Smooth, Affordable, Flawless ; ALmost perfect ;

Bass, no remote control;

[In my opinion] This is one of the best pre-amps in the market. The price is affordable. Sounds reaaaaly awesome. Better than I expected.
Tried the pre-amp about 4x more expensive than this CJ, but I was not sure if it sounded better than this CJ.

Clear, detailed and above all, musical sound. Takes (some) of the edge off of digital and s.s. products. Understated yet attractive cosmetics. Undoubtedly one of the perennial all-time best-buys on the market!

A fair amount of tube rush. Volume tracking is inaccurate at low settings. Phase inverting. Relatively short tube life (1-2 years) compared to more recent designs.

Try this preamp and never return to solid-state; it begs to be paired with a comparable tubed power amp (such as C-J's own MV-55 at $1995). Such a combination will do much to alleviate the digital nasties that those of us who don't have the time and/or the budget for vinyl, are forced to live with. Speakers??? Meadowlark HR Shearwaters are on my short-list for the above combination.

sound-look-simplicity-

run hot

This is my first time in the "tube" equipment;very nice preamp but comes with Sovtech.....buy some mullard with nice improvement in sound but not sufficient details vs. a solid state preamp.Read these reviews and follow the recommandation about the amperex...WOW that was it!!Now this preamp is realy a top unit (it has been upgrade at the factory before I bought it with new caps,etc..).Anyone who want to upgrade should try first the Amperex "bug. boy".

For all my "solid state" friend who would like to try tubes go for it;I think that tubes for power amp. is very expensive and good for only specific music/system.For the preamp it is different,you should try it and see.

The tube need good ventilation,I removed the cover for the preamp to give it more air;the faceplate runs hot....so if you want to preserve the tube's life give it air.

My system:
CJ PV10a-preamp
Odissey HT-2 power amp
Madrigal cd transport
Parasound 1500 DAC
Audio Alchemy jitter filter
Martin Logan aerius i
MIT 350+ interconnect
Monster cable optical
MIT 750 speakers cables

Similar Products Used:

yamaha-luxman-aragon

very warm and musical.vocals and mid range are excellent.definition is superb.the bass is less defined,but that is hard to really assess,because my interconnects aren't broken in yet.

no headphone jack.don't know if this is a weakness,but it runs warm

very happy with the unit/huge improvement over the carver.it is said that the unit eats up the tubes at a fast rate,i'll just have to see.it runs rather warm,so good ventilation is a must.

Similar Products Used:

carver c 1 [ss]pre amp

Imaging, detail, low noise.

None.

I've had this preamp for years. Nothing seems to approach it. Deep, clean bass, liquid midrange, crystal highs. Never shrill, always musical. I use this amp with a McIntosh 240 power amp for a combination I find hard to beat. Plenty of inputs/outputs, including two main amp outputs (in case you have a subwoofer, as I do).

I've heard more expensive units, but very little that sounds better.

Similar Products Used:

Carver preamp.

highs, soundstage, simplicity

no remote, touch of hiss

I have been using my Conrad Johnson PV10A, on and off, for the last five, six, seven years. It's not perfect but it is always musical.

I just re-tubed the line stage section with with Amperex Bugle Boy (made in Holland) tubes and the magic is back. The factory tubes (made in East Germany) were past their life expectancy and the sound was slowing becoming more closed in. Less sparkle and less at the frequency extremes. While many report good sound with the Bugle Boy tubes, some also state that they don't last long in the PV10A. We'll see.

While I admit I have not done extensive comparison, in my systems with other comparably priced peramps, I have compared the cj's sound to the pre-amp sections of several "higher-end" receivers. I am always amazed how much better the cj sounds. Highs, in particular, float in the air and have life instead of too much urgency. The PV's sound stage is probably my favorite aspect of the unit. If the sound stage on the recording is big the cj will recreate it. Not a whole lot wider than solid stage but much much deeper.

For me, the cj has just the right controls - simple and straight-forward. I do wish it had a mono button and a pass-thru for Home Theater but for the price it's got the basics.

Oddly, even thought I purchased the PV10A with a phono section I have never used it. Never have resolved the tone arm question on my VPI turntable. One day soon hopefully - and then I will need to replace the three tubes in the phono section.

Relatively soon I plan on upgrading my entire system and will probably replace the cj [or just use the phone section] ... not for sound reasons but because it does not include a remote. I only have two other criticisms of the pre-amp. The background is not completely black/quiet, there is just the faintest hint of hiss. And the switchgear does not seem quite up to snuff. It all works ok but it doesn't feel solid or substantial when used.

For the same money, even today, I am not sure there is a better buy than this pre-amp if you can live w/o remote control.

There is no question that the sound quality of this preampis excellent, especially so when considering the price.
Vocals and acoustic instruments are clear and mellow,
electronic sounds are hard and accurate.

My only complaints are the styling (a little antiquated
for my liking!) and the build quality is not quite as solid
as some of the (more expensive) preamps on the market.

As a previous owner of a C-J preamp,I think I can say that they have a musicality to them,which gets right down to the music,and as one who did modifications to mine,I see C-J is doing the same things in the new ones. The only problem is tube noise.Overall VERY GOOD!

The PV10AL (I have the line-stage version) is a simple but elegant looking pre-amp. Although this is an entry-level component who those just getting into tubes, this is one pre-amp you may hang onto for a very long time while the rest of your system goes through upgrades. Although it is no longer the pre-amp in my main system, I still have it in my bedroom system and it sounds as sweet and rich as when I first bought it.
When people look at my system, they are so mesmirized by other pre-amps like my McIntosh C22 or the Audio Research LS8. They are often-times surprised when I say that the c-j is my choice above those other two for most types of music.

I find the simplicity of the controls (no balance, tone controls) to be a plus. The champagne finish makes it look a lot better than, say, a NAD component. The only negative I can think of is that the front-to-back soundstaging can be a bit congested in comparison to more transparent tube pre-amps, like ARC's. Nevertheless, at the price ($995), you can't expect absolute perfection.

All hail c-j. All hail the PV10AL!

Recently picked up a used CJPV10AL for a little over $600 and am very pleased with the performance. Compared to what I had previously, highs are a lot smoother (silkier) and midrange is significantly fuller. I finally found a preamp that I'm satisfied with and will maintain for a very long time.