acid.

Chris had enough wood to make 2 plinths. I don’t know who got the other one, but I had first pick and chose what I considered to be the more unusual grain. It is English Brown Oak, and Oak is often less interesting than this piece. The Woburn Abbey dates back to nearly the dawn of Christianity on the Island.