Some CJ News

[turntable]

I checked with Lew Johnson on the suitability of the KT120's with my Teflon prem8a's. I would see this as a green light for any of the cj pore tube amps after the prem 8a.

The KT120 tubes will work great in your Premier Eights. They should be biased the same as a 6550. The sound of the KT120s is fuller without any sacrifice in dynamics and high frequency extension. I much prefer them to the 6550 winged C tubes (my favorite of the 6550s that I have tried). I would definitely make the switch the next time you need to re-tube. Just plug in the tubes, bias and enjoy. They will be operating at lower voltages than they are rated for, which should extend the life of the tube.

[lloydelee21]

I checked with Lew Johnson on the suitability of the KT120's with my Teflon prem8a's. I would see this as a green light for any of the cj pore tube amps after the prem 8a.

Great News!! D-O-N-E!!! I have never been steered wrong by Ed at CJ, and i have only had a few interactions with Lew Johnson...always good. Let us know when you re-tube!!

[turntable]

Great News!! D-O-N-E!!! I have never been steered wrong by Ed at CJ, and i have only had a few interactions with Lew Johnson...always good. Let us know when you re-tube!!

Lloyd, I did not say I was going to do it, at least not just yet.

I am still happy with my Tung Sol 6550's ATM.

Cheers

[mep]

Real Tung Sol 6550s or Russian 6550s branded as Tung Sol 6550s?

[Big Dog RJ]

Well well, I told you so.
Been using c-j products for nearly 17 years now, I've always liked there sound. Although went off track to other brands, eventually steered back to c-j one way or the other. If I come across something on a c-j product that seems to better the sound overall, I wouldn't be just talking about it unless I really believed it. You have to try the KT120 to know what I am talking about. Until then there is no point pondering...

The final decision is yours and to your ears only. I have also been in touch with Lew, and Ed, they have always been 110% accurate to their claims. As they should afterall they design c-j! When David Neilan from caxton audio recommended a retube with the KT120's I thought he must be mad. He said don't jump into any conclusions until you've heard them and most of all 100 hours burn in minimum. I noticed a difference right after 100 minutes. To this day he's bloody right mate! You can't go wrong with these gems.
If I still had my prem 8's, I know what I'd be ordering next...

Take it easy and have a good one, cheers.
RJ

[turntable]

Real Tung Sol 6550s or Russian 6550s branded as Tung Sol 6550s?

I wish!! Just the current production reissue - they sound great. A little bit more sparkle on top compared to the winged C. Then winged c has a bit more bass weight and is probably a bit better balanced top to bottom. The tung sol has something special in the top end which I like. I gotta compare vs the winged C at some stage soon as my memory may not be perfect.

Well well, I told you so.
Been using c-j products for nearly 17 years now, I've always liked there sound. Although went off track to other brands, eventually steered back to c-j one way or the other. If I come across something on a c-j product that seems to better the sound overall, I wouldn't be just talking about it unless I really believed it. You have to try the KT120 to know what I am talking about. Until then there is no point pondering...

The final decision is yours and to your ears only. I have also been in touch with Lew, and Ed, they have always been 110% accurate to their claims. As they should afterall they design c-j! When David Neilan from caxton audio recommended a retube with the KT120's I thought he must be mad. He said don't jump into any conclusions until you've heard them and most of all 100 hours burn in minimum. I noticed a difference right after 100 minutes. To this day he's bloody right mate! You can't go wrong with these gems.
If I still had my prem 8's, I know what I'd be ordering next...

Take it easy and have a good one, cheers.
RJ

I have no doubt What Lew is saying is correct. At this point I don't really need a fuller sound. Also, buying 20 (16 + 4 spare) of the suckers will set me back a bit. But I will try at some stage - probably sooner if the $ drops much more.

Cheers

[lloydelee21]

Good luck Shane...again, i think you have done extraordinarily well in this crazy hobby of the 'new new thing' to have landed the Prem 8as, with Teflon upgrades by CJ, and possibly at some point KT120s. These are 'very old' amps by most people's definition, and yet i can only imagine how amazing they must sound. Nice move!

[turntable]

Good luck Shane...again, i think you have done extraordinarily well in this crazy hobby of the 'new new thing' to have landed the Prem 8as, with Teflon upgrades by CJ, and possibly at some point KT120s. These are 'very old' amps by most people's definition, and yet i can only imagine how amazing they must sound. Nice move!

Thanks Lloyd. One could say the same thing with your speakers. New is not always better, especially when price is a factor.

Cheers

[Andre Marc]

Hey Myles:

Actually Sam Telling noted this in his last column about the CJ 60 watt SE amp. He notes that both
Bill and Lew agreed the tube was superior to 6550's.

Also note that Rogue now is in the process of offering that tube as well.

I would try it in my ARC amp but I have at least 3 years worth of matched quads of Winged C 6550's, and I happen to love the way they sound in my VS55.

Got the news today that conrad-johnson is switching over to the new Tungsol KT120s for all their 6550 based amplifiers. (Lew feels that the KT120 is a nice sonic upgrade and because of the increased plate dissappation, run even more conversatively, resulting in extended tube life. The tubes are a drop in replacement for the 6550. Price is roughly the same as the 6550s (~ $100/tube).

http://www.svetlana.com/ProductHighL...spx?ProId=1341

Now how long will it be until we see cj design a tube amplifier to take advantage of the KT120 specs, eg. 150 wpc from a pair of tubes? Using the KT120s my ART would go from 275 to 600 wpc. Wooooohooo....