Conrad johnson amp with Musical Fidelity pre

both components are quite good and 'musical'. the cd player and/or the speakers? could be where the dissatisfaction really is.

I currently use a Musical Fidelity CD PRE 24 (3.2 preamp/cd player/DAC in one package) and pair it with a Prima Luna Prologue 5 tube power amp ... very musical and elegant sounding. I had a MF A3 integrated amp prior to this set-up ... very musical, as well. My experience with MF has been a pretty good one. (But after reading some of these threads, I am beginning to wonder if I know what musical sounding is anymore)

For argument's sake, even if the MF A3.2 preamp were not as musical as you would like, I would think that your Ah Tjoeb tube cd player would warm up the sound somewhat.

So, two questions ... before your buddy offered his take on your system ... just what was your dissatisfaction with your system's sound? Secondly, what speakers are you using, as that's half of the equation?

Regards, Rich

I think the C-J amp needs a pre with better soundstaging and fuller sound. The MF stuff I heard sounds very lean. Have you tried the C-J PV-14L pre?

Have no experience with the MF pre. I have a sister of your amp -- an MF2500 and am also using a CD player. The CD is my only source. It is a Wadia 850. Running it connected directly to the MF2500. A very musical, mellow, and detailed combination. Very close to a vinyl, IMO. I experimented with the 850 connected via a CJ PV12. Almost as good, but not quite. Since my only source is CD and since the Wadia has a volume control, I really did not need a pre. If it aint there, it can not effect the sound.

Thank you all for the input.

The dissatisfaction comes from ear strain shortly after sitting down to listen. The sound is thinner than I'd like.

Speakers before: Boston Acoustic. Speakers today: Harbeth SHL-5

I deliberately kept the speakers out of the mix to keep the focus on the amp/preamp. I knew that it was not giving you the whole equation but sometimes that helps me solve the problem anyway and keeps me from looking at the less obvious solutions/suggestions.

Without the speakers in the mix, you've taught me two things: 1. Maybe a preamp is not necessary if you have volume control on your source. I can't wait to take the pre-amp out of the mix to see if there is a change, and
2. MF - I read as much as I could and every thing seemed to draw me back to this company. Maybe I misinterpreted information on the MF.

Other ?:
Other than as switching device, general volume control and if present, a phono stage, what is the purpose of the pre-amp? Is the ideal pre-amp one that adds no color at all?