problems with CJ's Premier 140 ? anyone

There is one used Premier 140 in the local market. It was my original plan to buy it but after reading so many bad news I am worrying whether to go ahead. Does it really have problem? If not, why did CJ stop production within a relatively short period of time? Any new views about its reliability?

Blown fuses? Yes. With tube sets that were perhaps not the best in terms of stability. Also a tendency to make certain tubes red plate and then fry if you don't shut the unit down fast enough, Seems to be totally related to the tubes, not the amp, however. Any other issues like blown resistors? Nope. I love the way this amp just puts the music in front of you and have no intention of getting rid of it. Every change I make to the system comes through clearly with this amp.

I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Joe

I bought mine used a year and a half ago, and haven't had any trouble or operational issues.

owned one for about 1 yr.not one problem.

I have my CJ Premier 140 since May of 2005, purchased new and have no iuuses at all. Not even a blow fuse.

I have had my premier 8´s for three years with no problems, just a full retubing a year ago for 6550 svets!!!

I agree with FJN04 description of the Premier 8 sound, I mitigate that a lot with a fast Q speaker (Avalon) and ultra-fast cables (SIltech), there is bass articulation an tone in spades!

Fernando

Both posters in the referenced threads are overseas from US one in Ireland, one in Philippines , so likely 240v which means some different parts from NA - don't know if that makes a difference. Lew Johnson responding to the one fellow seems significant. CJ does sell alot of amps - anyone who does will have some problem cases. Of course asking around as you're doing cannot hurt.

I see eight 140 owners in AA Inmate Systems. Perhaps you could e-mail some of them for their experience? People whose gear works fine tend not to post msgs. to that effect, so you may not find threads that will prove a negative, ie. not unreliable. Is the used 140 still under warranty? Maybe the seller can share the serial # and you can check with CJ if it was every under repair. Cheers!

As I see it the quality of the tubes and to what extent they were tested--i.e. don't buy private seller tubes and rely on home tube testers results.

hi Jtimothya,

tks for the reply.

Here is the link to the AA about the CJ140.

http://db.audioasylum.com/cgi/t.mpl?f=amp&m=87422

http://db.audioasylum.com/cgi/t.mpl?f=amp&m=45637

I love its sound, no doubt! its great with Proacs, Sonus Fabers and even dynaudios. Am bent on buying one if I can resolve the reliability issues.

Anyone here with CJ140s who can share ??

thanks for inputs.

hi FJN,

compatability issue is not a problem with the rest of my system.

my concern is more of the reliability.

I've heard this amplifier a few times at dealer showroom using the speakers i have and its fine.

I'm thinking of the LP70s but its only 70 watts and a bit shy for my speakers. The CJ140 is really my choice but i just need to know on its reliability, etc.

Absolutely zero problems. I've been using a Premier 140 since November of 2003. Every day it proves reliable and sounds great. The 140 is more neutral, faster, and refined than the Premier 12s that it succeeded, yet it remains unmistakenly a CJ. In contrast, it is not as slow, warm, or blurry as the Premier 8 or 12 - those still being great amps. The 140 represents a wonderful combination of control, finesse, and mid-to-lower bottom-end authority.

For the past decade CJ had a 70 watt amp and a 120-140 watt amp or monos in their Premier lineup. There was no comparable smaller amp to the 140. I think they wanted to get back in sync and went ahead with the LP70S and LP140M gear. Same push-pull architecture they've been using for a long while, but as Fjn04 notes, with Teflon caps - those do add to the price. And I also agree with him that your choice should consider your systems preamp and speakers. That said, a used 140 should hold its value quite well.

And fwiw, it may be discontinued, but today it is still listed among current models on the CJ web site. Can you please post a link to the "numerous post" you mention?

Good luck with your amplifier search.

It has been discontinued but in certain respects, not replaced. The new reference premier tube offering is the
LPM 70/LPM140 . I cannot speak of their sound, but the latestpremier offerings are supposed to be more neutral than the premier 8a I previously owned. I would say this is probably a good change IMO because the 8 was too warm (in my system)with a big full bass but seemed to lack in bass detail and articulation.The reason I say not quite replaced is that it was around 7k,but to now get similar power you spend around double( LPM 140 momos). The stereo version (LPM 70) has I believe half
the power of the similarly priced Premier 140. This, I
understand has alot to do with the teflon capacitors used
in the newer models. I hate to say it , but I think your choice should be made based upon your partnering equipment,
and speaker.