Conrad Johnson PV10A Mods/upgrades


Hey everyone..

I'm looking to get both my CJ PV10a preamp and MF200 solid state amp refurbished and upgraded. I've read several recommendations for Bill Thalmann and Bob Backert... who both seem to do excellent work! I was hoping to reach out to you all and see if anyone could chime in and help me decide who to go with? I'm leaning towards Bill Thalmann as he was technical director for 25 years at Conrad Johnson.. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
128x128joethekid72
Lloydelee’s third alternative should be seriously considered if resale value is of concern. Even though Bill Thalmann and Bob Backert are both accomplished technicians whose cj mods are well reviewed, the amp can only be considered a pure cj if cj does the work. That, IMO, should add to resale value. In my conversations with Bill and Bob, I came away with the impression that Bob’s mods were somewhat more invasive - not to say that the result isn’t stunning.

At this point, I would suggest that you develop a very precise set of objectives, and without initially disclosing those objectives, determine through your interviews which guy most shares your values - if he hears like you hear, he will do a better job.
Thank you so much everyone! I think I'm leaning towards Bill Thalmann.. I like that fact that he was an employee at CJ and that that will probably be ok if I ever sell either unit..
I'm excited to hear the difference!
You may want to check out http://www.conradjohnsononwers.com. It's a forum site dedicated soley to Conrad Johnson owners. It's new but membership seems to be growing and it's a nice place to have a place for CJ owners to congregate. Also, you may want to post this issue there and get some feedbacks as the readership will be completely made of CJ owners.

I use a PV-12 and love it. I have listened to the PV-10 as a demo and it had a wonderful sound as well.
Yeah Bill Thalmann charged my friend $10 per diode to upgrade his amp plus labor. The diodes cost less then $2.00 each. Gee Thanks! Upgrades are only one way to go but just swapping out parts do not mean you are getting the best out of your equipment most likely just a change in sound.