Very high parts quality and excellent sound. Will last a lifetime. Based on the C-J Premier 15 phonostage.

You have to remove the top to set the dip switches to your type of cartridge.

The best phono amp I have ever owned. It outperforms any internal phono amp I have ever heard. A slight C-J golden glow to the sound, but only very slight. The unit has exceptional detail and soundstaging. There is a review on SoundStage that describes the unit very well. Partners very well with the PV-14L or any C-J linestage preamp. It's staying in my system forever. Stereophile gave it a Class A rating, and that's amazing at it's relatively low price.

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This blows away everything else I ever used.

Excellent low-level resolution, holographic soundstaging, wide frequency response, incredible resolving power, natural sense of dynamics, grainless musical texture. Rather quiet for a tube preamp.

The sound is so enchanting that you might lose some sleep as I did for the first couple of weeks. I counted 36 film caps on the circuit board, so don't count on getting something of this quality for a substantially reduced price.

I posted a review for this product earlier, before this C-J category existed. I put it in the Premier 14 preamp listing, as it is the perfect partner for that preamp, as well as the PV-14L remote controlled preamp that I own. I will not repeat all that I said there, so go there and to www.soundstage.com to read a review by Tom Lyle. His review is accurate in my opinion, as we both paired it with a PV-14L. If you are considering pairing this phono stage with a new preamp, then strongly consider the PV-14L that I also reviewed here and Tom reviewed for SoundStage!. Sonically and esthetically, it seems to be a match made in heaven. I hear nuances in my music that I have never heard before. In typical C-J fashion, small details are revealed without the sound being bright or fatiguing. I use a VPI HW-19/Grado 8MR/Audioquest PT-6 turntable setup. The VPI is set on Mod Squad Tiptoes and then placed on a stable platform which eliminates the motor shake transmitted to the chassis and allows much more low-level detail to come through due to the major reduction in 60 Hz rumble. Do NOT set a HW-19 chassis on anything compliant as the powerful motor really puts some shake into it. While VPI's supplied rubber feet protected my rack finish, they were sonically worthless trash (see my VPI HW-19 jr. review). I also used an interconnect that has the shield connected only at the preamp end, as recommended by Conrad-Johnson. I have used that configuration for many years, and it works. I use a Conrad-Johnson MF-2250 for power amplification and Vandersteen 2Ci loudspeakers connected with Audioquest Type 4 cable. Phono cable is Audioquest and line interconnects are built by me using Mogami Neglex components (widely used in recording studios) and silver solder. All connections are treated with Caig Laboratories Pro Gold. The EV-1 excells in low-level resolution, soundstaging, resolving power, harmonic richness, natural dynamics, frequency response, and grainless musical texture. Because a fatigue factor is basically nonexistent, provided your other equipment is of similar quality, the sound is thoroughly enchanting and I find myself lost in the music and rather lacking for sleep for the last couple of weeks. I have rediscovered many of my LP's, and that is precisely what I was looking for when I purchased this unit. The EV-1 is everything that I had hoped for.

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B&K Pro-10MC for many years, which was rated Stereophile Class "C" in the early 90's but is a substantial notch or two below the PV-14L/EV-1 combo.