conrad johnson CT6 with solid state amp

Hi Dopogue...if I recall you had a premier 14 for awhile. How do you like the 17LS2 in comparison?

Dopogue...which CJ preamp did you feel had the most "tube-like richness"??

I can't speak to the CT-6 but my premier 16 is connected to my premier 350 ss and the sound is fantastic. The tubed pre gives all the tube richness and the ss amp provides the muscle needed to handle the speaker. Kind of the best of both worlds.

The Premier 3 had all the fabled tube richness anyone would want. Don't get me wrong -- the newer CJs are plenty musical, but I associate "tube richness" with a degree of coloration I no longer admire. Yes, I had a Premier 14, and the Premier 17LS2 was a giant step ahead. Lost my CJ allegiance, though, having gone to an Aesthetix Calypso. Everything the Prem 17 did, the Calypso does better, IMHO, but the main reason I bought it was its polarity switch, on the front panel AND on the remote.

Thanks for the replies everyone. I understand that newer cj gear is not as colored as the older gear, but there is a richness or palbability or depth or whatever term you choose in tube gear that most solid state doesn't have. That's why you use tube gear, right Dopogue? I also understand that some people prefer the older gear to the newer, more neutral gear.

So I understand that you prefer the 17LS2 to the CT6 and the Aesthetix Calypso to the 17LS2, but does the CT6 have any of this tube richness without the coloration or is it just a tube preamp that sounds like solid state?

Does anyone else have a tube preamp paired with a ss amp that they feel outperforms the CT6 in this price range? Thanks. Tom