thinking of switching from conrad johnson......


trying to decide between pass x250.8 or plinius sb 30, was looking at the cj premier 350 or the McCormack dna 500, but these amps are getting a little long in the tooth.  any suggestion and your experience with these two amps would help.  and what pre amp would work best with them.  since not many preamp companies are left.  and any feedback from whilecamaross is very much welcomed......thanks in advance.
kennesawjet
CJ’s solid state products are very underrated. I would get the 350. I have the matching preamp (Premiere 18). It still sounds great.


The Premier 350 is a little old at this point. If you want something more modern, that sounds better and has similar DNA, consider the PS Audio BHK 300 monos or even the BHK 250 stereo. I’ve owned the Premier 350 and felt the gain was too high for that amp. Bascom King had his hand in the development of all these products and you can hear the similarities but perfected in the PS Audio BHK amps. They are truly under-rated and are hybrids with tube inputs. They are wonderful amps.
sfall, is the sound rolled off as I have heard...
ebm, I was thinking about the et3, just had my pv 12 upgraded
joeinid, that is what I was thinking, that the tech is a little out dated now, will look into the ps audio and bhk stuff.

assoc equip speakers alon 4s and 2s
my rotel 965 has had it and now have a nad 565 and
Marantz 5005,
power amps c/j mf 2500a and 2300a which I just had
upgraded, (sounds like a new amp now)
preamps are c/j pv 10 and pv 12 (which I just had upgraded as well)
cables are tara labs vectors on my wifes system and
acoustic zen wow (from dr. zen) on my system.
" preamps are c/j pv 10 and pv 12 "

That's your problem. Those 2 preamps are the very definition of dated sounding. Unless you have a really bright, harsh sounding system, I wouldn't consider either one. I had both, so I'm speaking from actual experience.
Maybe stock there would be notable rollout. Upgrade the coupling caps with cutf v-caps, all resistors and wire in the signal path and replace the diodes, and you might just ask, What rolloff? Oh not to say all the romance is lost but sure a lot more engagement can be had than that opaque vintage cj sound. I too had pv7 and pv5 back in the day. Would have sprung for the et5 but wanted a full functionality pre. If not ignore the above.