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Conrad-Johnson CAV50 integrated amplifier Page 2

Sound & System
This may not be a very expensive integrated amp, but it's a serious product and merited serious attention. Avoiding Quad ESL-63 electrostatics in case of an acoustic bonfire (if the lab test is any indication), in the main I used Epos ES12, Spendor SP2-2, Sonus Faber Electa Amator II, and Wilson WITT Mk.II loudspeakers. I also gave the horn-loaded Avantgarde Duos that I reviewed in the June Stereophile a bashing with the C-J before the Duos left for their home in Germany. In the event, it was my ears that got the bashing, so loudly did this combination play!

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Conrad-Johnson CAV50 integrated amplifier Measurements

Sidebar 1: Measurements

On the test bench, the Conrad-Johnson CAV50 delivered a just-to-spec 53Wpc into 8 ohms (17.2dBW) for 1% distortion, midband. Loaded down to 4 ohms, it measured 78Wpc (15.9dBW) single-channel, showing a respectable load tolerance for a tube amplifier. The output rating fell 1dB with both channels driven (eg, to 16dBW, 40Wpc, at 1kHz). At low frequencies (20Hz) the amplifier clipped at 36W (15.6dBW) (which isn't bad), and raised 65W at this frequency into 4 ohms (15.1dBW). At the other end of the audio band, the amp delivered a true 56Wpc at 20kHz into 4 ohms at 1%…

Conrad-Johnson CAV50 integrated amplifier Sam Tellig October 1998

Sam Tellig wrote about the CAV50 in October 1998 (Vol.21 No.10):

Sometimes Sam isn't always first. 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).

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.

Look at the sizes. While the Bryston is just 2½" high, the C-J is 7" high. 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…

Conrad-Johnson CAV50 integrated amplifier Specifications

Sidebar 2: Specifications

Description: Integrated amplifier with passive input stage and tube output circuitry. Tube complement: 4x EL34 (output), 2x 6SN7 (driver), 2x 12AX7Q (phase splitter) and 1x 12AU7 (preamp output). Rated output power: 45W into 8 ohms (16.5dBW), 30Hz-15kHz, 1% THD (pentode/ultralinear); 22Wpc into 8 ohms (13.4dBW), 1.5% THD (triode). Input impedance: 50k ohms. Sensitivity: 500mV for full power. Measured output impedance: 0.4 ohms.
Weight: 40 lbs.
Serial number of unit reviewed: Not noted.
Price: 2495. Approximate number of dealers: 85.
Manufacturer:…

Audes Bravo loudspeaker

Attending a Consumer Electronics Show is enjoyable, productive, nerve-racking, and exhausting. Too many components, so little time. One has to prioritize to ensure sufficient time to cover everything intended. One needs to avoid certain rooms, such as those with new, unremarkable designs from companies whose designers would love to talk—for half an hour or more—with each audio reviewer who makes the mistake of sauntering in. There are also many rooms in that middle region—rooms on neither the Must Hit nor the Must Avoid list.

Sometimes, however, magic happens. As when fellow reviewer Kal…

Audes Bravo loudspeaker Page 2

The speakers also did an excellent job of unraveling the details of densely orchestrated orchestral works. Olivier Messiaen's Turangalîla Symphony (LP, EMI UK 5119) features many passages of bombastic pianos, gongs, and trombones, which lesser speakers turn into coagulated messes. With the Bravos I was able to follow, right through the fortissimos, the contrapuntal, lower-register cello line, which is all but inaudible with most inexpensive bookshelf speakers I've tried.

Antal Dorati's recording of Stravinsky's The Firebird (LP, Mercury Living Presence/Classic SR 90226) revealed most of…

Audes Bravo loudspeaker Specifications

Sidebar 1: Specifications

Description: Two-way, reflex-loaded, stand-mounted loudspeaker. Drive-units: 1" soft-dome tweeter, 5" plastic-cone woofer. Crossover frequency: 1.8kHz. Frequency response: 74Hz-20kHz, ±3dB, -6dB at 58Hz. Nominal impedance: 8 ohms. Sensitivity: 85dB/2.83V/m.
Dimensions: 11" H by 6" W by 10.5" D. Weight: 14 lbs.
Finish: Real-wood veneer.
Serial number of units reviewed: 344011L & R.
Price: $999/pair; matching stands cost $299/pair. Approximate number of dealers: 30.
Manufacturer: Audes LLC, Pae 3a, 41533 Johvi, Estonia. Tel: (372) 33-94651. Fax…

Audes Bravo loudspeaker Associated Equipment

Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment

Analog sources: VPI TNT IV turntable, Immedia RPM tonearm, Koetsu Urushi cartridge; Rega Planar 3 turntable, Syrinx PU-3 tonearm, Clearaudio Virtuoso Wood, Aurum Beta S cartridges.
Digital sources: California Audio Labs Icon Mk.II Power Boss, Creek CD53 Mk.II CD players; Pioneer DV-333 DVD player.
Preamplification: Vendetta Research SCP-2D phono stage, Audio Valve Eklipse line stage.
Power amplifier: Audio Research VT100 Mk.II.
Integrated amplifier: Creek 5350SE.
Loudspeakers: NHT SB-3; Alón by Acarian Systems Li'l Rascal Mk.II, Petite.
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Audes Bravo loudspeaker Measurements

Sidebar 3: Measurements

As is to be expected for a speaker this small, the Audes Bravo's sensitivity was on the low side, at an estimated 83dB(B)/2.83V/m. It will therefore need a lot of amplifier watts to play loud, except that it will then start to run up against its small woofer's dynamic-range limitations. However, its impedance plot (fig.1) revealed it to be a fairly easy load for an amplifier to drive, with an impedance magnitude that remains above 6 ohms for almost all the audioband. Although the electrical phase angle does reach 45 degrees on a couple of occasions, this is…

Future Shock, High-End Style

The future is rarely what anyone expects it to be. I still remember reading, as a child, predictions in Popular Science that everyone would have a personal helicopter by 1980. It never happened, though it sure seemed like a reasonable projection of events. Events, however, have their own agenda.

If one thing is certain about Home Theater, it's the reason for its growth. Listening to music is as noble a pastime as it ever was—if I didn't think so, then I'd find reviewing audio equipment a hollow exercise indeed. But the fact remains that we're most willing to spend money on that with…