c-j prem 140

I would suggest nothing less than a CJ Premier 17ls tubed pre-amp. Your adcom is far below your amp and cd player and is without a doubt the weakest link in your system. I would not even consider modding it.

Get a top CJ ,or ARC Depending on your musical style the CJ will be lush like the amp but the ARC is a little more detailed . depending on your preference an audio research Ref one is a steal used at under $ 3800.00

Why not Adcom in passive mode? Shouldn't passive mode be 'without' the sonic character, therefore you would be listening only your amp? I am curious myself as i am shopping for the new pre-amp and Adcom is on my list.

Any thoughts as to how the Premier 11a stands up against the 140? Is the 140 just more powerful, or is there a significant sonic improvement?

I have heard the Conrad Johnson 16LS Series 2 preamp with the 140 amp and it was an excellent combo with exceptional detail at both frequency extremes and a full rich midrange. I have the CJ 16LS 2 myself and looking at a possible amp change to the 140 next year.

Rec

What amp and speakers are you currently using as well as front end? I am running a CJ MF2500A with CJ 16ls2 and I am cosidering upgrading to the 140. I have an SCD-1 and Thiel 3.6 speakers with audioquest anaconda interconnects and volcano speaker cables. I am concerned that I will lose bass control with the tube amp. Although, all I have to compare it to is a premier 11a; the 11a didn't have enough horsepower to drive the thiels at least in the bass region, but did do a very nice job on the mid to high end.

rec.am interested in sprks you heard the c-j 140 and 16ls through.am starting re-search into pre-amp,and wonder what ss pres might be a good match.

I listened to the CJ 140 in my system: CJ 16 LS 2 pre, Sonic Frontiers SFM 160 monoblocks, Montana EPS speakers, Audiomeca Mephisto 11.X cdp, VPI Aries, JMW arm, Ruby 2 cartridge, Manley Steelhead phono, PS Audio P600 line conditioner and Discovery Essence wire. The Montanas are 92 dB and the SFM are 160 watts per channel so I find the bass quite adequate .