CJ sound

I have owned the CJ Premier 17ls and a custom Art II. CJ's preamps have a laid back, very dark sound. You get a beautiful musical picture but they lack that sparkle of a live performance. This is the reason I got rid of mine and got the Messenger Preamp.

Tube rolling will help a little. I recommend the E1 Elites if you can find them. Call Elliot Midwood with Acoustic Image and see if he has any left. 818 762 1501. Tell him Justin told you to call.

"Laid back, very dark sound." May have been the partnering components or cables (not Cardas by any chance?). I've had a lot of preamps to compare in my system, from my DIY friends and others, and the 17LS2 just doesn't sound like that. Sparkle aplenty, among other virtues :-)

I owned a cj 17ls and liked it very much it certainly was not dark and laid back at least not im my system. If anything it is very detailed with lots of timbre around the instruments and exhibited very good sound staging. I sold it to my friend and moved up to the 16lsII which is simply more of the 17ls. I used EH 6922 gold pin tubes in both units and found them to be a very well rounded tube. Good Luck

I picked up a used Premier 17LS last spring and love it. I would say it is not dark sounding at all with Maggie 3.6's and a Bryston 4BSST. Lots of shimmer, detail, wide soundstage with good depth. I think that room size, and speaker placement constraints have the most effects on soundstage parameters. Also, I would define a laid back sound as a sound quality being relaxed, warm and less detailed. Probably not synonymous with a deep soundstage. All in all a very nice preamp.

I compared the 17LS to my new CT6. The 17LS was definitely more distant sounding, and not in the same league sonically to the CT6, which was much better. I can't speak to the 17LS MkII, which some here claim is superior to the original 17LS.

Read my review on the CT6. It does not have a recessed sound at all, yet it has a deep soundstage, deeper than any of other preamps I tried or owned. One of CJ's biggest strengths is how it recreates a 3-D image of each instrument, where you can hear the air and space around each instrument. This paints a wide and deep soundstage that separates images in a clearly-defined and natural way that sounds correct and easy-going. This results in a much less electronic, constricted, flattened presentation of other preamps.

The CT6 is not dark or lacking sparkle. There is detail, but not achieved by overetching or brightness. The midrange has some weight and body, which is a hallmark of the CJ sound. I find this combination closer to reality than other brands, and is bringing me much musical enjoyment.