Conrad Johnson PV 12 vs PV1

[vintageadict]

I have been considering trying a tube preamp. I currently have a Marantz 3250 pre and 300 DC amp with ADS l1290’s. Two Conrad Johnson preamps are being sold locally close by. Pv12 and a PV1. They are asking roughly 1,500 each. I can probably get them to come off that a little. Any opinions on theses would be appreciated. I have never heard either and also curious as to how you would think combining with my 300 DC amp would work?

Thank you.

 

[OctalSocket]

Not exactly what you're looking at, but here's my experience.

I have a PV6, the final evolution of the PV2/2A/2AR series. Both its line stage and phono stage are very full and detailed. No warm, mushy, dark tubey sound here.
It's driving a BGW 100 WPC 250D amp, which is powering recently-acquired ADS L710s. This is the most complimentary grouping of components I've had yet for this second system, and it all is simply wonderful.

One thing I feel is mandatory with this preamp, is to pair it with an amp with gain pots. As is, the preamp is very hot, its output gain is 28 dB. That means with most amps (without gain controls), you have very little range of volume knob motion, so finding the sweet spot can be frustrating. Also, any setting much beyond 9:00 on the knob will be driving you out of the room.

 

[vintageadict]

Not exactly what you're looking at, but here's my experience.

I have a PV6, the final evolution of the PV2/2A/2AR series. Both its line stage and phono stage are very full and detailed. No warm, mushy, dark tubey sound here.
It's driving a BGW 100 WPC 250D amp, which is powering recently-acquired ADS L710s. This is the most complimentary grouping of components I've had yet for this second system, and it all is simply wonderful.

One thing I feel is mandatory with this preamp, is to pair it with an amp with gain pots. As is, the preamp is very hot, its output gain is 28 dB. That means with most amps (without gain controls), you have very little range of volume knob motion, so finding the sweet spot can be frustrating. Also, any setting much beyond 9:00 on the knob will be driving you out of the room.

View attachment 2394239

Thanks OS

That’s good info. My amp has gain controls so I should be able to dial it in. Those L710’s are great speakers. Long time buddy of mine has a pair and I really like them. One of my favorite bookshelf ads speakers.

appreciate the reply.

 

[8xlaxx]

...I have a PV6, the final evolution of the PV2/2A/2AR series. Both its line stage and phono stage are very full and detailed. No warm, mushy, dark tubey sound here.

I too, own a PV-6 and am driving a CJ SA-400 with it. You can't go wrong with a CJ unit. My comments are limited on how it pairs with other gear. A neighbor gave me the SA-400 amp and when I secured the PV-6 it just made sense to connect the units together. Plays really nice. Going prices on these older CJ pieces is consistent at $1500, although I got my PV-6 for less after some negotiation. It had been completely gone over with new boutique caps and tubes.

Go for the PV-12. Roll some tubes in it to your liking,

https://www.conradjohnsonowners.com/viewtopic.php?t=884

 

[kward]

I had a PV12 for prob 20 years. It’s gong to be a better preamp than the PV1. So between those two I’d take the PV12.

However after that long I grew tired of the PV12. It is somewhat round sounding and slightly tubey. With upgraded caps it will prob perform much better.

I would call the PV12 a very good preamp but not a great preamp.

 

[vintageadict]

If you got 20 years of listening pleasure out of I that is impressive. I have looked at other options but I do like the fact CJ is still in business and made in the US.

 

[kward]

Yes I enjoyed it for many years. CJ’s house sound from that era (early 90’s) was warm and sweet. I think primarily because of their own branded coupling caps they used.

I bought mine new with hi grade NOS tubes. My PV12 had the phono board. The line stage uses two 12AU7’s. The power supply is all regulated solid state, which suits me just fine anyway.

some people today are starting to see power supply failures but I never had a single issue with mine. I sold mine in what…2016 maybe.

 

[vintageadict]

Yes I enjoyed it for many years. CJ’s house sound from that era (early 90’s) was warm and sweet. I think primarily because of their own branded coupling caps they used.

I bought mine new with hi grade NOS tubes. My PV12 had the phono board. The line stage uses two 12AU7’s. The power supply is all regulated solid state, which suits me just fine anyway.

some people today are starting to see power supply failures but I never had a single issue with mine. I sold mine in what…2016 maybe.

So my local shop let me borrow it to test. Looking it over I would say it’s never been worked on. I know it’s one owner. I hooked it up and compared to my existing preamp. It’s an amazing upgrade! Really blown away to be Frank. I am trading some other goodies that were gathering dust. This may be one of my best upgrades ever. Wife had reservations but after listening was completely sold. I am off to tube land!!!

 

[zackthedog]

So my local shop let me borrow it to test. Looking it over I would say it’s never been worked on. I know it’s one owner. I hooked it up and compared to my existing preamp. It’s an amazing upgrade! Really blown away to be Frank. I am trading some other goodies that were gathering dust. This may be one of my best upgrades ever. Wife had reservations but after listening was completely sold. I am off to tube land!!!

Congratulations, that's a great buy. I like CJ preamps a lot. I would have chimed in but my experience is limited...

 

[8xlaxx]

Ditto! Congratulations! You're gonna love it.

 

[BNR_1]

Good choice Vintage. You will like this pre. Just remember if you plan on using the LS that this pre is phase inverting.

 

[mcgjohn]

Over the years have owned most of the CJ PV line except the PV1. If you are going to drop 1500 or so, I would be looking for a PV-5. They were used back in the day as a reference piece by many of the reviewers. Have owned 3 PV-5s over the years, a PV-8, PV-11 and PV-12. Would have to say I did not miss selling the 8, 11, or 12 as much as I did selling the 5. Its a great piece.

 

[zackthedog]

Good choice Vintage. You will like this pre. Just remember if you plan on using the LS that this pre is phase inverting.

Good point!

 

[OctalSocket]

So my local shop let me borrow it to test. Looking it over I would say it’s never been worked on. I know it’s one owner. I hooked it up and compared to my existing preamp. It’s an amazing upgrade! Really blown away to be Frank. I am trading some other goodies that were gathering dust. This may be one of my best upgrades ever. Wife had reservations but after listening was completely sold. I am off to tube land!!!

When you say "it," do you mean the PV12 or the PV1? I assume it's the 12. I'd be curious to hear your impressions if you could borrow the PV1 as well and do a comparison between the two.

 

[arts]

Over the years have owned most of the CJ PV line except the PV1. If you are going to drop 1500 or so, I would be looking for a PV-5. They were used back in the day as a reference piece by many of the reviewers. Have owned 3 PV-5s over the years, a PV-8, PV-11 and PV-12. Would have to say I did not miss selling the 8, 11, or 12 as much as I did selling the 5. Its a great piece.

And for this reason my PV-5 will be the last to go.

 

[vintageadict]

When you say "it," do you mean the PV12 or the PV1? I assume it's the 12. I'd be curious to hear your impressions if you could borrow the PV1 as well and do a comparison between the two.

Yes, the PV12. Not sure if I can get my hands on the pV1. I did some A&B testing between the CJ and my existing Marantz preamp. Listened for maybe 2 hours after warm up but had to give it a rest due to a trip out of town. I found the CJ to be more detailed and have “air” around the instruments that I am not used to. A positive for sure and the vocals are amazing. Really enjoyable to listen to. The bass was detailed but not quite as deep or punchy as the marantz. That would be the only negative. I want to use the CJ line in for that turntable and phono stage that was hooked up to the Marantz to see if that is the difference. I was comparing my thorens td 321 with a nagaoka mp 200 through the CJ phono stage to a thorens td 147 with a shure v15iv with Jico sas through a project tube box with gold lion tubes. Probably not apples to apples. The shop is giving me a little time to test it out. I will most likely buy it but not 100% just yet. Being able to trade a little gear that I am not using makes the purchase a little more palatable. Price is a little high to me but it’s in great shape and no shipping involved.

 

[vintageadict]

Good choice Vintage. You will like this pre. Just remember if you plan on using the LS that this pre is phase inverting.

Yes, I did read that . It’s a first for me but I assume you just switch the positive and negative speaker wires at the speaker terminal right? That is what I did.

 

[BNR_1]

Yes, I did read that . It’s a first for me but I assume you just switch the positive and negative speaker wires at the speaker terminal right? That is what I did.

In general that is correct. Technically the inversion is dependant on the number of components in your system that is phase inverting. When in doubt listen to your system the way you have set it up. Then reverse the speaker wiring and then do the same. Your ears are the best tool.

 

[billyz]

I have owned a CJ pv12 with phono for maybe 20 years. That might tell you something. I have owned many other preamps , solid state , vintage , modern , tube etc. all of them were considered high end. I have also directly compared the pv12 to a few of my friends high end preamps. It is a Great preamp. It is very revealing of the tubes used in it. It sounds very good with the stock CJ tubes but much much better with vintage tubes. The most critical tubes are the 12au7 line stage tubes. It is unforgiving of this tube and it must be chosen carefully . There are several I have found to work well , they all sound very different. The most affordable and and fairly easy to find is the RCA cleartop. It is a bright sounding tube .
I have not had any issues with the power supply or any other issues other than the 12au7’s . I found the recommended mullard box plates to be microphonic and mushy , these were NOS tested from a famous DEALer.
Amperex were my favorite.

 

[vintageadict]

So I was able to open up the preamp and peek inside today. No signs of work that I see. No bulging caps or anything of note other than typical dust. The tubes are all unbranded. The 12ax7 in the phono stage just say Yugoslavia