Conrad Johnson are a company based in Fairfax, Viginia and they have been producing high end audio equipment since 1977 when the company was started by William Conrad and Lewis Johnson. The first amp that the company ever released was the PV-1, a vacuum tube preamplifier.
Conrad Johnson amplifiers are certainly not cheap, but that is to be expected with a brand renowned for high quality amps. Conrad Johnson has a large army of dedicated followers that certainly feel the prices are well worth it. To listen to your music in stereo you'll need two Twelve Tube monoblock Amplifier and at $7000 lets find out what you get for your cash.
The design of the Twelve tube is certainly stylish with a cool brushed brass finish, and some straight forward circuitry. The Twelve tube also has a large output transformer and with a quick look in the CJ info you'll find that this gives you a wide bandwidth with high phase linearity. All in all, nothing too unusual. It's clear that the Popularity of this amp comes from it's performance rather than design.
The CJ Twelve Tube's overall sound is extremely rich and open with a fantastic transparency, superb mids and a deep down racey bass. It manges the transitions between frequencies with ease, even at extremes, as well as through the upper and mid ranges. Something that even amplifiers of similar price tags often struggle with.
Some tube amplifiers can struggle with transients usually when playing pop and rock however the Conrad Johnson Twelve sounds coherent throughout one of the very best I have ever heard.
Conrad Johnson is well known for the reliability of their amplifiers, and there is no exception when it comes to the Twelve Tube. Tube amplifiers are often seen to give problems in this area, but with the Twelve Tube you should have no worries.
The internet is a great place to start your amplifier search, whether you're looking for a Twelve Tube, another Conrad Johnson or any other amplifier. There are some great deals around!
