2. amps-preamps
  3. 119241-73122

Conrad Johnson CAV 50

Just acquired this beauty from my father in law. I've never owned a tube amp, so not sure if I should sell it, or keep it and pay him. Anyway, a question for you tube heads. One of the EL34 tubes in slot V7 ( a tube which can have it's bias adjusted, which I assume means the power transmitted) has it's red light constantly on. I turned the bias all the way down and it still flickers. However, I noticed that my left speaker sounded blown/distorted. When I turned the bias up, the distortion decreased. The instructions say to turn the bias down/counter clockwise, until the red light goes out. But, if I do this, it sounds bad. So, my question is this. Is it simply a tube I need to replace to fix that problem, and if I change one tube, should I change them all. Next question is I searched for the EL34 tubes and of course there are a large variety of them. Any thoughts. To me the amp sounds little bright with the Celstion SL6's I am using, so any warmer tubes would be nice. Also, if I were to sell this setup, any idea on what I might ask on pricing? Thanks.
Roly
rolyasm
rolyasm OP
14 posts
 
Still waiting on a call from CJ. I went to a local shop ( UTAH) and they said CJ is a company that doesn't give out schematics so they can't work on it and I have to send it in. :(  The local owner recommended the Mullard EL34, and I have recommendations for the Genalex Gold Lion KT-77 and the JJ E34L. Is it really going to sound different with these different tubes, and if so, should I just roll the dice, or do any of you vets have experience with all three of these recommendations and can offer me some advice. Lastly, I think these tubes are all original and probably have never been replaced, although the amp has only been used less than 100 hours during that time. Do tubes degrade, and if so, should I just do a mass exchange of all the tubes? 
JAZZONTHEHUDSON: What do you mean by "rolling the line stage tubes"?
I did try the SL6's in a solid state setup, and they sounded fine. Not as good to me as the mid-to-hi-grade RBH I was comparing them to. But with a solid state and my record player, it was nice. Might keep them just for retro sake. 
solman989
42 posts
 
I've tried all 3 of those tubes and prefer the JJ E34L.  I find that it is the most balanced top to bottom - organic mids, not too bright, not too slow, and no lack of bass in my setup.  Plus they are cheap to replace.  There are proponents for each of those tubes, and ultimately you should hear them all to make up your own mind on what best matches your overall system. 

If the total time is 100 hours on the tubes, that is relatively low and I would just keep them.  I actually think tubes sound better once they have around that much time on them vs brand new.  However, replacement may be a good idea if you do not know the history of the tubes.

The line stage tubes Jazz is referring to are the smaller 12AX7 tubes.  If you feel the need to splurge on tubes, make it these ones and/or the phase inverter 6SN7 tubes.  These are small signal tubes and as such will have a greater effect on the overall sound, more so than the output tubes IMO.


jond's avatar
jond
3,400 posts
 
Roly the CAV-50 is an integrated so it's an amp and preamp combined in one chassis though it doesn't have an active preamp stage so it's really a passive preamp. So what I'm sure Jazz is referring to are the small signal tubes you have 1 12au7 and 2 12ax7's both types are very easy to find and plentiful. You also have 2 6SN7's that are probably input tubes of some sort for the amp stage. Rolling any of the tubes can potentially change the sound just like changing the power tubes will, so have fun and welcome to the world of tubes!
jazzonthehudson's avatar
jazzonthehudson
277 posts
 
I have had most CJ tube gear, including the PV10 and MV50 and I am pretty sure the CAV50 is based on the PV10/MV55 circuitry (I talked to the tech dept before buying the CAV50 as I liked the MV50 and had it for nearly a decade). In fact, the power stage of the CAV50 (12AX7 line stage for the gain, 6SN7 dual-triode driver and EL34 in push/pull for the power) is IMO (almost) identical to the MV50. 

The line stage of the PV10 (w/o phono stage) was based on a single 12AU7 (one half for each channel) which can be easily upgraded to a nice ECC82, IOW, that tube has a lot of influence on the overall sound. I recommend the Siemens E88CC Germany if you like great vocals, other reasonably priced are Philips E88CC Holland, Philips/Mullard E88CC UK and Amperex 6922 USA (orange label). Then you could upgrade the  12AX7 / ECC83 / 7025. 

As for output tubes,  JJ E34L has indeed great value/money. 

At the end of the day, the circuitry is based on the PV10 which is a good but not very resolving model like the PV12 at that time so one should not go crazy with tube rolling.

Jond, you are probably confusing it with the CA200, aka little brother of the venerable Premier 350,  solid state control amp that has indeed a passive preamp. 




jond's avatar
jond
3,400 posts
 
Jazz no confusion I read this on c-j's website regarding the CAV50:

"Because each element of an audio circuit introduces its own sonic colorations, a simple circuit should be expected to yield superior musical performance. At conrad-johnson, we have maintained a commitment to designing simple, straight forward circuits for audio components. The CAV50 elevates this design philosophy from the circuit level to the system level by eliminating the preamplifier altogether and incorporating the control functions on the amplifier chassis, hence the term "control amplifier". This approach completely eliminates the inherent colorations of the active circuitry embodied in a preamplifier stage, and of the cabling between preamp and amp. The result is a significant improvement in system performance and convenience, combined with a reduction in cost."
More to discover