It sounds like you've almost decided so I hope that this doesn't muddy the water for you. As Lissnr stated, as you move forward in time the c-j amps in my limited experience change somewhat in character. I own both the Premier 11A and the Premier 140 (although it's currently out of commission). Both are excellent amps IMHO and share the c-j house sound (for their 6550 based amps) but there are significant differences. I find the 140 to be more neutral, extended at the frequency extremes and it throws a larger, more well-defined sound stage. The 11A is no slouch, however, in any of these areas and it's only in comparison to the 140 that it pales a little bit. On the plus side, the 11A can be had for about half the 140's price, is cheaper to re-tube at least when it comes to output tubes and is the slightly sweeter of the two. This last point is most likely due to the 6922 and 6H30 tubes in the 140 versus the 5751 and 6CG7 in the 11A.
Push came to shove, I'd go for the 140 but that's only my opinion. The only common pieces we have are the 16 LS preamp (actually, I have the 16 LS2) so we may be talking a totally different frame of reference but I think generally speaking, you'd hear the differences I'm describing.
Push came to shove, I'd go for the 140 but that's only my opinion. The only common pieces we have are the 16 LS preamp (actually, I have the 16 LS2) so we may be talking a totally different frame of reference but I think generally speaking, you'd hear the differences I'm describing.