More likely I'm hearing what happens when you integrate a line stage and preamp: the sound becomes more.well, integrated. Possibly I didn't match it with the ideal line stage-or interconnect. In fact, after you've bought either amp, you shouldn't care.Ĭome to think of it, I don't recall the Conrad-Johnson MV55 power amplifier sounding as good as the CAV50.
#Conrad johnson cav 50 manual plus#
Plus quicker transient response and, paradoxically, better microdynamics-up to the point where the SET amp poops out, that is.īut, as with the Bryston B-60, the sound of the Conrad-Johnson CAV50 is so good, so convincing on its own terms, that you may not care. You do tend to get more immediacy with SET, however-more illusion of live. In general, too, you also get less ability to drive low-impedance or difficult speaker loads with SET amps. As former economists, Lew Johnson and Bill Conrad say they're not about to take that tack. But single-ended triode amps tend to be even more expensive than push-pull tube amps like the C-J gear. How about single-ended triode? (I knew you were going to ask.) The CAV50 should appeal to the same crowd-if it is a crowd. Not only that, they keep telling me how much they enjoy the sound. People like Joe Eckstein of Berkshire Record Outlet have purchased the MV55 on my recommendation and love it. Over the past few years I've recommended the MV55 to a number of friends and acquaintances-music lovers, not audiophiles.
With C-J, you always hear the music first, the resolution second. But in no way does this detail call attention to itself. As for detail-resolution-Martin Colloms hit this one on the head: There's probably more here than first meets the ear. The highs, too, seem slightly rolled off compared to the Bryston. That's your classic tube amp, particularly one that uses E元4 output tubes, as does the CAV50: two per side, four altogether. You may be one of those audiophiles who are into pain.īass is one area where solid-state amplifiers like the Bryston beat out the Conrad-Johnson. You enjoy the C-J: the harmonic richness, the sense of body to the sound, the palpable presence of the performers. But like other Conrad-Johnson gear, the CAV50 takes you off edge. So many audio products have a way of putting you on edge: all that resolution, all that detail, all those extended highs. You turn the damned thing on-it takes no more than half an hour or so to warm up-sit back, and relax. If you take off the tube cage (with only four spring-loaded screws, this is easy to do), you'll see that the transformer cover is sloped back too, giving the CAV50 an elegant look that is both classic and modern at the same time. But C-J has avoided the squared-off look by sloping the tube cage back. It looks nice, too, in the typical Conrad-Johnson way-rather like a tubed integrated amp of yore. And you're sure not going to find a good active line stage, tubed or solid-state, for $500. But your incremental cost for the CAV50 (over the MV55) is just $500. If you like the sound of the C-J MV55, you could use any number of different manufacturers' preamps. Or take the money saved and put it into better speakers.īy combining the two units you lose nothing but flexibility. All told, you could shave nearly a kilobuck off the price of your system, with no sonic sacrifice. You save $800 by buying the two Con-Johns conjoined.Īctually, you save more-you won't need to shell out $100 or more for an interconnect cable from preamp to power amp. Together, the two C-J separates retail for $3290. And there's no headphone jack-a somewhat more serious omission.Ĭonsider that the CAV50 is essentially Conrad-Johnson's MV55 power amp perched atop a PV10 A/L line-stage preamp. No remote option is available for the C-J, so this isn't for the couch-potato crowd. That's tubes-they're more expensive than solid-state. The power rating is about the same: 45Wpc into 8 ohms for the C-J, 60Wpc into 8 ohms for the Bryston. You can't slide it into a tight space the way you can the Bryston-you need to give it good ventilation, on a table top or the top shelf of an equipment rack. While the Bryston is just 2½" high, the C-J is 7" high. The C-J makes a fascinating contrast with the Bryston B-60-one of the finest tubed integrated amplifiers vs one of the best solid-state. Martin Colloms beat me to the punch with a full-scale review of the Conrad-Johnson CAV50 integrated in the August issue (Vol.21 No.8). Sam Tellig wrote about the CAV50 in October 1998 (Vol.21 No.10):
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