Conrad Johnson MF2500A or a high power tube amp

I had the MF2300A. Great amp, very musical, pleanty of detail, great bass and very much like tubes. It kept an iron grip on my electrostats but I could never get over the slight mechanical transformer hummmmmmm........ I tried calling CJ and speaking to a tech but was told it was a known problem.

I ended up replacing it with a ARCD400 that was stone quiet. If you are one of those people that expect their electronics to be silent (I am one of those people) I would make sure to demo the amp first.

Dont get me wrong its nothing you can hear with the music on but it was enough to turn me away.....

If you need as much power as a 2500A (240 wpc), what kind of tube amps would you get? Huge ARC or VTL monos? Those might sound spectacular, if you want to spend all that $$, & replace all those tubes. The 2500A sounds very, very good. Whether it sounds "like tubes" I'm not sure, but it's probably closer than most other SS.....& well worth the current used price to try one out.

I am a Plinius dealer, so I really do agree with the gentileman who was talking about them.

I worked for many years in a hi fi store that sold the CJ. The CJ for the money is an excellent amplifier but it lacks the refinement that a Plinius provides.

Also there is a pure tube amplifier that is high powered and extremely inexpensive for the power. That amplifier is a Antique Sound Labs Hurrricane. The Hurricane pumps out 200 watts ultralinear power and the sound was as good in most cases as my VAC PHI 110 amplifier which costs $10,000!

The Hurricane new is $5,000.00 and it really is an amazing sounding amplifier.

If you are in the New York metro area I would invite you in for a listen.

Im very happy with my MF2500A! The only thing i would change about it if i could,,would be to give it a touch more energy on the leading edge of low bass.Having said that,,,i would also say that the bass is better than most tube amps ive heard!Very good treble and midrange ,,,,sweet ,,but not too sweet!Just right,,a very musical amp! They can be found at a good price used!My amp is stone quiet,,no hum!

there is a pure tube amplifier that is high powered and extremely inexpensive for the power. That amplifier is a Antique Sound Labs Hurrricane. The Hurricane pumps out 200 watts ultralinear power and the sound was as good in most cases as my VAC PHI 110 amplifier which costs $10,000!

The magic of the VAC Phi 110/110 is revealed when running in triode mode rather than pentode mode (ultralinear). This feature, and the ability to run the PHI 110/110 with or without zero negative feedback are two features that separate the VAC from the pack, IMO.

The VAC PHI 110/110 in triode with zero negative feedback is the preferred configuration for most owners.