Conrad-Johnson Premier Two Tube Preamplifier, 1982, United States, ¥640,000
It’s safe to say this preamplifier is brimming with the charm of the “good old days” of America.
The warm, rich, and sweet tone of the female vocals is simply dreamlike.
The music’s energy is brimming with vigor and is densely condensed.
The tone is extremely bright, and its bold characterization makes one wonder, “Isn’t it a bit too bright?”
The expression is so bold that it’s almost blinding—enough to make you flinch.
The treble has a slight tint, and this characteristic
creates an overall bright, well-defined, and energetic sound
with clear dynamics. The bass drum and double bass are energetic,
and the percussive sound of the rhythm instruments is crisp and refreshingly invigorating.
While the rich, dense sound lacks some nuance in fine details,
its brightness and brilliance are extraordinary, bringing out the music’s character with intense vibrancy.
It’s a gilded, incredibly opulent sound. Subtle nuances and shading
are all overshadowed by this amp’s assertive character, resulting in a somewhat one-dimensional sound.
For some reason, the CJ preamp gives a more subdued impression of intensity, ferocity, and roughness,
and sounds warmer, more forgiving, and gentler than the ARC preamp.
Inputs: PHONO (MM), 4 LINE inputs; 2 PRE OUT outputs; PRE OUT output level: 2.5V; W482 × H136 × D370; 9.5 kg
The volume knob is made of plastic and feels light to the touch,
giving it a somewhat toy-like quality. However, the preamp’s internal construction
is astonishingly lavish, with a considerable amount of resources invested,
and it has great value. I owned this alongside the Audio Research SP-8 and
wanted to switch between them from time to time. I owned it for about two years and played it occasionally,
but due to financial and space constraints, I ended up parting with it; however, I was able to acquire a refurbished unit
at a low price. I had to let it go because my gear was overflowing and I needed to declutter,
but I regretted it later. This unit, with its one-of-a-kind sound,
is something I wanted to keep for 10 or even 20 years. The Conrad-Johnson Premier Three
is just one generation later, but with a significantly improved signal-to-noise ratio over the Two,
it’s very popular and fetches high prices of around 400,000 yen on the used market.
Viewed from the front panel, the group of MT tubes on the right is the line stage,
and the group on the left is the phono stage.
Vacuum tubes: On the left side, there are four specified 5751 tubes (interchangeable with 12AX7) and
one specified 5965 tube (interchangeable with 12AU7) for the phono stage.
On the right side, there are three specified 5751 tubes (interchangeable with 12AX7) and one 5965 tube (interchangeable with 12AU7)
1 are the line-stage MT tubes. The 12X4 is a mini rectifier tube.
It was interchangeable with the 12AX7, but using a 12AX7 might result in too high a gain.
The specified 5751 and 5965 tubes are compatible, low-gain tubes,
and produce a milder sound compared to the 12AU7 or 12AX7.
At first, I used the specified low-gain, high-reliability, and high-durability tubes,
but when I compared the sound quality of the MT tubes—both low-gain and high-gain models—
there was a clear difference in sound quality,
so I immediately switched to using the 12AU7 and 12AX7.
Conrad-Johnson Premiere Four Tube Stereo Power Amplifier, United States, 1984, ¥1,150,000
A sound with a strong brilliance, featuring a majestic, lavish, and powerful American sound.
It exudes a quintessentially American vibe, much like the bold and unrestrained sound of the McIntosh MC275.
The sound is brimming with ferocious power, pushing forward with overwhelming force. It’s incredibly powerful.
The rich, luxurious resonance and dynamic performance provide a sense of comfort akin to riding in a large American car.
Compared to the ARC amplifiers of the same era, it offers richer tonal color and more dramatic presentation. While it has a warmer, more intense sound than the ARC,
it also features excellent clarity and a very refreshing quality. In short, it’s a bold, robust sound with an overwhelming, welling-up reserve of power.
Its sound design is heavily weighted toward “expressing power”—a trait common to many American amplifiers of this era.
It conveys emotional intensity more strongly than the ARC. While the bass is tight,
the sound feels rough-hewn and somewhat lacking in delicacy; with the passage of time,
it’s difficult to find a reason for its existence in the modern era. When pitted head-to-head against
historic masterpieces and rival models from other manufacturers, its sound is too broad-brush,
rough, and coarse. There are issues with its refinement, quality, and overall polish;
while it wins out in terms of richness and a heavily “made-up” sound,
it falls short in terms of overall refinement when compared to something like the Audio Research D-115mk2.
American “big power” amplifiers from this era just don’t sit right with me.
“The sound is too powerful”—it doesn’t seem designed for users who
use it in a small room with the speakers positioned close to them. Its massive size, “staggering power,” and sense of scale are outstanding.
The sound characteristics of ARC and CJ are quite similar: ARC is more delicate, while CJ is more bold and unrestrained.
There probably aren’t many people who like ARC but dislike CJ, or vice versa.
This is the top-of-the-line model in the early Premiere series.
Conrad Johnson wasn’t very popular in Japan during the 1980s, but
there were surely a few stores—such as Audio Union, Sound Box, and Audio Nankai—
that promoted the brand. I think Conrad Johnson has
a high degree of compatibility with ALTEC SOUND. For one thing, while 1980s Luxman had a
more refined sound than Conrad Johnson—with a slightly subdued, mellow (dark) tone—
it produced a classic American sound that was rich and buttery, which was incredibly captivating.
Luxman was superior in build quality and product standards, and since it was at a price disadvantage compared to
high-end imports like CJ, perhaps this is why their sound characteristics were somewhat similar.
LUXMAN LX-380 Vacuum Tube Integrated Amplifier, 2016, Japan, ¥500,000 Featuring a traditional wooden case and equipped with LECUA (electronically controlled attenuator), Released in September 2016 as the 12th generation of vacuum tube integrated amplifiers. The sound quality is warm, rich, and sweet, with excellent expressiveness of female vocals, capturing their allure and sensuality. The meticulous and superb expression of female vocals, and the captivating singing voice, deserve the highest praise. It possesses a modern transparency, clarity, and a sharp, refined tone. High resolution, freshness, and precise localization allow you to clearly discern each instrument part floating in the space. Clarity.The bass is stronger and more robust than you might imagine, offering a solid volume and a sense of weightiness. Unlike the through-and-direct tendencies of recent cutting-edge high-end tube amplifiers, it delivers the mild and warm tone desired in a tube amplifier, offering a high level of musicality, the warmth of the human voice, and a rich coloration, emotion, and sensuality.As expected from a top-tier Japanese manufacturer, the level of sound quality and build quality is simply unmatched by overseas garage manufacturers.The ARC, from the mid-1980s, was designed with modern electronic sound source reproduction in mind, and its sound signature is geared towards electro-pop and synth-pop, making it a pioneer of modern amplifiers. In other words, it's the kind of music most commonly heard today, where human vocals are mixed with electronic sounds from synthesizers. However, being a product from about 40 years ago, it's not perfectly suited to electro-pop, and its performance is somewhat inferior compared to the latest models. It's the sound's dirtiness, muddiness, and lack of resolution.The expression is also reminiscent of 1980s American-made products. It's exaggerated and excessive, and the emphasis on power and impact makes it sound rough. When paired with speakers from the same 1980s era, the performance shortcomings are largely masked, and the dissatisfaction becomes less noticeable.However, with the latest high-end speakers like the B&W 802D3 series, the outdated sound is immediately exposed. My current system consists of: AIRTIGHT ATC-5 ATM-300R avant-garde UNO fino Edition audio research SP-8mk2 D-70mk2 ALTEC MILSTONE 604 For the same reasons as with the B&W, the avant-garde's sound is outdated and vintage ARC speakers don't match. Therefore, I introduced the LX-380 as a secondary unit for the avant-garde, specifically for use with the AIRTIGHT. The combination of the LUXMAN LX-380 and the avant-garde UNO fino Edition is fantastic.I'm glad I installed it.Although the LX-380 only has a 20W output, it boasts a high efficiency of 107dB. It's a semi-active design, driving the woofer with a 500W Class D amplifier. Even a 10W tube amplifier is sufficient to produce a sufficiently loud volume. However, a point to note is that if you're happy with the LX-380 and then move on to top-of-the-line tube separate amplifiers like the CL-1000 or MQ-300, the sound will be quite different. These are flagship models developed by each manufacturer with their reputation on the line, so their performance and characteristics shouldn't be inferior to those of other companies. Many people prioritize measured values and specifications when considering audio equipment. As a result, high-priced models prioritize characteristics and become more focused on the essence of audio equipment. My goal isn't simply to reproduce music faithfully to the original sound, but to recreate the original sound in an ideal, dreamlike world. We sometimes receive feedback that this sound is too far removed from the original and is disappointing... However, because I want to amplify the emotional impact of the music and greedily inject pleasure signals that tingle in the brain, I try and experience everything that is said to be good, and from the results I derive, I am honestly pursuing the path of audio, guided by my guidelines and desires. I compared the ARC and LX-380, and both have a rich, sweet, and lustrous sound with a high sense of warmth. At first listen, they sound similar.However, American amplifiers from the 80s like ARC and KRELL have a different taste.The ability to express a brilliant, majestic tone, emotional surges, and explosions of joy is something that only vintage models of ARC and KRELL can achieve. The LX-380, on the other hand, has a relatively refined sound, so much so that I thought, "Hmm, is it a little on the dark side?" The tone was mellow and felt somewhat dark, but this is probably due to the influence of having just listened to the overly bright and dazzling ARC. Between the Audio Research SP-8mk2 D-70mk2 and the LX-380, I think the ARC is the clear winner. If I were told, "Keep one and get rid of the other!" I would immediately say I would keep the ARC. The emotional impact of listening to music is completely different. However, even the older ARC can fully enjoy the latest recordings of electro-pop, synth-pop, and EDM-pop, but the LX-380 is truly all-around capable of handling all sound sources and the latest speakers (depending on efficiency and required woofer driving power). The LX-380 is an integrated amplifier, but in the audio SNS community, even among people with the financial means to buy new speakers costing 5 million yen, you see a lot of people using integrated amplifiers (integrated amplifiers) like the V40 or V70, rather than separate components from OCTAVE. Many manufacturers, such as LUXMAN, OCTAVE, Mark Levinson, and ATOLL, are making integrated amplifiers more accessible to beginners than separate components, and have designed them to have a more understandable and appealing sound quality. However, recently, LUXMAN's semiconductor amplifiers—both Class A and Class AB, integrated and separate—have all developed a universally appealing sound.
Audio Research D-90B Vacuum Tube Stereo Power Amplifier, 1981, USA This amplifier led experts to conclude that the use of such a large number of vacuum tubes and complex stacking of tubes was the only way to achieve such a captivating sound. This is one of the most important power amplifiers in Audio Research's 56-year history, and it remains popular in Europe, the United States, Australia, Taiwan, and Korea. In Japan, the then distributor, Phan Gati Industria, vigorously promoted it, but due to excessive margins and a very high price, while many audio retailers recommended it, sales numbers did not increase significantly. (Recently, older ARC amplifiers have become popular in emerging audio markets such as China, Vietnam, and Thailand.) In the United States, consumer-friendly business practices (laws) have long allowed new products to be returned within one month of purchase, provided they were in their original condition. Their top priority was to create a product with a pandering sound that would make buyers reluctant to return it, a product that consumers could actually hear and appreciate.As a result, even audio equipment from American companies that are well-known and popular in Japan often accounts for a large proportion of its sales overseas and is not sold in the United States. Despite this tough environment for retailers, and despite the fact that vacuum tube amplifiers are a minority, ARC enjoyed tremendous popularity and strong support, ranking number one in the United States. Its influence remains today, with countless ARC dealers around the world. The audio research D-90B's sound quality is heavenly, with a majestic, heavenly tone. It is bright, brilliant, gorgeous, and powerful, with a sweet tone and a kind of spectacular, extremely powerful sound, and has a very strong American entertainment flavor. ARC (audio research Corporation) amplifiers have an incredibly sweet, captivating tone compared to any other amplifiers. While the later Audio Research SP-11 generation ARCs from the mid-'80s are considered bright, bleached, and dry, the D-90B delivers a fresh, wet sound. For those familiar with Audio Research's sound, if you find a used one in good condition, it has an irresistible sound that makes it a snap to buy. Compared to the D-70, with a 6550 push-pull amplifier weighing 22.8kg, this model is a parallel push-pull amplifier weighing 29kg, the scale of playback, overwhelming bass power, and energy are quite different. All output tubes have been replaced with new Philips ECG 7581A amplifiers. The bias setting is 60mA, as specified by the manufacturer. These vacuum tubes are military tubes, complying with the US military's JAN standard, which stands for Joint Army Navy. We select only high-quality JAN tubes with high performance. We previously used GE 6L6GC tubes from the US, but replacing them completely transformed the sound, resulting in a crystal-clear sound. We also replaced all miniature tubes where we found a noticeable deterioration in sound quality through measurement and listening. The secret to using vintage amps with many vacuum tubes is to fully replace them with carefully selected, high-performance tubes to maximize their performance. If you're unsure whether a tube is new or used, or if they're expensive, it's a good idea to buy a lot of Electro-Harmonix vacuum tubes from Russia, measure them, and select them. Other tubes, even those from the highly acclaimed JJ company, are often just imitation 12AX7s or 12AT7s. Since they are not manufactured to the same specifications as vintage MT tubes like the official 12AX7, 12AU7, 12AT7, and 6DJ8, they often fail to function properly with ARC amps, resulting in no sound. This amplifier is often cited as prone to hum and frequent problems, but the main cause is contamination and interference from the power supply. As for maintenance, the majority of noise is caused by capacitor drying due to vacuum tube failure or aging. There are only four points to note when handling this amplifier: 〇 Use a noise filter tap on the air conditioner's power outlet. 〇 Replace the electrolytic capacitors, as they can cause hum if they are still attached from the factory. 〇 Install a ground lifter on the 3-prong inlet (only if hum is present). 〇 Replace the vacuum tubes if noise is present.
