Hi Richard,
Nice choices! I think Microstrip and Turntable would be well suited to
answer. As someone who has owned 3 CJ preamps going back nearly 15
years consecutively incl my current CJ GAT, my instincts are that both are
excellent preamps for the money and both share the purity of tonality for
which CJ is known...both avoid a period in CJs history when they really
pushed the lower noise floor, clarity detail thing (the ACT 2...which I owned,
and Premier 350 generation of CJ equipment)...but which also brought a
change in voice/character which not everyone loved...some said linear but
others said sterile.
Fortunately, today there are many observations from owners and reviewers
that the latest CJ like the ET5 combine the voicing that has made CJ
famous and beloved from days gone by...but now with the clarity, detail,
dynamics, lower noise floor that came from that ACT2 generation of
components. In other words, the best of both worlds now! Hope that is
somewhat helpful.
