The CT6 thread

[frenchmon]

If I had to find any thing negative about the CT6, I found the CT6 to be not as sweet and warm in sound as his previous preamp and not as much resolution as a SS amp, but most tubes aren't in that respect.... but it did have a very good bottom end punch as SS amps, a little more punch than I remember his previous tube preamp having, and great high end extension with great detail through out the mids. Sometimes while I listen to music, I like to close my eyes to see if I can hear it as if I was at the concert of the artist. Alecia Keys vocals and background singers where very pronounced and seemed as if I was live at a concert. I only regret not bringing my acoustic Jazz with me to get a feel how the CTJ would do in chill out and relax mode seeing I am a big Jazz head,

The preamp handled very well with control of the sound as Mr.Peabody broke out the sound meter and turned up the volume. The needle on the sound meter ran all the way to the right and the CT6 never missed a beat. It was as smooth and detailed with bass extending very low as it did at normal listening levels. There was no strain as it processed eveything on the CD at loud levels the same way at normal listening levels. The CT6 also was amazing as we crank out some Black Sabbath on the Rega P3 TT. I felt no lack or drop off in detail or bottom end punch as we listen to an album from the 70's...the CT6 handled the album as it had handled every CD we fed it. (As a side note....the Rega P3 is a remarkable machine in its own right and handles very well also....unlike my old TT's of the 80"s, and I'm sure thats no surprise for most, but for me seeing I've have not listen to one sense that time other than the time I listen to a new Marantz TT that was not set up properly at a local audio shop, I found the sound transparent as a CDP.)

For some the volume click won't matter and for others it may. For me, the volume click was not a bother. The remote as well as the preamp is metal...aluminum and had a nice heaviness to it, and both the remote and the preamp where gold color...very attractive. So if you think you would like a tube pre that really does not have the characteristic of tubes nor SS but some where in the middle ground, this may be the preamp for you if your pocket can handle it. I would suggest buying used if you can find one, and if you need to sell it, im sure their would be lots of takers at a very reasonable price, as with all conrad-Johnson products the reputation is h

frenchmon

[jrhymeammo]

Hey Mr P,

What do you make of it now? Any additional PROs and CONs you didn't initially notice?

Thanks,
Hiro

[Mr Peabody]

Not really, the CT6 does an amazing job of showing off the bass line of a recording. I also feel the high end is extended and detailed. Possible cons is just more of a CJ thing like the sound stage giving more a feeling of being several rows back rather than front row positioning. It doesn't bother me but the CT6 does have a rather loud clicking when the volume goes up or down, it's just an unavoidable effect of the type of volume CJ went with on this preamp. I'm happy with the CT6.

An annoyance with tubes in general is the warm up time. Maybe it's a bit worse with the CT6 but it takes a good 30 to 45 minutes to get where it sounds like it should. Sometimes I may only have 45 or 60 minutes, heck by the time tubes get to sounding right I have to go. I put up with it though because when it is right there's nothing else that can sway me, that I can afford any way

[jrhymeammo]

Thanks for the reply, P.

[Mr Peabody]

No problem. You thinking about picking one up? CJ has a new preamp the ET2 that runs about $2500.00 but I have no idea what it's like since no dealer in the area.

[Feanor]

...

An annoyance with tubes in general is the warm up time. Maybe it's a bit worse with the CT6 but it takes a good 30 to 45 minutes to get where it sounds like it should. Sometimes I may only have 45 or 60 minutes, heck by the time tubes get to sounding right I have to go. I put up with it though because when it is right there's nothing else that can sway me, that I can afford any way

If there is anything that would drive me back to a S/S preamp, it would be the warm-up time. My habit is the same as yours, Mr. Pl I often listen for an hour or less and having to wait for warm up is tedious; it's either that or leave the system running which burns more electricity and shortens the tubes' playing life.

My Sonic Frontiers keeps the tube in a low-voltage powered-on state; notwithstanding, it take 15-20 minutes to reach optimum sound.

[Hyfi]

Nice, Mr P.

I sure was blown away when I dropped this old VAC into play instead of the old Sound Valves 101 and Hafler 945.

I hope the economy starts getting a little better soon so I can take the VAC to RHB Sound Dezign for a nice spa treatment.

I know with some refreshed parts and upgrades it will bring new life back.

[jrhymeammo]

No problem. You thinking about picking one up? CJ has a new preamp the ET2 that runs about $2500.00 but I have no idea what it's like since no dealer in the area.

Well I've been thinking about going back to tubes, but I haven't decided where to apply.
ET2 with MM phono is what I'd considered, but my recent exposure to transformer/autoformer based passive preamps makes me rethink about spending a ton on a device that controls volume. But going tube pre is probably the simplest option so I appreciate your time to share the experience.

THERE ARE TOO MANY GREAT OPTIONS, UGHHHHH!!

[Mr Peabody]

If you do get a CJ product be sure to share your experience. It's always interesting to see if others hear the same character you do. I'd especially be interested to see what that ET series is like.