CJ Premier 14 vs. 16LS..etc.

A dealer I trust said that the ART and the 16 are both top preamps, and that the 17 is a good step below them.

That was several years ago, however, and I know there is now an "ACT" preamp and other changes to the c-j line. I have no idea where the 14 fits in.

My experience with a PV-10 was that it is basically mid-fi.

Hope this helps.

The Premier 14 was the the step down below the ART before the 16 replaced it. I owned a Premier 14 which has more of the older CJ house sound than the more neutral ART, 16, 17 etc. I'm not sure the 14 has 100 steps it uses ~23 vishay's into 3 combinations to come up with all the volumn steps.. it didn't have the adjustment of my Placette Active and I sold it because of this and because of CJ's awful repair service (6months and 3 roundtrips mailings to get something taken care of plus double billing for not fixing it the first time..)

As much as I like the look and sound I will never own one of their components.

I have no experience with the ART or 16ls. I have had my freinds 17ls in my system and it was in my opinion not as good as my 14 with nos mullards, hence I did not purchase it considering it would have cost more, for close to, but not as good. That was in my system and to my tastes.

Linn Ikemi
cj premier 11A
proac 1sc (at the time)

Thanks for the thoughts so far. I used to own the ART as part of a very good system...Maggie 20..etc., but then came the divorce...and many things were sold off.

I am rebuilding a decent used system and the 14, 17 and 16 are all in my price range used...hence the interest in opinions on these models.

I own the 16LS2 and I`m still Very Happy with it.

I used to have the 17LS and replaced it with the 16LS Series 2. While the 17LS was good, the 16LS Series 2 was a giant step forward. I have my 16 running with a pair of premier 12's and the combination is great.

One comment on CYTOCYCLE's experience with c-j service - this must be an isolated incidence. I have been a c-j customer since the beginning (having bought the original c-j preamp and MV-75 amp) and have had nothing but EXCELLENT SERVICE AND RESPONSE from them. I have used their service department several times for equipment upgrades and one or two product problems, but in all cases, the issues were dealt with in a professional and timely manner. AND at reasonable cost! In one case I sent my amplifier back to them for a precieved (on my part) problem when the only thing wrong with the amp was a blown fuse. The service technican called me AT HOME to discuss the issue. Now, that's service. And I was only charged for return shipping. I can't recommend them highly enough. C-J is a great company and they treat their customers right!!!

As per CJ, their Premier 17LS2 is better than their CJ
Prempier 16. At this level of the game, I am not sure
you get giant steps forward. For reference, please refer
to Martin Colloms original review of the Premier 17, in
which he reported that in many instances his ART was
indistinguishable from the Premier 17.

As per CJ, the Premier 17LS2 contains teflon capcacitors,
that the original ART, or Premier 16 did not have, and
CJ attributes a marked improvement from the use of these
capacitors.

Thanks

Pinkus...how about the 16LS-2 and the ART-2...did they go to the Teflon caps?

I would like to second Cjlundgren's comments about cj service. I have found cj in the states to be very helpful and wonderful to deal with. Saying that, I am from Canada and my experience with Korbon Trading (Canadian Distrbutor) is far from favorable and would suggest that if you are from Canada, do yourself a favor and ship your cj products back to the factory for any service or repairs.

Nope...only the ACT2 has teflon caps.

I've had nothing but excellent service from CJ - very prompt. Premier 14 owners - they are now replacing worn out 6GK5's with the standard GE and a GE make in England which to my eyes looks and sounds just like Mullards.