New CJ ART88 Preamp

[TTsui]

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[zermatt]

TTsui; Thks so much for your info. I pick up my unit tomorrow 12-12-23. This will be fun!

[Coppy]

Well folks, my ART88 just arrived from Virginia via FedEx. The excellent GAT 1 is sitting here on the floor after more than a decade.
New, just in the system, the 88 is already everything it’s supposed to be. More detail, way more and better bass, and a stunning amount of clarity. Can’t imagine how good this gets after break in. Loud passages in classical music are perfectly clear. Images are spread out in front of me. The gain is the same yet seems a bit less… probably due to the new clarity. Purchasing this preamp was a big decision but already glad I decided to go for the ART88.

[admin]

That's awesome. Congrats. Really the best of the best. Very happy for you (and jealous)!

[Coppy]

Thanks. But please don’t be jealous… not worth the energy.

Happy New Year to everyone.

Bob

[admin]

I was just joking. I'm just happy for you. Enjoy the tunes and a very happy new year!

[Big Dog RJ]

Nice one Coppy mate! Well done

Like I said a few minutes ago on another post, CJ is at another level of musical refinement with finesse!
The ART series gear takes this very statement to the core, and it's truly SOTA!

A very few have auditioned this particular CJ gear, and once you have it's just awe-inspiring experience. To me, nothing really compares at this price point. JF has done a remarkable job, truly superb!

With any of CJ's previous gear, starting from the PV series, Premier series, LP series and onto the Classic and ART series gear, all of these systems comprise of one thing that CJ has always remained in pure high Fidelity, and that's been faithful to the original recording. There's nothing more to add.

WOOF! Enjoy those finest tunes!
RJ

[roberto]

Hola Bob,

Congrats with your new preamp. And please don't be sorry about us, the ones that are green color skin due to the good envy.Oh yes, we would like to be owners of a such divine preamplifier. You are the user, so you know what it is doing to your new super good quality sound. As the big dog says: enjoy those fantastic tunes.
Happy listening.

[Big Dog RJ]

WOOF!!!
RJ

[zermatt]

Here is my experience with tube rolling in the Art88. The preamp is mated with a CJ Prem 8XS with Teflon caps and other upgrades courtesy of Bill T of Music Tech.

Stock Tubes: Philips PC88: very balanced sound and it’s the base line for the Art 88 performance potential. I now have 3 other pairs for the long haul.

Substitute tubes:

Electro Harmonix: 6dj8 with Cyro treatment gold pins: Much warmer and sight roll off of upper mids and highs when compared to the Philips PC88, Jeff saz these will not last. We shall see. Very nice on classical music tracks the piano and violin lines. Its like a cop with a radar gun on back county roads he tracking you every move. I put the sound field in the center of the hall in row L. Very impressive.
JJ: 6dj8: It’s a $30 tube. I figured I try the cheapest just get the full capabilities. This tubes make my system sound like the prem 7 is back in the system. I put the sound field in the center of the hall in row R. Its still breaking in but much more laid back then the Philips and Electro Harmonix. I like it.

Philips PC88 SQ: Holy cow. It takes the Philips PC88 performance up serval notches. Sound stage expands, coherence become very fluid and seamless. Tonality is rich and relaxing. These are the rugged versions that should last 10K hours. That about 5 – 7 years. This only you only put in the system for special occasions.

Telefunken CCA: I have these in my Metronome DAC. That unit stays on all the time. They been in the dac for 5 years and still sound fantastic. Rich and warm on vocals. Bill T of Music Tech also ramped up the performance of this unit. I had to get these for the preamp. Back to the Telefunken CCA in the ART 88. On analog with the Art phono. The speakers just disappear music and details just flow like water. It brings out the right amount of grunt on bass lines. Its impact of vocals is dramatic. I put the sound field with this tube, front row center of the hall, if not closer. Careful matching of down steam tubes and Amps and Speaker cables is critical. Once again, I would only put in the system for special occasions.
More to come on Mullard, Philips ECG (USA) and Gold Lion tubes

[zermatt]

Here is an update:
I tried the Western Electric JW2C51 / 396A with the 6922 Adapter Combo form tube depot made the preamp go into oscillation. I was getting weird noises out the speakers. Even after removing the tubes the proamp was still in oscillation mode. Luckily, I received a full refund. Thks Tube Depot!
The Philips ECG 6922 (usa are really nice) Reminds me of the CJ sound in the 80s. These will not last due to the 6.7 heater voltage but should work fine for 4-week intervals.
Overall, I really like the Art88 preamp. It’s a major step up from my CJ Premier 7 (I had that for 28 years). Way to go Jeff.

[admin]

Glad it worked out well. Tube depot is really great. I've bought from them before.

[Coppy]

The HIFI Plus reviewer replaced the stock tubes with EH6922s and liked the result. They are not that expensive so I put four in and liked the result also. Jeff is not a fan as they get noisy in his experience. So far so good here. Kind of a hassle to roll tubes with all the pretty screws on the heavy top. And, unplugging all the cables to pull the unit. So I pull it halfway out leaving some hookups in on their slack and use only half the screws. Shame on me.

[Big Dog RJ]

Ah, nice one mate.
That's interesting to know that they changed the 6922's to the EH brand. In fact, I've come across the noisy bit on EH but then again perhaps it wasn't a great batch... don't know.

Over the years though, I did find that the GGL's 6922's had a sort of fuller sound and well defined bass. Compared to the EH type, I found the EH to have a slightly more prominent midrange. Maybe this is a good thing... again can't say for sure.

One thing though and important noting, is tubes themselves take a while to settle in. Sometimes more than 50hrs and in certain types of Output tubes around 100hrs. So when tube rolling occurs, the tubes themselves aren't allowed to settle in first before even trying to understand what those very tubes are capable of. Their particular sound, character, specs and what it does to shape the signal.

So now I just can't be bothered with tube rolling simply because the tunes are fine! Just my personal experience, that's all.
Cheers, RJ

[AnotherJohnson]

RJ makes a good point. Tube rolling is often a fool’s errand.