Conrad Johnson Owners.com

Sony SSAR2 speakers with ARTsa, ET5 and TEA2MAX. I seriously considered Wilson, B&W and Martin Logan too.

If I could find a tube tester it would be interesting to test them as you suggest. Finding such a beast these days has proven to be like the quest for the Holy Grail. The sound test using my Mark One, Mod Zero ears tells me that it is time for new tubes perhaps sooner than 18 months. I play my syste...

Thanks RJ. The CJ website suggests 1500 hours for power tubes on the ARTsa, which implies half that for the small tubes. The ET5 and TEA2MAX get noisy and need new tubes far more often, perhaps every 6 or 8 months on the ET5. I play the system several hours per day so it doesn't take long. On the ot...

Last week I replaced all of the tubes in my ARTsa after 18 months of service. This is the second change and both times the improvement in sound just astounds me. Not that there was anything noticeably wrong before the new tubes were installed, but afterwards there was a very big difference. Sweeter,...

Further thoughts. Pure speculation on my part. The fact that such a radical change was made to the ET7 so soon after it's introduction, coupled with the fact that the change reflects a substantial improvement, coupled with the fact that this change comes only months following the change in ownership...

I think both cj and PS Audio offer significantly greater value for the money spent than the competition. In addition to being compatible with each other, both enterprises seem to be run by very caring and people too.

That is the kind of dirty trick that Audio Research plays on their customers. I hope Jeff offers some sort of a deal for existing ET7 owners.

My ARTsa and ET5 still satisfy me completely. A PS Audio P10 power regenerator was added to my system a couple of years ago and then two months ago it was replaced by their newest P20. The power off the grid here in South Florida is distorted and variable and a good power regenerator really makes a ...

I would also like to hear opinions on this very same subject. My TEA2MAX is the 55 db gain version and I use it with a Bob's Devices SKY10 SUT, set to 5:1 and my current favorite cartridge is an Ortofon Per Windfeld.

Roberto, I am happy that your strings sound right to you now and believe me, as a musician myself, I understand what you are talking about. Along with my music system I have a piano and a set of drums in my listening room. On a well recorded piece I can tell you not only who is playing, but often th...

Roberto, With respect, my argument is this: If I stole into your house without your knowledge and switched your ET7 for a brand new one, right out of the box, you would be very unlikely to detect the difference. The sound difference you perceived is what you expected to hear and you have convinced y...

At the risk of making enemies, I must strenuously disagree with the consensus vis a vis break in of electronics. I know that taking a position in opposition to conventional wisdom is not likely to win friends. Please take my comments as intended to stir lively discussion and not in any way as person...

For my ET5 the Philips PCC88 has proven to be the best so far. These sound a bit smoother and warmer than the OEM tube did, while offering good life. The OEM tube is not bad, though, and perhaps offers the best durability of any tried so far. I have also tried E88CC/6922 Genelex Golden Lion tubes th...

I have no opinion concerning the sound of the ET7 since I have not heard one. I will say again that I really like the sound of the ET5 and if the ET7 is quite different that would not necessarily tempt me into wanting to find out more. Actually, the ET5 sounds pretty much that same as the GAT on sma...

Thanks for the followup Anthony! I bought 2 of the Phllips PCC88 tubes from cj and agree with you that they held better than others I have tried before they went noisy. My ET5 is now 3 years old and gets a lot of use. I love the sound of the thing and go through about 2 tubes a year in it. Right now...

Hi Roberto, Thanks for your response. I do not want to get into debate, but will just simply state that I believe break in is a big myth as it affects the sound quality of high quality equipment. If you want to believe that you can hear a sound improvement after several hundred hours that is your pr...

How much gain does the ET-7 have? The spec for the ET-5 is 25 db, which probably accounts for the relatively shortened tube life before noise. I love my ET-5, btw. Just wish it were not so hard on the tube. At least it is only one tube. If the ET-7 gain spec is lower, say 20 db or so, we can specula...

I buy most of mine from Jim McShane and a few from cj. CJ wants approximately 2X the price of anyone else.

I have a TEA2MAX with 55 db of gain. Recently I added a Bob's SUT because the output of my Per Windfeld @ 0.3 mV was borderline too low. With the SUT, it is hard to find fault with the sound of the TEA2MAX. It sounds really, really good and better than anything at or near it's price.

The reason for a new amp would primarily be that the current one does not have enough power. Basically this is a reflection of the type of music you listen to, how loud you like it, and how big your room is. The Classic 60 is a pretty powerful amp. Consider that if you doubled the power you would be...