My Quest to Highend heaven with my first CJ AMP.

[Big Dog RJ]

Yes, that's a definite!

Those Cichlids are very entertaining, plus the hard dedicated work the pair put into protecting their fry (babies). It's amazing how they gear up... set up a nice spot for eggs usually under a large leaf or underside of drift wood. And then the games begin. Back in hometown we used to have several fish tanks, ranging from marble catfish to red fin shark, all tropical, it was just beautiful to look at for endless hours. Then when the music starts they get the boogie down! Pethaps they could feel the vibes...

Really nice gear Maze, not just ordinary gear but some real classics there! Was this all just collected over the years as personal gear or did you own a hifi store?

Great stuff, enjoy those fine tunes!
Cheers, RJ

[Maze]

I used to raise Lamprologus Brichardi from Lake Tanganyika, but I’ve also raised pseudotrophius and haplichromes from Lake Malawi.

The L. Brichardi are incredibly beautiful ... and prolific when a pair have adequate space to feel at home. Any of these mouthbreeding species will provide excellent entertainment.

At first I had a tank with everything in it. I just went out and bought whatever fish that was looking nice. After a while I found out I was missing some smaller fish and at rhe end the Malawi were left over .lol so I went on with Malawi from then on.

They are fun fish to have and with the correct invironment its like a soap serie.

[Maze]

Yes, that's a definite!

Those Cichlids are very entertaining, plus the hard dedicated work the pair put into protecting their fry (babies). It's amazing how they gear up... set up a nice spot for eggs usually under a large leaf or underside of drift wood. And then the games begin. Back in hometown we used to have several fish tanks, ranging from marble catfish to red fin shark, all tropical, it was just beautiful to look at for endless hours. Then when the music starts they get the boogie down! Pethaps they could feel the vibes...

Really nice gear Maze, not just ordinary gear but some real classics there! Was this all just collected over the years as personal gear or did you own a hifi store?

Great stuff, enjoy those fine tunes!
Cheers, RJ

Tnx Big dog

The gear you see I collected in the last 6 years. Thata when I found out there is a highend world I didnt know about. Lol. Thats where it all starten. @ a collegues home for the first time I heard a pair of Harbeth SHL5 on ASR emitter 2. And from there it went South .


This is the first CJ equipement I have had and somehow I find it a bit "dark" in the treble. Im missing a bit of a sparcle an spaciouceness im used to hear in some recordings.

I cant imagine it beeing caused by it beeing on the 8hm configuration While my speakers (Magico Mino2 ) are nominal 4ohm.

I connected the Cj12 to a pair of older Kharma speakers that are 8ohm and it got a bit better but stil have a feeling that its lacking the "upper octave" transparacy comparing to the Arc D70 mk2.

I wil try some other cable tomorrow to see if I can tune it a bit. O dont have a good solder uquipmwnt to change the configuration from 8 to 4 ohm to see how it goes.

[Maze]

This was one of my best setups...

Kharma Exquisite Speakers
Cotinuum criterion Turntable
ARC reference Phono Arc sp11 and some other Arc gear.
Second tt was Transrotor fat bob.


Still sad I sold the Continuum Turntable.

[admin]

Again, really nice setup. All that Audio Research devices look awesome when stacked together like that.

As to bringing out the best in the CJ amp, I still think the primary focus should be to change the impedance to 4 ohms to match your speaker. You can play around with different cables and you may get some improvement, but I think you will get the most "bang for your buck" by having the impedance correctly set for your speaker.

BTW. You don't need spend a lot of money on a good soldering kit. You can get a good setup for well under $50. And it's a good "tool" to have handy. I repaired many things with my soldering iron in my house (including audio equipment).

[AnotherJohnson]

At first I had a tank with everything in it. I just went out and bought whatever fish that was looking nice. After a while I found out I was missing some smaller fish and at rhe end the Malawi were left over .lol so I went on with Malawi from then on.

They are fun fish to have and with the correct invironment its like a soap serie.

You can generally put a synodontis nigromaculatus or similar in the tank to scavange, but the African Cichlids, as you well know as an experienced aquarist, will fight and kill their weaker neighbors. The only ways to control this are to lower the pH to near neutral so they don't feel territorial, or to really crowd them into the tank so that the bullies can't concentrate on a single target (think New York City), or concentrate on one pair and give them the whole tank. But then you do have to remove the small fish that are raised when they get too big to hide from their parents. I used to remove them at about 1.5 cm length and sell them to local fish stores.

[AnotherJohnson]

On the soldering idea ...

Those with a highly developed sense of hearing can tell the difference when listening to a good solder job vs a bad one for components in the audio signal path.

It’s not just a matter of getting a clean and solid joint, or a matter of using the right solder.

It does not cost a lot to put together a good soldering kit. You need a few heat sinks (and correct understanding of how to use them to protect components that are susceptible to heat, like output jacks), a reliable and reasonably strong solder sucker (and the knowledge of when you’ve actually cleared the old joint), and a decent iron with capability to accept various width and weight tips, and the necessary cleaning tools to prep the tip and dress it as needed. You also need the right solder, and you don’t want flux (which is part of why skill counts because it is harder to get a mechanically reliable joint without flux.

Although I’ve got good tools, work area, and technique, I would not attempt to repair an audio component that was worth more than a couple of thousand bucks. I would view that as a false economy. At resale, top dollar requires a unit that appears in every way to not be on the path of becoming a “roach.” Roach is a technical term from the motorcycle industry of the 60’s and 70’s. It refers to a unit that has been molested by poorly skilled or unskilled, yet enthusiastic, repair personnel (usually owners). Unmolested survivors always bring a premium at resale.

That said, this is not a repair, but a switchover to 4 ohm taps.

This particular unit has already been resoldered once to switch from 4 to 8.

If it were mine, and I did not want to solder on it, and if there were a surplus of transformer tap wire length, I’d consider clipping the lead from the output jack, paring back enough insulation to make a solderless connection, and listening to that.

FWIW, many people believe that solderless is audibly better than soldered. There are several companies that specialize in solderless cable and interconnect terminations. I have a shelf full of them in my shop.

If you wanted to resolder later, you still could. Or you could pay a skilled technician to do it for you. It should not cost a lot. Probably a bench fee, a materials charge, and a quarter hour of labor. I’d guess less than $150.

I would not try to learn soldering skills on high dollar components. Maybe a Premier 11 level component would be OK since it’s already quite old and has been surpassed by many generations of both CJ and ARC, so what’s to lose.

Meanwhile, I am not a believer in the urban magazine driven myth of signature sound. You can’t paint a brand with a common brush over the length and breadth of its lines.

A unit as old as yours, which has obviously been worked on, including soldered changes, is unlikely to sound much like a factory refurbished sample, and perhaps even less likely to sound like a unit when it was actually within 10 years of its manufacture.

That’s not criticism. It’s just a sharing of facts.

[Maze]

So today I did the impedance change on the Cj12 from 8 to 4 ohm and what a diffrence it made. (Done by proffesional ) .

Now everything is much more in balance and the speaker amp combo give a way better soundstage and extended treble.

The volume on the Arc Sp11mk2 is now much higher than before. On the 8ohm tap the mids were verry in your face and the highs where a bit rolled off. So you got a narrow soundstage in between the speakers with a verry pronounced mid that was not in balance with the rest of the orchestra.

Now everything is in balance, it's more ritmic and has a more tapping feeling into it. @ first I was verry disappointed with the cj12 but know I find it a much better amp than my first impression was with it beeing on the 8ohm tap where my Speakers are rated 4.

Thanks for the help guys Appreciate it... now I can sit and listen to the cj12 and see it its my kind of sound of not. But the first impressions are verry good. The soundstage with is verey impressive and I like the way the treble is built up. There is no fatigue in the treble at all. And that's a must for me. I'm allergic to bright treble . My sp11 doesn't have remote so If my setup doesn't have the right balans and I have to stand up every time to turn the volume up or down than it's a NO GO. I immediately wil sell that amp . Lol.

Here some pics of my room now with cj12 back on their spot. I'm running the on a pair of Space and time speaker cables from Taralabs(one of my favorites for tube amps.)
Later I wil connect my reference Kimber Black pearle 88 to the Cj12 see what that wil bring.

[Big Dog RJ]

Well done Maze!

Now that's more like it. You'll find them expanding in soundstage depth very nicely once they open up and reach optimal performance. Yes, these amplifiers have a fine balance, from airy extended highs, smooth open midrange and colourful bass lines. You can follow everything very clearly as long as your speakers are revealing. They also have the ability to float an image directly in front of you, it's just marvellous!

Allow them to settle in slowly, it doesn't take too long but does require a certain amount of time to reach its top. Also the sound changes as the unit runs in, things heat up along the way bringing the temperature upto spec. This is something I learned just recently, more so after going through a few notes from Nelson Pass. I should have known this before but we're always in a rush trying to get the best out of our gear to impress our potential customers without addressing the basics.

Back in the day, we used the Prem12's with the PFR preamp, it was a superb combination! There are quite a few components that can be upgraded on the Prem 12's that takes the performance up several notches but that's a different route and costs a fair bit.

Sit back and enjoy those fine tunes!
Cheers, RJ

[AnotherJohnson]

It is a very beautiful and tuneful system.
My compliments to the chef!

[Maze]

Well done Maze!

Now that's more like it. You'll find them expanding in soundstage depth very nicely once they open up and reach optimal performance. Yes, these amplifiers have a fine balance, from airy extended highs, smooth open midrange and colourful bass lines. You can follow everything very clearly as long as your speakers are revealing. They also have the ability to float an image directly in front of you, it's just marvellous!

Allow them to settle in slowly, it doesn't take too long but does require a certain amount of time to reach its top. Also the sound changes as the unit runs in, things heat up along the way bringing the temperature upto spec. This is something I learned just recently, more so after going through a few notes from Nelson Pass. I should have known this before but we're always in a rush trying to get the best out of our gear to impress our potential customers without addressing the basics.

Back in the day, we used the Prem12's with the PFR preamp, it was a superb combination! There are quite a few components that can be upgraded on the Prem 12's that takes the performance up several notches but that's a different route and costs a fair bit.

Sit back and enjoy those fine tunes!
Cheers, RJ

Thanks you guys for the help didnt expected this big diffrence form the amp by changing the 8 to 4 ohm setting. On the Arc D70mk2 it does make a bit diffrent but not like the CJ12 . This was a night and day difference . Now everything is listenable where at first I though there is something wrong with the amp. Was that bad match with my system on the 8hm tap. The Magico mini 2 absolutely didn't like the 8ohm impedance of the CJ12 and I didn't find it fair to let the cj12 go before having it setup properly. Than my impression of CJ would be terrible due to a impedance mismatch between speaker and amp.

Before I give the cj12 a real listening I wil first let is sit for a while so the solder connection wil "burn in" and connect my reference cables to it . I believe even swapping cables back and forth can change the cable "charge" and it wil need a bit of time to set in again. So I wil play the CJ 12 few days with the correct Cables and than I I give it a good listening with my LPS.

If I decide to keep the cj12 than I wil ask you about the upgrade path that is possible and what it can bring.

[Maze]

It is a very beautiful and tuneful system.
My compliments to the chef!

Thanks u sir, appreciate it.

Had a ton of stuff and it seems now i know what I want and expect from my system.

Had a few stuff that really impressed me in the year like the kharma Mini exquiste , Magico Mini Monitor , Audion quattro 845 amp and pre , Airtight Atm2 , Lamm, ref pre and Lamm ML2, ARC Sp10 and 11 , Continuum Turntable , weltempered reference.

Looking Back I should have not sold the Continuum Turntable and the Lamm ML2 , / Lamm reference pre combo.
Together with the Magico Mini it would have been a Masterpiece to listen to.


Maybe I wil go back to looking for the Lamm pre / amp . The continuum criterion wil be a hard to find piece of gear and hard to beat.

But for now it's me , the magico , Arc and Cj....

Just connected my reference Kimber Black pearle and Kimber KCAG interconnects to let it settle in....

First impression is not bad at all...

[AnotherJohnson]

You’ve had some really nice systems, no doubt.

Sellers remorse is better than buyers remorse, but both can sting a bit.

On the TT, many would disagree with me, but I have never found anything to beat a well set up sprung TT. And as is known, my preference is for the later/latest spec LP12. These just sound really open and life like to me ... especially with the Kleos or higher Lyra cartridges and a conradjohnson TEA series phono preamp. But it is good to have choices.

I was a VPI dealer back in the 80’s, but I’ve still gravitated toward the Linns. Either you love them, or you hate them.

You must know your way around TTs, so no advice from me.

I love your spirit of experimenting. At one time I had a major part of my workshop devoted to TT experiments, and enjoyed experimenting with many different combinations and permutations.

There is something about the tweaking and tuning that mechanical playback systems allow that is rewarding and satisfying.

I was a late adopter of CDs, waiting until the late 80’s before finally adding CDs to the mix. Now, 30+ years later, I have had a lot of fun with CDs and SACDs too.

But owning and listening to phono preamps, line level preamps, and amps has also been rewarding.

I am not so prolific at photodocumenting my systems. This is sort of a shortcoming on my part. I have always had interest in photography, but not so much for sharing my audio habit.

Keep up the good work.

[Maze]

You’ve had some really nice systems, no doubt.

Sellers remorse is better than buyers remorse, but both can sting a bit.

On the TT, many would disagree with me, but I have never found anything to beat a well set up sprung TT. And as is known, my preference is for the later/latest spec LP12. These just sound really open and life like to me ... especially with the Kleos or higher Lyra cartridges and a conradjohnson TEA series phono preamp. But it is good to have choices.

I was a VPI dealer back in the 80’s, but I’ve still gravitated toward the Linns. Either you love them, or you hate them.

You must know your way around TTs, so no advice from me.

I love your spirit of experimenting. At one time I had a major part of my workshop devoted to TT experiments, and enjoyed experimenting with many different combinations and permutations.

There is something about the tweaking and tuning that mechanical playback systems allow that is rewarding and satisfying.

I was a late adopter of CDs, waiting until the late 80’s before finally adding CDs to the mix. Now, 30+ years later, I have had a lot of fun with CDs and SACDs too.

But owning and listening to phono preamps, line level preamps, and amps has also been rewarding.

I am not so prolific at photodocumenting my systems. This is sort of a shortcoming on my part. I have always had interest in photography, but not so much for sharing my audio habit.

Keep up the good work.

It's nice to look back on pics sometimes and remember stuff you forgot about. Lol. Brings up cool memories.

About beeing sorry...... Same here, better to be sorry because of what you did than what you didn't.

My Audio buddy did alot in the audio world and is a TT Dokter compared to me lol .... He has worked on the best tables on the market and knows almost all "big boys" TTs so I have a verry good starting point with him around.

About my Tts... i have had a few and one that really stood out was The continuum Criterion and the copper head arm. That thing was just crazy good . Have heard Full blown 15k linns and the Continum was just another league of Analogue production.

Don't get me wrong the Linn was verry impressive comparing to the money these big boys cost and maybe not worth the BIG extra £€$$$ to achieve that little last 10-15 % extra wauw given your whole setup is top notch.

My favorite "highend" TTs ever....

Forsell Air Reference
Walker proscenium
Blue pearle Gem
Dohman Helix one
Clearaudio Statement
Continuum Caliburn/Cobra
Rockport serius
Techdas

Looking back @ the better priced Tt..

Weltempered labs ref
LINN lP12
Rokshan Xerexes.
Brinckmann balance
Bergmann


I have had one LP 12 and I didn't like it that much those times so never bothered upgrading it. It wasn't a verry expensive one around 1500 euro. I just didn't get the reason putting thousands on a table that didn't sound that "good" to begin with.
For me it was easier just to get a Brinckmann or Bergmann.

I am going to get a "better" table than I have now just dont know which one yet.

The ones I really want cost a fortune so I don't think I wil go that way. I'm thinking of a 10k ish.... for my next TT. Just have to see which one I would want now.

I'm sitting for a few hours listening to my MARANTZ CD/ DAC 12 , and must say the CJ12 is pretty musical amp. It really makes alot of different music soorts sound "musical" and feet tapping. From Anouan Brahem to The Weekend , London Grammar and kana Maloundi https://youtu.be/ejbZnIll0II

Pretty enjoyable sound has the CJ12. It's not the highest resolution but it has a verry nice musical way of presenting music. Nice separation of musicians and nice way of presenting voices.

Long story short , not the best Amp I have had but a verry musical amp for the price with inough power for most speakers.

These days , after having heard so many different setups I tend to lean more towards Musicality instead of resolution and micro detail .

Rather listen to music than that makes you shake your head that try to hear the things I have never heard before in a recording. And believe me I was there before. No fun in that anymore.

[AnotherJohnson]

You won’t get close to a fully tricked out LP12 for $15k.

Last year, with a Linn plinth and top Linn cartridge, the price was about $26k.

If you upgrade to one of Chris Harban’s plinths and a Lyra Etna or Atlas, the package easily breaks $30k.

My high spec LP12 has one of Chris’s Woburn Abbey Oak plinths, fumed rather than stained. The Woburn Abbey oak was harvested after a life of over 600 years as a unique horticultural event, and Chris was able to get enough of the wood to build a few plinths. I was fortunate to get one of them after the wood had adequately dried. The fumed finish takes advantage of a reaction between ammonia and the oak.

It is generally agreed that the plinth impacts the performance. Linn have upgraded the design several times since the original so-called picture frame plinth of the early years. Chris Harban’s plinths are recognized as the best by many aficionados. Other aftermarket plinths are also available, but are often considered a downgrade.

In any event, I am not a fan of Linn as a company. But I am a fan of the LP12. It is continuously being upgraded. Parts are available for any model dating back to the earliest years. The only rub is that the performance is highly dependent on the skill of the person who sets it up. Many people have heard a poorly set up LP12 and binned the lot of them. It is easy to dismiss them because of Linn’s arrogance. But why cut off your ears to spite your face ... Van Gogh not withstanding.

[AnotherJohnson]

About the idea: “About beeing sorry...... Same here, better to be sorry because of what you did than what you didn't.”

When I was young I used to say
“Better to be unhappy as a consequence of your action rather than your inaction.”

It took me a while to realize that a better idea is “Better to be happy.”

So many of us strive for happiness evoked by possessing things. I am guilty too. But as Solomon observed about 3500 years ago, it’s all vanity.

Audio seems like a harmless sandbox. But I wonder if it’s more of a sand trap. YMMV

[Maze]

So guys, it seems like I do like the CJ 12 sound.
Been listening a bit and its maling me tap my toes. Lol. Now im thinking of paring it with the a CJ preamp to find out what the full potential of CJ os when paired with the "best matching" pre.

Which Cj pre is best to match with the 12?

I have literally no idea what CJ has to offer as the 12 is my first cj ever and it seems I like I'm liking its sound.

[admin]

Glad to hear you like the sound. As for CJ preamp recommendations it really depends on your budget. Are you looking to buy new or preowned?

[AnotherJohnson]

The Premier 10 and Premier 14 were its contemporaries.

The PV14 fits too ... that was the first PV with remote control.

I would choose something from the current century.

The ET7S1 or S2 are nice. GAT S1 or S2 better.

TEA2MAX or TEA1 S1 S2 or S3 for phono section.

[AnotherJohnson]

Good deals out there on used ET7s.