Any Problems with Conrad Johnson Premier 140?

I've had the pleasure of using Conrad Johnson gear for a couple decades. PV 8, PV12, Mv60se, premier 140, multi-channel briefly, The sound is amazing and the tank like construction of the transformers is equally amazing. I found a number of upgrades necessary such as capacitors and some of the wiring in the preamp but by and large this stuff is the best for the money sonically. The downside especially with the 140 is the size and it's tendency to blow a tube if there's ever a power outage or the heat is definitely a nuisance. You can't leave them on forever and when I turn them off my Rel subwoofer takes a beating. At the end of the day though sound quality in this equipment can't be bought in solid state for anything close in price. Go get some KT88s or KT 120 tubes in an mv 60 or classic or the premier and prepare to mess your pants.

Nothing like a powerful tube amp? Can you say tube glare? Design has to be done very well in order to avoid this, especially in pentode verisions. Haven't heard the 140 but I've been leary of powerful tube amps since my close experience with a large Audio Research and Mesa Baron. Actually, Mesa corrected the problem of glare by lowering gain substantially. I will stick with my SET and easy to drive speakers (but, man, I would like to have the 140 in my house for a few weeks - just to play with! Bet it would sound good with a passive "pre-amp".)

I bet there are no problems with this pc of gear. C-J is a great company and I've owned four of their products, superb customer service and pack up, and i can't imagine they'd put anything defective on the market. Or if they did (and it would be a shear unlikely accident) C-J would get the word out and fix it ASAP.

no problems yet cj's best tube amp ,destined to become a classic ,nothing like a powerful tube amp

I've had the 140 in my rig for 2 months. I had done allot of careful auditioning before buying a used one here . The listening at local stores was very veried to say the least, even though each had been driven by CJ pre. 16 preamps. The first listen was through a set up with Wilson Sophia's , copper cabling, and Audio Aero cdp.The bass was boomy from about 160 hz on down but, the mids and treble were simply glorious.After an hour and a half, even with
the bass problems,I could'nt help grinning.Next,I heard the 140 with the same prem.16 pre.but this time with Tetra speakers(stand mount) and a.zen silver cabling. No boomy bass and the mids and highs,..fantastic. To quote S Tellag,if this isn't reallity, it should be. So,.. now to my system. Cat Ultimate preamp,Jaden Sig. cables,analog front end,and(here's the clincher) Magnepan 1.6qr speakers running full range with no xover mods yet. Probably the most challanging bass wise, there is. I have tried several driver tubes in the 140 and settled on an Amperex white lable 7308 1960 pq( my ref. tube) and full round Asc tube trap in each corner behind the speakers.It's taken a few hundred hours of break-in alott of moving speakers around and hundreds opf dollars in tube rolling, but, I think I'm about 60% there,there. Does this sound like alot of trouble,.. you bet it is.Do I think that the 140 is worth it?I sure hope so. Is this what makes the difference between the plug and play folks that don't realize that the point of this hobby is the learning experience? If it isn't than I've been waisting my time and money for the last 29 years.

I traded an 11a for the 140. Sound is on a big scale with superb resolving power and tremendous bass .....BUT the midrange particularly on simple female vocals is to my ears at least not in the same class. Even with intimate male vocals - such as Loudon Wainright there seems to be an unwanted sibilance, this sounds more like a large transistor monobloc - say the chords, than a CJ - certainly nothing like a triode sound, this is my experience - and already here in the UK there are second hand units available.

I think many people purchased the 140 not giving too much thought to its size or the need for a truly superb front end. There is no question that it is a big amp, 18x18 and 95 pounds. There may even be some perceptions that because it is not a "typical CJ mono block" that it is not as good as it could be. Well, this is a wrong assumption. It is CJ's best tube amp to date and only the Premier 350 is better. It is liquid, specific, and musical. I cannot emphasize enough that specificity and musicality are its true signature. You are in the room with the musicans. As mentioned, the real issue, is that to get the most out of this amp, you need a very, very good front end. If people bought the amp hoping for the moon and did not quite reach it. I doubt if it was the amp.

owned one for about4 months.no problems at all.excellent resolution and rich sound. dead quiet.traded for parasound jc-1's.it does generate heat[great in winter].you can't go wrong with this amp.

Yes, I am a died in the wool CJ lover (Hell it was a CJ combo that floored me and ramped up my interest in audio equip in the late 70's) but I am wondering about the 140.

I would think that the 8's remain the "statement" product even though discontinued and that for the money it would be awful hard to top used 12 monoblocks.

I still enjoy my 11a, and if I sell it down the road it will probably be to get cash to get either 8's or 12's.

Doesn't seem to have generated much of a "buzz" or fan base from the usual sources. I sure wouldn't mind throwing one in my system and checking it out.

I too am curious but I suspect it is just what robert8409 mentions. There is alot of heat generated with large tube power amps on top of the maintenence issues with the power tubes.

I had the 140 in my system for an extended audition period. I found the amp quite musicial but decided to keep looking. They are big and generate quite a bit of heat.

Just slightly related;I have a set of the 8XS mono blocks. I read some hype about this 140 being CJs best ever ? I wonder ?

Why don't you e-mail some of the sellers after they have sold their stuff. I've done this as research if I have a similar concern. Folks are a little more forthcoming after they have money in their hands and the gear is gone. For the most part though, people just like to try different things. Nothing wrong with the items but boredom.

Cheers,
John