Tubed preamps and Power amps- How old is too old???

I have been an active audiophile for about fifty years. Typically I upgrade my system about every seven to ten years with new equipment. I found for me every ten years represents a very significant improvement in performance, worthy of upgrading. I have stayed with some brands and experienced different brands.

This is me. But my reaction after ten years has always been, “wow, I didn’t think that big a difference was possible.”

‘Also, around fifteen years performance starts to be impacted by age… by twenty most things are not sounding that good compared to when new. It happens so slowly it is not obvious, and is easy to conflate with new equipment’s better performance.

With tube (non-transistor) Pre & Amp components, change to modern designs is not always better imo. Maintenance for checking and ensuring tubes, caps, bias - is required, periodically. My current mono tube amps model a basic design from 50 years ago. Comparing sound between Old vs New designs can be telling too. 

I also have a Premier 17 ls in my system.  It has performed flawlessly for over 20 years.  I've re-tubed it 3-4 times.  I have absolutely no intentions of replacing it.  I also run a C-J amp, all tube.  Wonderful equipment!

If you still like the sound of your CJ Premier, Look for a good repair shop and have them give it a “tuneup”.  They will clean what needs to be cleaned, replace the capacitors in the power supply and anywhere else they think should be replaced and treat yourself to a new set of tubes.  Then you can enjoy the CJ for another 20 years.😁
 

All the best.

I had an all Conrad Johnson system including Premier 15, 16 and 12’s for many years of trouble free service. After 20 yrs. the caps may begin to dry out but chances are nothing to worry about quite yet. As long as you like the CJ sound I’d look to replace the Quicksilver amps with newer CJ amps. Quite a few you could choose from depending upon whether you like the older CJ sound or want to “modernize” a bit with the newer more neutral CJ sound. One of the LP models of their amps would match up nicely with the Pr17. You could also consider upgrading your preamp with CJ’s Teflon caps, unless you have the Series II which already has them. They’re expensive but take that preamp up several notches. Also try the Conrad Johnson Owners Group website to maybe get some other recommendations for specific CJ amps that fit your budget. I was just on the site and see where Lew Johnson just posted he will be reviewing what in his opinion were the 10 most significant products during his tenure. Maybe get some ideas from one of the founders.  Good luck.