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In Reply to: RE: Ordered the Conrad Johnson Classic 2SE today posted by airtime on February 15, 2015 at 14:46:00
I've had a Classic 2SE for about a year and a half. It is a great sounding preamp...I really wanted to pair it with the Classic 60 but ended up buying a like new pair of Quicksilver Mid Monos. With a daughter in college that would have been somewhat irresponsible to spend $3k on an amp. In fact I had a fine amp, a McCormack DNA 125 which sounded really good with the Classic 2. A couple of months ago I picked up the Quicksilvers, after selling my amp I was only $250 out of pocket which made them an even better value. They are an awesome combo, my system has never sounded better. The reason I bought the c-j is that it is well built, low parts count, and it has premium parts. I hope you enjoy it.
Follow Ups:
What I'd like to know is how your Quicksilver Mid Monos sound compared to the DNA-125?? I've never owned McCormack or Quicksilver, but have considered trying them. Maybe someday.
Thanks!
Abe, The McCormack is a great amp....so good that it survived several upgrades and was in my system for 6 years. I had two tube amps before that, a VTL 50/50 and an Anthem Amp 1. Both good amps in terms of sound quality... the VTL used 5881/6L6 tubes and the Amp 1 used EL34. Though different they were both more musical than any amp I had in the past.
The VTL was very unreliable, sure it was a few years old but it failed three times. It went back to VTL twice within a year and the third time they wanted a ridiculous amount of money to replace the transformers...it just wasn't worth it and I sold her for parts.
That almost turned me off tubes... I was using a B&K 2140 in the mean time and got a killer deal on a leftover Amp 1. Great little amp, it's only problem was that it almost always took out the cathode resistor anytime a tube failed or drew excess current. Easy fix, I replaced a few.
I had changed speakers and was looking for a little more power so I bought a McCormack RLD 1 and DNA 125 combo. It was a good pairing but the pair never really blew me away. After a few years with the RLD 1 I decided to try the c-j Classic 2SE and my system opened right up and had incredible dynamics that I had been missing. It's not that the RLD 1 was bad, it just didn't gel in my system. It was obvious that the DNA 125 was not the bottleneck in my system, it sounded great.
My current speakers, Revel M106 are fairly easy to drive so on impulse I bought the Quicksilvers from a guy a few miles away. Turned out that the Mid Monos had plenty of power for needs. When I bought them they had Tung-Sol 6L6g big bottles in them and sounded really good. After a few months one the the output tubes failed and I picked up a quad of EL34s. The amps are voiced using EL34 and in my system that tube seems to really sound excellent. The great thing about the Mid Monos is that they can take 6l6, 5881, EL34, KT66, KT77,KT88, KT90 and others.
You would never know you are listening to a 40 watt amp, those little guys make my speakers sound huge. Great detail, dynamic, zero fatigue...I can listen to them all night. Female vocals, piano, brass, cymbals all sound incredibly lifelike. I run the mains full range and they have really good bass for a small speaker. I think sound quality has more to do with synergy and careful matching than just throwing a bunch of expensive components together.
I am into these amps for $250 after selling my McCormack, which by the way was the only way I could have afforded them with a kid in college.
I wish I could have kept the McCormack but I just sold a bunch of equipment except my old B&K amp which is fine as a back up.....
Both great amps for the money. One of the most noticeable traits of the Quicksilvers is the attack and decay of notes. Plus they are extremely quiet amps. I usually never buy something on impulse but I'm glad I did with these.
Wow, thanks for the detailed response. That's pretty high praise for both the DNA-125 and the Quicksilvers. I would hesitate to try these on my Thiel CS2.4 speakers but now that I'm in a small home office listening room with more efficient Tannoys it's a possibility.
As an aside, I haven't owned VTL either but Manley Labs has always been very responsive and helpful. I know they're not the same company but in contrast to your VTL experience I'd say Manley Labs is the polar opposite. I had some bad EL34 tubes that blew a few cathode resistors. Paul in their service department sent me a batch of replacements parts (free) and walked me through the repairs over the phone. I'm handy with a soldering iron and meter but it was nice to have Paul's guidance. Not having to ship two 70-Lb monoblocks in for repair was the real benefit!
Thanks again for your comments on the DNA-125 and Mid Monos.
Abe- I have read lately that many are using CJ electronics on Thiel speakers- the DNA-125 will be a great match for your CS 2.4 models.
Keep me posted on which amp you buy for those speakers.
Oh, I'm not really in the market for new amps right now but when I get my basement finished with a decent sized listening room again, I'll be able use the Thiel speakers again. That's a ways out as we have more pressing home projects in the queue.
I hear that Abe-
it is hard to believe that my 1st impression w/ the CS 2.4 speakers were w/ a Creek intrgrated amp and the NAD 565 cd player. Even though the little Creek was under-powered, still, I heard a richness like no other loudspeaker. That day I knew this was my reference speaker.
Another thought Steve;
we all must post both positive & negative experiences w/ these companies, as we all know, that there are over-priced junk in our marketplace.
It wasn't even a quality issue with VTL , they were built fairly well....it is the rude demeanor of Luke Manley that made me never even want to consider another VTL even if it were bargain basement priced
Absolutely! My point of view, precisely, Steve. Many Thanks for sharing your experience.
Excellent info Steve-
hopefully VTL has gotten better...
Nice combo-Steve.
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