Will a Conrad Johnson fan like Modwright LS 36.5

CJ preamps with the Teflon caps in them very very good. I'm not a huge fan in there preamps that don't have the Teflon caps. If you can move up into the CT5 then I will say there's no contest but even with the two you mentioned I would still go with CJ.

FWIW, I had a 9.0SE in my system for a couple of months. I agree w Tvad that it is solid state-like in terms of neutrality and detail, with no tubbiness or looseness in the bass, but I would not consider it agressive or forward at all. Good dynamics. At the time the rest of my system was APL 3910 and Merlin VSM-MMs w superbam and lead-free jumpers/powercord, and the Modwright was a replacement for my VAC Ren which was being repaired. In that context I thought it was a value leader; didn't do anything much wrong and did not color the sound. I have not heard any of the current CJ pre-amps, but if they are polite or laidback or "bloomy" then the Modwright will be different. If the 36.5 is as good as I've heard, a used one would be hard to fault, I would think, esp. if you can't find the CJ you want. I will warn you that sometimes a neutral, revealing component can reveal significant shortcomings in the rest of your system. Not saying that there are any, but IF the polite or laidback character of your pre-amp is compensating for or hiding anything, you may find out what it is. Not that there's anything wrong w that" ;~)

Decisions decisions. I've been lusting for the CJ 16ls for some time. Even though it doesn't have the teflon caps, I've heard nothing but good stuff about it. I'm just now getting the budget for it so maybe one will come along. I'd love to hear the CT-5 but I'm in fly over territory and have no dealers close by.
The PFR has been a stellar performer and was a class A recommended component. I just want to try something new. Funny thing is that my system sounds very good now with few known shortcomings. Its been a work in progress which has been a fun journey. So now I'm going to go and mess with it. Are we audiophools just plain nuts or what?
Anyway, thanks for the input so far

Wait for a cj prem 16 to come up. It is a wonderful pre amp and competitive with anything. I much prefer the sound to the CT5 which is a little hifi sounding in comparison.

BTW, if you want a cj ART1, let me know as I might be selling mine soon as I have recently upgraded to the ART3.

cheers

Downunder, I'd love to have the ART but I think it is probably out of my budget.......................well, unless you are feeling generous and could make me a good deal. I'd promise to give it a good home. (-:

BTW did you mean to say that you liked the CT5 better than the 16?

Hi Artemus

No, I did not mean the other way round.

the prem 16 is definately IMO the better pre amp at musical enjoyment than the CT5.

you will notice that cj have dumped the 6H30 tube and gone back to 6922 for their new GAT pre amp. Alah ART/prem 16 except with a mofset output stage.
IMO the CT5 will also be de-released soon, when they use up all their inventory. They will then go back to a 6922 based pre amp- no doubt trickling down from their GAT.

cheers

Odd because I thought the CT 5 was much better then the my LS16. I do know that the CT 5 takes forever to break in because of the Teflon caps but in no way did I think the LS16 was even close.

You can call ED at CJ and he will tell what he thinks. He is a pretty honest guy and lord knows he knows them all well.

Amazing how two people can have completely different results. You may need to try on your own and see what you think.

I sold my Modwright LS 36.5 because it didn't have enough gain or low-end power for my tastes. I will say Dan Wright was really great to deal with, as he modded the power supply to give me a stronger low-end, but not enough after hearing the CT-5. I was also disappointed inthe bass and dynamics. It was very musical and set up a decent sound stage. I replaced it with the CJ CT-5. This preamp is probably the best I've heard in my 305 years in this hobby. Plenty of gain, dynamics, resolution, frequency extension and power. It still has a bit of that CJ midrange magic, but nothing like my old CJ PV2A, which was a bit colored.

Artemus 5,

This will probably be my last preamp. I'm using it with a Spectron Premiere power amp, modded VPI HW19mkIV w/JMW 10 tonarm/Dyna Karat 17C3, newly acquired Whest PS.30r, modded McIntosh MVP-871 and PBN Montana EPS 2 speakers.
I've finally acheived a system synergy I never thought possible.

Sorry for the rant, but I would go for the CT-5 if you can swing it.

Well, ain't this a hoot? I was searching for info on Teflon cap break in and ran across this 10 yr old thread that I started. More interesting is that I just installed a CJ CT5 in my system. I found that it opened up as I played the 1st CD. I suspect that is the tubes warming up. But I wonder if the caps have a certain break in period after sitting idle with no power? Antone know?