Dave Carpenter

There are a pair on www.ebay.com right now that are currently bid up to $620. I've seen them go from $700 to 1000. No date on these. Think they tend to be 15-20 yrs old.

In the end, I bought the C-J PV14L tube preamp and the C-J MF2500 SS power amp. Very nice combination. To my ears, I preferred it over the pure tube system. The Premier 11 amp sounded fantastic on voices, but a bit odd (jumbled/jumpy?) on complex orchestra and was unforgiving of my old rock cd's. The SS amp seemed more even over all - very easy on the ears. Not as magical on the voices, but very musical & easy to listen to for a wide variety of music. Thanks for the advice everyone.

Thanks everyone for the info. I travel a lot - been gone for 5 weeks. Back now for a while. I'm auditioning the Conrad Johnson PV12 preamp & the Premier 11 tube amp downstairs. My CD player is a 5 yr old CDP 701ES. Got to make a decision in the next few days. I'm not a real hi-level audiophile. My Chorus II's & the old Carver amp suited me well for a long time. But, I listened to a lot of different show room setups lately. On this combination, the voices are simply fantastic. If the CD is technically recorded well, the voices are better than anything I've ever heard - it mesmerizes me. I also tend to listen at higher volume levels because the music is so clean. Of course, the level of detail is much higher - sounds that were muddled before can be separated. You pick up chair squeeks & background noise in some of the recordings. My son tells me that the amp took some of the edge off the speakers - that they aren't as bright. I'm not quite convinced. Songs with a lot of voice, simple instrumentals and very recently recorded rock are good to excellent. Some of the older material seems too "busy". Too much detail & a bit edgy to me. Sharp transients on notes, etc.. Not sure what it is. Could be problems with the older CD player, or could be a bad CD recording. The system isn't forgiving of bad source. I like Stevie Ray Vaughn, but a lot of his recordings are average quality & the CJ amps drive it home. It's particularly noticeable when you're skipping around from CD-CD testing the amp out. I do love the look & feel of the CJ amps. Build quality is excellent. Tempted to buy them for the voices alone. Thanks for the help... I have until Saturday to decide on these amps. Dave

Just an update. I've listened around & at the moment, my heart's desire is the C-J Premier 11 amp with a PV10 preamp. When I get back from this business trip, I'll take them home for a listen. I read the article on Cornwalls / tube/ solid state amps. Although there may be more distortion, the amp did sound very, very good. It's a pricey setup, though (for me) -- about $5,000 for the amp & preamp. I know there are cheaper, good systems out there, but I've not heard anyone complain about the sound of the C-J equip. & they seem to hold their value very well. But, for this price, I could get a McIntosh or the C-J SS amp. Still thinking & looking ... feedback & references always welcome. Had my last receiver for 10 yrs, this one will prob. last longer.

Sorry everyone. Since I posted, I was transferred. We've moved & I am just now getting back online. The new house is sucking up my play money. The tubes will have to wait a month or two. Thanks for the encouragement. When I get the amp, I'll post the results...... Dave

Thanks for the support everyone. Off to look for some tubes! Dave

I've got Chorus II's & a 10 yr old 100 watt Carver receiver. The Carver's having problems & I want to upgrade anyway. I've been thinking about replacing it with Conrad Johnson tubes (preamp & amp). There are a lot of other options out there, some less expensive but the C-J reviews are mostly glowing. I'm pretty sure the sound will be a major improvement. But I don't want something I've got to keep tweaking. I'm also a little worried about the power. Occasionally, I really crank it. I've bottomed out the little Carver many times. It doesn't have the headroom & couldn't supply the dynamic power. My brother-in-law got me into Klipsch in the first place. He has a pair of La Scalas he plays with an old Macintosh tube. They sound very good & that's what triggered the upgrade thoughts. I'm very happy with the sound of the Chorus - just interested in making the right choice on an upgrade in the amp. Comments/suggestions are very welcome! Dave