G'day maties! gents & sheila's...
Just hurt my back overdoing things at work, out for the count for few days...
On a positive note, and before I could even hardly walk, let alone get out of bed, there was something I wanted to post but just didn't quite have the time, until now!
About two weekends ago, I tried several pre-power combinations on my Ethos, just to see where things are at before I get to the Melbourne HiFi show;
Preamps: CJ ET5, ET3SE, Arc LS28 & GS Pre
Power amps: CJ Classic 60SE, LM125M (mono's), ARC Ref75, GS150 (awaiting to try the new VT80- not out as yet for home demo).
As a rule I wanted to keep the power output in similar areas, between 60w to 100w, and use only SE connections. I was very keen to home demo the new VT80 but my ARC dealer is not ready to give this unit out for home demo's just as yet. It's a matter of time... This is one very interesting power amp, as I think it competes with CJ's 50 to 60 watters, and ARC refers to this amp as their "foundation series."
Anyway, to cut a long story short, as I suppose I can go on all day about every attribute with either of these combinations, which I must say was simply superb driving the Ethos, the one huge factor that I realized was the total lack of noise- absolute zero with the CAV45, hence being a control amplifier.
Nearly all the preamps had tube hiss, and this hiss was very apparent on the CJ's. I also clearly remember when I had the ACT2 and eventually upgraded to the series, even then there was significant tube hiss, and mostly from one channel (left ch).
The ET5 and ET3SE were wonderful sounding musical instruments and very accomplished in their own right. The ARC pre's were equally good and had an effortless sort of drive and control over the Ethos. Not all the ARC pre's had the hiss though, the one with the least hiss was the LS28. The GS pre and almost a similar amount of hiss and would actually attenuate whiles levels were adjusted. This would obviously go unnoticed once music played but was quite apparent when changing tracks...
I remember a good mate of mine, Mr. Ed D from CJ once told me- that a good designed preamp should be neutral sounding and should not add or subtract anything from the source. Be able to convey from the source directly to the power amp and is mostly used for switching. Since this cannot be accomplished, we might as well arrive at the conclusion that the best would be to eliminate the preamp altogether.
And this is exactly what I have experienced with the CAV45. Although rated at only 45w/ch, it was the lowest powered compared to the others, the musicality, the tonal accuracy, the lush timbres and palpable midrange, including the extraordinary resolution, just sounded perfect! Now I am not saying that this little bugger beat the mighty LP125M's (which I liked very much) or the REF75, which was another superb power amp but for the money and value, the CAV45 cannot be ignored.
I am on the quest (on low key) just to see what I could do for pre-power keeping the budget under 15 grand. For around 11 grand, the ET3 & LP125M's are on offer, since these units are being phased off. The ARC gear was costing much more but not the demo units and matching with CJ pre's there is a combination available with the Ref75, not the GS150.
I didn't quite get to use a ARC reference line stage at home, since they wouldn't release any Ref units for such demo's. Only these two ARC pre's were available. Perhaps a REF series ARC pre would not have that significant tube hiss, I wouldn't know.
All I can say is that the simplicity of the CAV45 meets all my expectations for sonic purity at it's best. It will not certainly drive anything out there nor would a pair of EL34's per channel be adequate to drive larger stats full range. However, with a high efficiency stat, having built in DSP and powered bass drives, this to me seems the perfect match so far. I don't see the point in the extra spend at all.
Therefore, I have come to the conclusion that if I am to achieve so called better sound, a significant upgrade would be required and that would involve a complete overhaul in the system. That would probably be either the REN15A driven with any of these pre-power combinations or the CLX's driven in full range with perhaps the GS150 and ET5. For the time being, I have yet to come across a pre-power for 10 grand that can out perform the CAV45.
I was not sure whether this post should go to the CJ forum or not... but what I was trying to point out is that the preamp / line stage is not required in a well matched system using high efficiency speakers in a proper set up.
Cheers to integrated's, I sincerely think whether SS or tube, exceptional designs do offer purer music.
RJ
Just hurt my back overdoing things at work, out for the count for few days...
On a positive note, and before I could even hardly walk, let alone get out of bed, there was something I wanted to post but just didn't quite have the time, until now!
About two weekends ago, I tried several pre-power combinations on my Ethos, just to see where things are at before I get to the Melbourne HiFi show;
Preamps: CJ ET5, ET3SE, Arc LS28 & GS Pre
Power amps: CJ Classic 60SE, LM125M (mono's), ARC Ref75, GS150 (awaiting to try the new VT80- not out as yet for home demo).
As a rule I wanted to keep the power output in similar areas, between 60w to 100w, and use only SE connections. I was very keen to home demo the new VT80 but my ARC dealer is not ready to give this unit out for home demo's just as yet. It's a matter of time... This is one very interesting power amp, as I think it competes with CJ's 50 to 60 watters, and ARC refers to this amp as their "foundation series."
Anyway, to cut a long story short, as I suppose I can go on all day about every attribute with either of these combinations, which I must say was simply superb driving the Ethos, the one huge factor that I realized was the total lack of noise- absolute zero with the CAV45, hence being a control amplifier.
Nearly all the preamps had tube hiss, and this hiss was very apparent on the CJ's. I also clearly remember when I had the ACT2 and eventually upgraded to the series, even then there was significant tube hiss, and mostly from one channel (left ch).
The ET5 and ET3SE were wonderful sounding musical instruments and very accomplished in their own right. The ARC pre's were equally good and had an effortless sort of drive and control over the Ethos. Not all the ARC pre's had the hiss though, the one with the least hiss was the LS28. The GS pre and almost a similar amount of hiss and would actually attenuate whiles levels were adjusted. This would obviously go unnoticed once music played but was quite apparent when changing tracks...
I remember a good mate of mine, Mr. Ed D from CJ once told me- that a good designed preamp should be neutral sounding and should not add or subtract anything from the source. Be able to convey from the source directly to the power amp and is mostly used for switching. Since this cannot be accomplished, we might as well arrive at the conclusion that the best would be to eliminate the preamp altogether.
And this is exactly what I have experienced with the CAV45. Although rated at only 45w/ch, it was the lowest powered compared to the others, the musicality, the tonal accuracy, the lush timbres and palpable midrange, including the extraordinary resolution, just sounded perfect! Now I am not saying that this little bugger beat the mighty LP125M's (which I liked very much) or the REF75, which was another superb power amp but for the money and value, the CAV45 cannot be ignored.
I am on the quest (on low key) just to see what I could do for pre-power keeping the budget under 15 grand. For around 11 grand, the ET3 & LP125M's are on offer, since these units are being phased off. The ARC gear was costing much more but not the demo units and matching with CJ pre's there is a combination available with the Ref75, not the GS150.
I didn't quite get to use a ARC reference line stage at home, since they wouldn't release any Ref units for such demo's. Only these two ARC pre's were available. Perhaps a REF series ARC pre would not have that significant tube hiss, I wouldn't know.
All I can say is that the simplicity of the CAV45 meets all my expectations for sonic purity at it's best. It will not certainly drive anything out there nor would a pair of EL34's per channel be adequate to drive larger stats full range. However, with a high efficiency stat, having built in DSP and powered bass drives, this to me seems the perfect match so far. I don't see the point in the extra spend at all.
Therefore, I have come to the conclusion that if I am to achieve so called better sound, a significant upgrade would be required and that would involve a complete overhaul in the system. That would probably be either the REN15A driven with any of these pre-power combinations or the CLX's driven in full range with perhaps the GS150 and ET5. For the time being, I have yet to come across a pre-power for 10 grand that can out perform the CAV45.
I was not sure whether this post should go to the CJ forum or not... but what I was trying to point out is that the preamp / line stage is not required in a well matched system using high efficiency speakers in a proper set up.
Cheers to integrated's, I sincerely think whether SS or tube, exceptional designs do offer purer music.
RJ