LP125sa vs. Premier 140

[Tuggs]

Since many of us are stuck hanging around the house, here's another...

Besides the 125 using KT120s, and a 6189 vs. the 6550s and a 6922 of the 140, the rest of the specs appear practically identical.

Being a decade newer, does the 125sa have appreciably better circuitry that's audible?

Bringing economics into the equation, it looks like a 140 can be purchased for 2/3 to 3/4 of the price of a 125sa. Furthermore, the build quality of the Premier appears to be head and shoulders above the LP.

For reference, I'm listening to an LP66S driven by a CT5, and it's a very satisfying presentation. Overall frequency response seems pretty flat across the range. Bass is surprisingly full, maybe a tad loose, hence the reason I'm asking about these two.

[Big Dog RJ]

I still find the Prem140 to be a formidable amplifier ever made and built by CJ. It could drive anything, it never flinched under pressure and when upgraded to an SE version, oh boy did it change a few gears!

However, you have to remember that CJ is in the high-end business of Audio engineering and offering high fidelity gear. Therefore, in order for the business to survive and forge ahead, they have to offer new products.

Sometimes these new offerings can seem confusing... such that what's the big difference in that particular preamp vs the much older one, and so on with power amps... Hence the point I always make, the improvements are marginal.

Therefore, unless you really had lots of disposable income, where you would typically upgrade / renew your gear once in every 3 years just to keep up with the times and hopefully be content... until something else comes along and the vicious cycle continues...

I clearly know of one chap over here who just lives for that, constantly upgrading nothing else. So when he gets a product or new equipment, he makes claims such as "best ever heard, killer bass, blew me out of the park, things he never heard before and the tune goes on..."

Then a new piece of equipment arrives, and he states the same thing about the new gear, so what happened to the previous gear I ask? I thought that was the best ever heard... but now he's lost for words on the new stuff... and the beat goes on...

I firmly believe that it's up to ourselves to set certain goals and benchmarks on performance, otherwise we're getting carried away. High-end audio mag reviewers must constantly review and change products simply because that's their primary job.

I remember back over two decades ago having a sincere chat to LJ regarding preamplifiers. I'll never forget his words, the best preamps are the ones that get out of the way of the music and allow it to flow freely. The main function of a preamp is to control the power amplifier's drive factor and not suddenly overload the speakers, other than that it's primary function is for linestage and switching.

The best preamp is basically no preamp!
But we must take into consideration our source gear and what that source offers in terms of musicality. If it lacks a certain level of musicality then we can add this from the linestage. If it's a highly revealing source in its purest form, extracting everything on the recording, then perhaps a highly transparent linestage would be best adding no coloration at all. This is basically the difference from CJ's previous gear, such as the PV series, to the latest ET series, transparency and resolution are the highest contributing factors.

At the end of the day, all CJ gear sound marvelous and bring out the best of recordings regardless of what generation it came from. I've heard a system with a PV12 driving a pair of LP275m's hooked up to a pair of SF Strads, what a beautiful sound! This is where that term enveloping sound emanates from. You can listen for endless hours, and something that allows you to relax without being on edge all the time.

So getting back to the above comparison, again it's just a matter of choice. These amps are both very well built, taking into account the best power supplies and tubes used, both offer extraordinary experience. It boils down to what your budget is, finances permitting in the long run for tube maintenance... and so on.
Newer circuits yield better results in terms of clearer signal, shorter signal paths and the use of higher grade quality parts. Thus the reason why the newer gear just costs more.
Otoh, if you were to upgrade an older unit, the overall costs in parts upgrade plus labor might amount to the same when purchasing the newer item, so might as well go for the latest offering.

Sincerely speaking I didn't find much of an improvement over the prem140 other than the use of KT120 excells the 6550s but this can also be installed on the prem140.
Having said that, the margin of improvement really shifts gears when you compare the prem140 to the ART150, now that's where my benchmark sets in, and yes there's a real 40-45% improvement in performance, you can really feel it!

Audition as much as you possibly can, make notes and compare price vs performance, also set a benchmark and a reference point for yourself. This will help you a lot when listening to new gear and having your own experiences rather than relying on someone else's. From these listening sessions it will allow you to determine which one type of sound you actually prefer. That's the amplifier to get.

Btw, if the sound you prefer is already in your current system, then by all means just sit back and enjoy! You've already got it! So why bother...

Cheers mate, hope that helps.
RJ

[roberto]

Hola Tuggs,

Wisdom words are spoken here...that's the truth. As I always say, let your ears be the final judges.

Happy listening!

[antaresbluespirit]

Dear friends'

II have discovered CJ gear by the end of the seventies thanks to a friend of me who was a local distributor in France

We spent hours in listening session after the closing of his shop as well as the week end..

At that time the main players in the high end was AR ,mark levinson,Macintosh , the old marantz (seven) and Cj as newbie ....

So the sonic comparisons high lighted the difference in philosophy what ever the sound coloration of the circuit...

40 years later, I always appreciate CJ musicality since we go "in the heart of the music rythm and matters and "we forget electronic "

I practise the vocal jazz within an association and I am not any more involved by "the "ultimate" sound detail of the amp ,the sing session s shows that the source is the main factor regarding the music issue..

So, to date we are lucky to appreciate the marvellous spirit of the CJ consistant design described by the interview of the funders and their successor Jeff Fischel...

Such a company with 25 employees can only survive if they maintain a minimum flow of new products as well as the service and upgrade of the their classic range already marketed..

No doubt that both vintages gears and the new range remain enjoyable machine to reproduce the music!

it just sound right...

Raymond (from France)

PS: take care of yourself regarding the covid 19 pandemy


Raymond

[Big Dog RJ]

Cheers Raymond,
Nice story.

Be safe mate, and whiles you're at it, enjoy those tunes!
Best, RJ