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Conrad Johnson manufactures high end audio electronics and they are based in Fairfax, Virginia. The company was started by Dr Lewis Johnson and Dr William Conrad in the late seventies. Their 1st ever product was a vacuum tube preamplifier called the PV-1.

Conrad Johnson is synonymous with quality with price tags that certainly reflect that, although many audio enthusiasts feel the money is very well spent indeed. One of their flagship amplifiers is the Twelve Tube monoblock power amplifier, so listening in stereo will set you back close to 7 grand.

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.

Tube amplifiers quite often have diffiulculties when it comes to transients, especially with rock and pop songs. The Twelve Tube handles these with ease with a focused and coherent sound throughout, being perhaps the finest I have heard in years.

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!

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