Unfortunately have not auditioned the headphone amp, mainly for two reasons:Thanks RJ! Would love to find out as a big long-term CJ owner and fan for the last 20 years up until only the last few months.
As for new products...have you heard the CJ HVA-1 headphone amp? There is ironically NOT that much competition at that price because it is very expensive! Long-term term have been considering the Sennheiser HD800S and the EAR Yoshino HP-4...and I thought, how about CJ? And then I realized the CJ is practically 2x the price!
Also, do you have any rumors about 2022? I do think the 27a might be a new direction for CJ which would be quite cool if they are able to provide that level of SET triode magic monoblocked.
You might like the TRON Electric Antares: https://tron-electric.co.uk/headphone-amplifiers/antares/Thank you! Sounds great...would love to hear the HVA-1...wish it had more than one output...the HP-4 has 4. Ironically, I think the CJ has a lot more power than the HP-4 and could more easily drive 2 headphones at once. In any event...will give it some thought. Have found one that is demo and same price as HP4...hmmmm...perhaps for another day!
Thank you!You might like the TRON Electric Antares: https://tron-electric.co.uk/headphone-amplifiers/antares/
If you do find out what speakers/system the new owner is using, that would be interesting to know...thanks!Finally sold! The one and only ART27A ever to reach our shores down unda was sold just recently to an owner who lives in NZ! Oh well, at least both these units got here first... speaking of both, yes the GATS2 as well. Not sure what the speakers are but I'm sure he's enjoying those fine tunes!
Trying to see if we could get any impressions on his listening experience with these two pieces of fine Art from CJ but nothing as yet.
Another award winning design from JF, the ART27A at its finest!
Cheers to any owners out there,
Best, RJ
Ah, nice one matey!Hey Big Dog...
My preamp is the c-j original GAT. Phono pre is a TEA1bc. Bartok is the streaming source. Not too long ago, changed my Nordost Valhalla 2 speaker cables to Wireworld Platinum. Much better bass and mids.
The GAT is back at c-j at the moment on a little vacation. Running the ART27a directly from the dCS Bartok.
Undecided if that's preferred or not but the bass is definitely better. May upgrade to the ART88 but it's a big step cost wise. Any thoughts on that?
First, while my GAT 1 was at c-j last fall, I tried the Bartok direct to the ART27. It has an excellent digital volume control but lacks analog inputs so no LPs. At fist I thought it was fine but began to notice a lack of richness and quality in the sound, rather hard sounding. When the GAT came back, and I returned it to the connection, the SQ was much richer and more refined. No question a good preamp adds value; it may be an impedance matching variably effective over the range of audio frequencies.Ah, nice one matey!
Yes, that's an interesting find... between preamp or not. They say, the best preamp is no preamp!
I had an experience with this as well, during my ACT2 going in for an upgrade to the series 2. So I used the SACD player's variable Outputs directly into the power amps. That particular (McIntosh) digital player also had a level control on the front panel and remote function. Upto a certain degree it was quite good, such that things seemed clearer, far less noise, probably zero noise I would say, and quite pleasant to listen to.
However, the moment I got the ACT2 S2 back in, oh my! That just elevated things at all angles! It was a totally different dimension! At that time I was using the Quad ESL 2905's and then the ML Ethos hybrid stats. So that extra gain factor on the ACT2 S2 certainly helped, not only in playback levels but also in terms of better control and drive on the power amps.
Now, the thing is this doesn't mean that a preamp is a must. It all depends on your systems config and what sources you're using. In my case I'm using two sources, both TT rig and digital playback systems, so I need the preamp for switching. At the same time, I found the ACT2 series preamps, although fabulous, to be quite noisy. They always had a high hiss factor. I found less of that hiss on the ET7S2 and the GAT series preamps but now I'm using a special custom mod CT5. This utilises the exact same tubes as the ACT2, which I love, and best of all, zero noise! Pin Drop silence!
So, this is a highly personal preference, and something I did to create a custom sound. I could've easily gone upto the GATS2 but I chose not to because my personal preference leans towards the 6N30P tubes sound, not the 6922 variant that's used in the ET & GAT series preamps. The new ART88 also uses the 6922 variety but slightly different topology, where two more are used for impedence matching. So in the case of the ART88, there are no buffered output stages- as was the case with all of CJ's preamps. The ART88 is their only model that is an all tube design Linestage.
Speaking of Linestage, this is where I believe my particular system highly benefits from a true top notch Linestage, and that's quite evident from the various home/demo trials I've done over the years.
So, if you're using just one source and that's it, then perhaps you may never require a Linestage. This is something only you can determine, which one works best for your particular system. May need to do some home trials if possible, that's definitely the ultimate test!
That is how I carefully put together my system, and it took me an awful long one, about 15yrs or so and now I can say it's fully worth every penny, especially with the ML CLX's, there's no other speaker I'd rather own.
Cheers mate, hope that helps.
RJ
c-j burns the preamps in for about 100 hours before shipping so this one sounded good right out of the box. The mids were not what you might ask at first but pretty immediately filled in. After a bit less than 100 hours the sound field suddenly seemed somewhat less dynamic but that too has now corrected and all is good. Have at least another 100 hours to let it run continuously on a steady Roon radio signal from the Bartok. And then there is the review in the British magazine that advocates for some quality 6922s in the first amplification positions before the buffer tubes. Have a pair of new ones in the ready when the time comes. Looks like a bit of a hassle to change tubes though. Lots of screws, lifting it out of the cabinet and unplugging everything from the back.Congrats! I have long been an owner and admirer of CJ's work. PV14L/MV60, then ACT 2, GAT 1, GAT 2. Never one failing in all that time technically, and great sound across the board. Particularly as we entered GAT 2. Look forward to hearing how the ART 88 opens up as it breaks in.
I can imagine the ART88 + ART27a is a truly sublime combination.
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