does anyone know about c-j premier 5 monos?

The C-J Premier 5 was a superb amp in its day, and will still be very competitive sonically. It will be warmer tonally than some of today's comparable amplifiers, and it will not be a quick or detailed or extended in frequency response. But what you will get is a very powerful 200w amplifier with a beautiful midrange and authoritative, if somewhat warm, bass. Based on the EL34 tube, it offers some of the best qualities of that tube in terms of excellent rendition of timbre and delicate rendering of harmonic overtones and midrange detail. It will be a major improvement over your Bryston's in terms of musical and tonal accuracy on acoustic instruments.

Your C-J PV 10 will match up with it nicely; and you should have no problems driving your B&W 805 speakers.

The output tubes are used conservatively, so tube life is very good.

There is absolutely no reason not to consider this amp just because of age, if the price is right. As with any equipment nearing 20 years old there are some components that will benefit from replacing eventually (most likely some of the capacitors), but the parts quality used in this amp was very high and even after 20 years internal components are probably all still in good condition.

If you have the opportunity to have the amp checked by a competent service technician (such as Music Technology), it would be prudent to do so in order to know how well it's functioning vis-a-vis specs.
.

thanks rushton.

what do you think about a price?
how do i know if its been retubed?
what questions should i ask the seller?
these amps are massive 80lb.will they need a fan to cool them?
what tipe of care do i need to know?
sorry about all the questions, but im new to tube amps.

The comments above are absolutely perfect advice.I have a friend(retired and a very serious vinyl collector)that had this amp for years,listened virtually every day(comparing old vs. new pressings)and had NO problems at all.They also sounded virtually as Rushton described them.You would love them.I know I did!

There's been quite a bit of discussion on these, search the archives here @ Agon. They are nice amps, average selling price for a pair would be in the $3000 - 3500 range. They were $7500/pr new in 1989 or so. No fan needed. Generally pretty excellent amps, better than some of the current CJ lineup in many regards. Definitely recommend getting the Bill Thalmann mods/updates done.

-Ed

Phatal, let me see if I can answer some of your additional questions:

>> what do you think about a price?

Sorry. Can't help you much here. As with so many things, you need to consider this in context of the condition of the amps and the price of your alternatives. Audiogon's Blue Book service might be of some help. If pushed to offer a guess, I'd say somewhere under USD$3,500 at this point, but that's just a guess.

>> how do i know if its been retubed?

You'll have to just ask the seller. The right question is "how many hours are on the existing tubes." The output tubes should be good for 4,000-6,000 hours as a broad rule of thumb. Conrad-Johnson still sells a complete replacement tube kit of this amp. So, you could check with them about the cost of the tube kit to know your expense risk.

>> what questions should i ask the seller?

Ask if any modifications have been made, if so by whom? Ask if the seller has the original shipping crates (always a good indication of a careful owner, imo).

>> these amps are massive 80lb.will they need a fan to cool them?

No, air cooling is all they need with adequate ventilation. They will put out some heat, so they will need several inches of open space around them, with 6-8" open space above them. For example, don't put them inside a closed cabinet, don't put them in an unventilated closet, don't put them on shelves with another shelf immediately above them (see above), don't stack them on top of each other :-), etc.

>> what tipe of care do i need to know?

Tube amps need fairly little care beyond checking the bias of the tubes every 2- or 3-months (depending on how much you notice it change) and replacing the tubes from time to time. Bias indicators are built into the amp, so biasing is very simple. (Explanation: "biasing" adjusts the electrical circuit to match the tube and as the tube ages, the circuit needs a slight adjustment to re-match the changes occurring in the tube. The adjustment is made via a small set screw, and you turn the screw until the bias indicator shows you're at the right point. In the case of the Premier 5, I think this indicator is a small LED: the light comes on when the bias needs adjusting, and goes off when correctly set.) Once you can no longer set the bias correctly, you definitely need to replace the tube(s); but, the tube can subtly degrade in sound quality even though you can still set the bias. You just have to be aware of any sonic degradation. If it sounds good to you, and you can bias it, it's pretty much OK unless you're getting pretty picky. Often the change is subtle and over a long enough period of time that you don't realize it until you install new tubes and hear the contrast. This is generally not something to obsess over.

>> sorry about all the questions, but im new to tube amps.

One other thing to consider is whether you really need a 200w amplifier for your speakers, particularly if tubed. My experience is that you generally can be very comfortable with a less powerful tube amp than solid state amp. A tube amp in the 70w-120w range would probably work very well with your 805s.

Happy to try to help! Good Luck.

Phatal

One thing many overlook; the small driver tubes. They contribute more than one might think.I bought some cryoed tubes and they were expensive / but worth it.
I just sold my pair and with the Music Tech upgrades / mods they only brought 2300.---One thing to have checked is the biassing resistors. They do go out. My 8's and 5's had this same problem. Tubes lasted for me around 3 years.

Phatal, note that Avguygeorge has given you a good price target now. The Music Technology/Bill Thalman mods to C-J gear are always worthwhile, imo.
.

thanks for your help.
i just listened to the cj and thay are just like you said.
great amp.im in canada so the price would be 5000.candian
or around 4000.us.what do you think? also i will be listing to a cary v12 se
mono amp.what do you think?this amp will coast around 6500.can (5500us).oh ya i just bought a pair of martin logan questz.the person sold his whole system,the
cary were used to power the logans.need help!!!what should i do???
thanks alex

AS I have posted what I got for my 5's (WITH the Bill Thallman full triode mod/ add an iec,and all)--- That price is way to much for any stock 5--and a stock unit won't allow connecting any modern speaker cable.---In that it won't accept banana or regular spades.---It has what they call a barrier strip---just screws and will accept only bare wire; or maybe some tiny flexable spade--(If such a thing exists). I could tell you how hard it was to sell my fives: I listed them 5 or 6 times over a 15 month period.While this is a good amp; at 4k there are 'many' good amps--Ones that will be less troublesome and will be eaiser to sell when the time comes.For that much money I'd buy the Rogue Zuse for 3800 in the adds now.(Today,1/31/05)---Remember this five is an old amp--and father time takes its toll on the parts.----If you have somebody close that can work on it ,that's fine.---I'll bet within 6 mos. you will have a bias resistor go out.(When this happens there is no control over the bias light;for 'that' tube.)--- 4k,in US is just WAY to much money.-- BTW; is this amp still stock??--emial me if you have more questions.

I agree with Avguygeorge's comments, as I emailed you offline.