REVIEW: Conrad-Johnson CAV-45S2 – Reviews | TONEAudio MAGAZINE
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sounds like a winner Joe in every musical sense.
oh my!!! ... great review of what looks to be an exceptional piece of gear.
i have been on a serious search for new amplification for my system and am really close on another hand-wired SET amp and pre-amp. however, after reading this i am really intrigued by in this one. the price is certainly right ...from this review at least, all indications are that it's value proposition is off the charts.
thanks for posting ...i think ;)
The only thing that bothers me is - no remote control. I still want one though.
TL/DR from the review:
"There’s a thing about tubes that when it’s delicious, you can’t forget it. But it’s a road with a lot of detours. If your experience has mirrored mine at all, no doubt you’ve heard amplifiers with a silky smooth high end, others rendering a three -dimensional space that is so beguiling you might think you were under the influence of hallucinogenic drugs, yet others offer a delicacy that’s almost intimate enough to be obscene.
The CAV-45S2 offers all of this and a well-defined lower register to boot ...There is a cohesiveness to the sound created by the CAV-45S2 that still defies complete description. If this makes sense, it’s got the delicacy and low-level detail retrieval of a great SET, with the punch of a great push-pull amplifier ... you’ll find yourself having an internal dialog over how this can be so good for five grand.
Few material things in life are this close to perfection, even fewer at this price. If you have a room and system that can work within the constraints of a [45] wpc amplifier, I submit there’s nothing more fun or engaging than the Conrad Johnson CAV-45S2. It’s an affordable masterpiece."
(rhetorical) question: anyone looking for more in an amp than what mr drogay details in his review !?
Now that’s my perfect amp description. CJ has always held a special place in my heart. I noticed the review states 60wpc but the website says 45wpc. I’d love know which it is. This could be the first amp of 2021 for me. :)
pretty sure it is 45 wpc -- which is also referenced elsewhere in the review.