new power amplifiers ART108A Class A

[roberto]

Announcing the ART108A, a new Class A, mono-block power amplifier from Conrad-Johnson Design. The amplifier employs four pairs of triode-connected KT88 output tubes to produce a rated power of 160 Watts. Each stage of the circuit has its own regulated power supply, including one for the KT88 output stage. Built to the same industry leading quality standards as our other ART products, the ART108A boasts extensive use of CJD Teflon capacitors, bulk metal foil resistors, and custom designed wide-band audio output transformers. Priced at $24,000 each, and sold only in pairs...

Wow, I wish I could afford them...but not a this time. Good luck Jeff, it looks the best of the best.

[roberto]

https://www.facebook.com/ConradJohnson0 ... tn__=*bH-R

The look is like my Classic One Twenty SE, but the power transformer case at the center is smaller.

[roberto]

Its a promising product, and those KT-88 are beautiful too. I am wondering why not the KT-120s.

[roberto]

Last night I had a very long session of listening to all kinds of music, starting with Costa Rican folk music and ending with Mahler Symphony No2. I don't find any complaint about the quality of my signal. I am not saying that it is perfect, I now out there are much better products and of course will make my system like an apprentice...I must confess that my ears are very, very happy with what I have. I have dear friends who own much expensive gear, and what I get here, honestly speaking, I don't miss their quality sound. I am that happy.

Happy listening!

[roberto]

Thinking more about what I wrote above, perhaps my hearing ability is not as precise as it was some time ago. I hear the cymbals and the percussion instruments, even a difference between the maracas...usually one has more lower in range tone than the other. I can hear all the violin musical notes including the harmonics...so being 74 years old, my hearing loss it not too dramatic, but they are not young.

The pleasure that Conrad Johnson deliver to my ears is immense. Thank you Conrad Johnson for such quality products!

[roberto]

https://scontent.fsjo14-1.fna.fbcdn.net ... e=61E783AF

[AnotherJohnson]

This is consistent with our discussion about pricing and how some buyers make their choices. $48k for a pair of 150ish watt per channel (into 4 ohms no doubt) monoblocks is not outside the realm of current competition. But it is outside the realm of possibility for most.

But $48k for a pair of modestly powered tube amps might put them on the radar screen of the folks who prefer high prices to prove their own worth.

Makes the Art 150 seem downright affordable.

[Joe Appierto]

Its a promising product, and those KT-88 are beautiful too. I am wondering why not the KT-120s.

There are some, maybe a minority like me, who prefer the sound of the Reissue Genalex KT88 to the Tung-Sol KT120. That having been said, I would be quite surprised if these amps couldn't handle the KT120.

[roberto]

Hola Joe,
Can you explain your findings with the KT-88?

I had both...and really had a critical listening, and kept the KT-120s...perhaps it is just a matter of liking. In my Classic One Twenty SE, the KT-88 were warm and a very good detail, but did not controlled the bass as the 120s did. Also, the 120s did a much better wider stage. In some kind of music, both were very similar...for jazz and rock. In classical music, obviously it is my liking, I kept the 120s.

[Joe Appierto]

Hi Roberto,

These are my impressions of the Reissue KT88. It's from an audio blog I used to write and is dated 6/16/12. By way of ancillary equipment: CJ 16LS2, CJ 11A and Quad 989 speakers. Interconnects and speaker cables were XLO Signature.

Note my comment on the bass which is in agreement with your assessment.

Listening Impressions:

Macrodynamics, especially with the 6922EH in play, are excellent.

Lower bass (at least as low as the speakers are capable of) could be more prominent. Although what’s there is tuneful and never one-note.

While listening to the Come Away With Me SACD by Norah Jones, she is a physical presence in the room.

The violins on the 7 Concerti for Woodwind and Strings CD are sweet and feathery sounding with abundant detail. You can immediately recognize the “Archiv” sound which I find to be a little tipped-up in frequency response.

In comparison to the Tung-Sol 6550 black-plates on the same CD, the Gold Lion’s are a little quicker, lighter, airy and bouncy.

There is a solid central image with excellent projection into the listening space. Depending upon the source and the material, it extends to this listener’s seated position which is about 8 feet from the plane of the speakers. When I wasn’t hypnotized by Charlize Theron, the Aeon Flux DVD was an exercise in sound field immersion.

Lateral separation projects beyond the outside boundaries of the QUAD 989’s and together with sound stage depth, are reference quality.

On the Into the Labyrinth MFSL LP by Dead Can Dance, the sound is quick, taut, with details not heard on my CD and with a cavernous sound stage to boot.

Conclusion:
The New Sensor Gold Lion KT88’s are, in my opinion, a total success and sound almost identical to their predecessors, the GEC KT88. If anything, the New Sensor version may be slightly more fleet of foot and on any given day, my judgment of which sounds “better” is going to change.

Of all current production output tubes that I’ve auditioned, these are undoubtedly my favorites.

That's the end of my listening notes from the blog.

These were my listening impressions on the KT120 from one month later. Same set-up:

Listening Impressions:

Listening to the Haydn Piano Trios on DVD-A, the sound is smooth, easy on the ears and detailed.

The bass response lays a solid foundation to the music and is one of this tube’s strengths.

Dialogue is clear and vocals have good realism.

Transients are average to good but lack impact.

Soundstage and dynamic range are excellent as was evidenced on the Odyssey CD by Yngwie J. Malmsteen’s Rising Force.

End of that piece of the review. In my opinion, the KT88 were just more satisfying.

[roberto]

With much respect dear Joe, your comments are exactly what the KT-120s gave me. Specially at the inner detail of the musical instruments. With the KT-120 I could call the brand of the strings used on a particular classical guitar recording...the timbre was outstanding. I could not get this with other good sounding tubes. This does not mean that I am right and you are wrong. No sir! I respect your hearing capability of course.

I'm very happy for you. It's wonderful reading you...I think the difference might be in our rooms and ancillary equipment. Thanks for the response!

Happy listening!

[Joe Appierto]

My pleasure, Roberto. I was kind of long-winded I know but I thought this was a case where more information was better than less. Plus quoting from the 10-year-old reviews was more accurate than relying on my memory. I think you're right about the ancillary equipment being maybe the most important factor. QUADs are known for being accurate in the bass but they do not produce bass the way a dynamic speaker would. I've never heard a full range MartinLogan such as the CLS or CLX but have the feeling they might do an even better job producing a full-range bass response than the QUADs.

[roberto]

Thanks again dear Joe,

I was CLSs user, all models, and I was happy with the bass, not too deep and you had to "tuned" them with your seating position and their back wall. You adjust the bass resonance with the room boundaries too. I had the Janis subs along with them, but never liked (my truth). I used them a very low volume, I did not use any bass filter and the level was just enough to get some deep musical notes...they were not exactly there.

Now, with the CLXs, they are truly a different beasts. They have 8 bass stat panels on each speaker. The bass is very articulate and very impressive with the detail. The detail is almost like having the bass player there and you are pointing where the bass player is. To my ears, this is one of the most revealing speaker on Mother Earth. And I assure you that I do trust in my ears, and why not? They are my judges and right or wrong, they are what I have. My liking is just that: liking, and I could be wrong for you. If you are a KT-88 lover that's super OK...that is what our beloved hobby is...enjoying the music. Another thing that I did like a lot when doing the comparisons, the other tubes that were not giving to me the easy drive of the difficult passages on some parts of the music, the crescendos as an example...some time juice was needed and my perception was that I needed more motor, more energy in moments, just little fractions of the music. Perhaps I was too demanding. I have never felt the need of these with the 120...but again, this is my liking.

A big YES for you Joe, enjoy those fine tunes, as RJ says...happy listening!

[roberto]

Just thinking loud, perhaps my amp likes better the 120, they are the tubes that CJ uses...that could be another reason...the design in mind with a particular power tube...that could be too.

[AnotherJohnson]

Just thinking loud, perhaps my amp likes better the 120, they are the tubes that CJ uses...that could be another reason...the design in mind with a particular power tube...that could be too.

I do think that the synergy with the whole system, including the room, affects the whole experience.

Regarding the tubes, people like what they like. I think CJ and others do their best to meet the market. I think the 88s may have more rolling choices than the 120s, and that may be a factor too.

[roberto]

Well, I know for sure that the 120s, the output transformer must have the capacity to drive them... a reason why the KT150s are not interchangeable with the 120s. The transformer should have the capacity to drive them.

Some people have made that change, but Jeff told me in a such way don't do that! It's forbidden.

[admin]

The new ART108 looks very nice. As of this writing it is not listed on the official CJ site so I'm not sure when it's going to go for standard retail sale. Probably not too far off though. I can see why it would be advantageous to get a mono block offering in at that price point. The price is close to the ART 150 but again, there is something special about having dedicated monoblocks and perhaps CJ saw this as an opportunity to get a product in there that otherwise only the ART300 currently fills (at a very high price point). No to say that over $20k is budget gear,... but clearly CJ has been focusing on the higher end market in the past few years.

I definitely like the styling very much. Classic but with a little pizzazz with the champagne center transformer cover. Very nice.

As for the discussion about the superiority of the KT88 vs KT120,... I can't comment directly as I've never had the opportunity to do A/B comparison listening in the same unit. However, in general tube comparison experience I find that a lot of times it just comes down to personal preference, characteristics of the listening room, and how well the output meshes with the rest of the gear. I seriously doubt that CJ decided to put KT88 tubes in vs KT120 to save a few dollars on a $24k amp.

[AnotherJohnson]

I seriously doubt that CJ decided to put KT88 tubes in vs KT120 to save a few dollars on a $24k amp.

Certainly I agree … maybe I read the link wrong though. I thought it was $24k per amp, sold only in pairs. $48k total.

I may not have kept up with pricing, but this looked more expensive than any other 150ish watt monoblock I’ve seen from CJ. I’ll have to dig around. Maybe I’ve missed something.

[AnotherJohnson]

I didn’t misread it. Nor did I lose track of pricing.

A pair of ART 300 monoblocks is $37k.

https://www.highperformancestereo.com/c ... -each.html

So this new half the power set of monoblocks is $11k per pair more than the current flagship.

That’s a big jump per watt.

The current Art 150 is a measly $19k.

I’m sure the new monoblocks sound incredible … but so do the original and later model Arts.

In fact, I’d go so far as to say that in my system the illusion was complete at the LP series. I can hear differences, but the things I care about are all present in the LP275Ms.

[AnotherJohnson]

With the unexpected appearance of the ART 150 review in TAS (issue #324), and now this … I wonder if this is essentially free marketing. The ART 150 at $19k looks downright affordable in juxtaposition to $48k monoblocks. Maybe they’ve built a batch of the ART 150s and are drumming up interest.

I went back through several issues of TAS and could not find a single advertisement by CJ, ARC, or McIntosh.

Advertising makes sense if you’re not getting enough orders to satisfy your growth goals. But it makes less sense if you’re already having trouble keeping up with demand.