Which is REALLY the best Conrad Johnson Preamp

Great thread indeed.

I keep going back and forth between my ET5 and Premier 16LS2.  The Premier is indeed a guilty pleasure.  Such gorgeous presentation but definitely some euphoric expansion and injected lushness going on.  ET5 is closer to neutral.  Both lovely lovely lovely.  

Hi everyone, I will be getting soon my very first preamp ever since I ventured in this hobby. The preamp is a pre-owned Premier 17 LS2 which I will be purchasing for about 1,650 USD. It will be paired with a Bryston 4B SST2 which will drive a Dynaudio Contour 20. I decided to choose this over a bnew Prima Luna Prologue Premium (2,250 USD) due to cost difference and I personally prefer buying used over bnew. Moreover, the seller allowed me to pay in installment. So my question to you is did I make the right decision choosing CJ over PL? What should I be expecting in terms of sound and tonal quality with this pairing? Has anybody here tried this set-up? Thank you for sharing!!

I love my Evolution 20. A pretty rare piece.

Can’t believe no one mentioned the Premier Ten.

The Ten is the one to get IMHO. Its similar circuit as the Premier 14 but with a hand made ladder network stepped attenuator (Only one CJ ever made). I also believe there is one less resistor in the circuit in the Ten over the 14. I also prefer the good old fashion Vol Knob rather then the newer button relay setups. Blech... The Premier Ten is the best, then the Premier 3, PV-12 w/phono, and finally the PV-10b w/phono. Don’t bother with anything else.

nice we revived this old thread... 👌

but will the next reply come in 2026?  🤣