Musical

None

This is a follow up to my review from August below. The unit is a 2500A, not a 2500. The amp has gotten even better as it has broken in. It takes a good hour to 2 hours to warm up from power-on and, for the first time yesterday, I left it on all day. After being on for about 8 hours it I started listening. It had sweetened up and was treated to an unbelievable listening experience. I hadn't turned on the DA-2/b in the morning (too cheap to wear out the tubes) but I can only imaging what I would have been treated to if I had. It is, unfortunately, in a small room and in Los Angeles, even with only modest heat output, I really can't leave it on all the time. It produces less heat than my old Harman PA-2400 (which now powers my Hsu sub), but leaving it on 24/7 isn't an option. I now have one of those cheap one-brand systems (okay, not cheap) but can't say enough about C-J. I've had no reliability issues and, together with the speakers I spent 1 1/2 years having built with Dynaudio drivers, it's actually painful to switch off the system (I'll fix that bad ground later). This amplifier can actually change your taste in music. I can't stand jazz on any other system I've ever listened to but love it at home. Ian Anderson's new CD "Rupi's Dance" is amazing with his flute floating in front of me. The rating of 240WPC is given at 1% distortion but I suspect this is virtually all of the even order "musical" variety. I assure you there are no audible nasties present. With the right components upstream and with speakers capable of the resolution and imaging of my Dyn's, I have no regrets about spending a good "used car's worth" of money on this amp and would do it again in a heart beat.

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H-K PA2400

warmth,rich mids,harmonic ripeness,rhythm and pace,huge sound stage,deep deep bass, need i say more.

absolutely none

let me just say that this is the finest amp i have heard to date, this amp let you hear what music really sounds like i just cant believe what i was missing you not only hear the music but now you are part of it the soundstage is wide and deep i compared this amp to the audio research 100.2 side by side and i preffered the cj it was the more musical amp,the arc 100.2 was also very good but the cj just gave me that little extra in the soundstage.

Similar Products Used:

musical fidelity,audio research,acurus,sim audio

Very Musical sweet mids and highs and ample bass

None to speak of

It just sounds right ,sounds like real live music,not some hyper detailed analytical products who i sometimes think that their designers dont listen to live music enough.CJ got it right assoc eqpt ARC CD3 CJ Premier 17LS BW 803N spkrs

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Bryston 4bsst,Levinson 334,Classe 201,

Sound is incredible. Built like battleship.

Can't listen while in hospital for hernia... won't be moving that table any time soon.

Wow. Sounds like... well... music.

"It just sounds right", really

Took me 2 hours to redo my equipment rack and muscle this thing into it!

Sorry to hear the last reviewer had a problem. I've had a c-j preamp for 12 years, never a problem and their customer service is excellent. This amp is a perfect match for my B&W N803's. Bass is powerful, controlled, bottomless and tuneful. Quite a feat. Mids are liquid gold yet each voice/instrument has a palpable 3-D depth and punch. Maybe it's because the champagne gold c-j faceplate matches the gold kevlar B&W midrange drivers? :) Treble is divine, blazingly fast yet absolutely grain-free. This must be almost like how a good tube amp would sound, if a tube amp could also do bass. Soundstage is immensely deep and realistically broad. Images are perfectly sized and rock solid in placement. The real thrill is massed strings or choruses, or both. Before this amp they were a muddle, now they're individuals playing or singing together. Just wonderfully lifelike. TT: HK/Rabco ST8 Cart: ADC XLMII CDP: Arcam FMJ CD23 Pre: c-j PV11 Amp: c-j MF2500A Speakers: B&W N803 I/C's: Nordost Blue Heaven, 1m RCA's Cables: Nordost Blue Heaven, 2m biwire, banana plugs AC power: Exact Power EP15A Rack: Salamander Synergy Triple 20 Music: 90% classical, 5% jazz, 5% ?

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various receivers, Phase Linear 400, SAE A205

$$$ wasted on shipping and insurance getting products repeatedly repaired.

Just like my PFR this cj product escaped quality control and is being returned to cj for fixing. save your money and buy Krell.

Dynamic, detailed, smooth, extended, and very involving sound. The timing is right. Sounds like "tubes plus" without tube hassle or expense, even moreso than my B&K amp. Very affordable as a used unit when you consider the upper crust amps that it must be compared to for equal sound quality.

My work and sleep have suffered since this unit arrived in residence. It''s a pity that it is not available in a 60W version at a lower price so that more owners of efficient speakers could afford the Conrad-Johnson sound. Many people like me who live in an apartment do not really need 120 watts per channel (MF2250).

This review is for the MF2250 which is identical except for a lower power output and a shorter cabinet. The best amp I have ever had in my system. The low feedback design yields a very lively, open, and involving sound. The sound is more detailed with a more extended and cleaner treble than my B&K ST-202+. The bass seems just as strong and clean, although only 60% as powerful as the B&K. The amp runs extremely cool, so I expect a long and troublefree service life. This amp is certainly worthy of its 5-Star rating considering its very modest price compared to other amps of its sound quality, and I will vote no differently. Conrad-Johnson has done a wonderful job of putting about 80% of the sound character of tubes into a solid state design, while the other 20% of its sound is characteristic of what solid state does best. It partners well with my custom tubed preamp. I have decided to get the matching EV1 phono stage and remote controlled PV14L line preamp based on the sound quality of this unit. I would not want to break up the family character. This is the solid state amp that is designed to sound like and be partnered with high quality tubed preamps. Bottom line: IT JUST SOUNDS RIGHT.

Similar Products Used:

B&K ST-202+, Heath W-5M, Counterpoint SA100, various Japanese receivers.

Smoooooth sound with an easy & powerful presentation

None that are apparent to me

I love the conrad johnson sound. I have been looking for an amp like this for years. No matter how many amps I tried against it I always came back for it's (and I know this is overused when talking about CJ equipment) "musicality". The lack of harshness, powerful(but not overly so) bass, deep, deep soundstage, and smooth top end are unequaled at this price point ($3K). It's 240 solid state watts that get's closer to a tube like sound (but with the punch) that I have ever heard.
If your tired of being fatigued after an hour of listening to your system, I would suggest checking out this great American manufacturer's products.

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Plinius, Cary, Joule, Classe, Accuphase, Rogue, Adcom

High current delivery, rich and full mids, great ambience, bass kicks ass!

Heavy, thats it!

A stunning amp.

Overall coherence and liquidity reminiscent of some tube designs, excellent bass extension and control. Will drive the toughest loads.

Long break-in period. For best results turn it on at least one hour before each serious listening.

Mf 2500 is one of the most musical ss amps I've ever tried. If you like ultra analytical and hyper detailed bright sound look elswhere. If you like full-bodied vocals, harmonically correct midrange, precise and natural highs and dynamic bottom end, then you should seriously consider this amp. One of the best ss amps on the south side of 5K.

Similar Products Used:

Bel Eanto Evo (lean and 'small' sounding in comparison with the CJ), VTL monos (similar liquidity and pleasant overall character but with looser bass), CJ premier 12 monos (wonderful but beyond my budget), CJ premier 11 (very nice indeed but compromised bass weight, lack of slam and won't drive inefficient speakers).