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REVIEW: Conrad-Johnson (CJ,C-J) MV-55 Amplifier (Tube)

Model:	MV-55
Category:	Amplifier (Tube)
Suggested Retail Price:	$1995
Description:	45wpc stereo power amp
Manufacturer URL:	Conrad-Johnson (CJ,C-J)
Model Picture:	View

Review by Luminator on June 04, 2008 at 11:55:00 IP Address: 66.47.253.226

Add Your Review for the MV-55

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Like a lot of Stereophile readers, I was enthralled with Sam Tellig's October 1996 article about the AudioPrism Debut and Conrad-Johnson MV-55. At the time, most audiophiles I knew were buying solid state amps from the likes of Adcom, Aragon, Audio Alchemy, Classe', McCormack, Parasound, and Rotel. If you were into these run-of-the-mill solid state amps, the Debut and MV-55 represented a radical change.

I personally went with the AudioPrism Debut II, but I always had a spot in my heart for the CJ MV-55. I did know a few guys who were into tube amps. They had models from ARC, Quicksilver, Sonic Frontiers, and VTL. As for the Conrad Johnson fans I knew, they skipped the MV-55, and went for the Premier 11A. So from both the solid state side and tube side, the MV-55 largely was overlooked or passed over.

By the time I moved from San Francisco to my renovated home in the East Bay, CJ had long discontinued the MV-55, and had come out with the disappointing MV-60SE:

The MV-60SE had an awful turn-on/turn-off thump. Its transformers gave off an annoying low-level buzz. Everybody laughed at the exposed and ugly fin. And no matter which cables, powerline conditioners, and tubes we threw at it, the MV-60SE sonically never came alive.

I happily foisted the MV-60SE off on the next audiophile, and then set out to find the older, cheaper, and superior MV-55.

Many of you follow my blog, and here is some background information, taken from said blog, about the MV-55:

Part 1 - tube cage, powercord, binding posts, polarity
Part 2 - stock tubes, tube sockets, biasing, heat
Part 3 - 6SN7s
Part 4 - cables, EL-34s

Now that I have better sources, cables, powerline conditioners, and a wider variety of speakers, it turns out that the MV-55 is better than what I had thought/given it credit for. But the key is finding the right complimentary gear.

Fundamentally, the MV-55 likes to put the music behind the speakers. If you like your music in the room, and in your face, then obviously, the MV-55 is not going to work for you. My friend likened it to looking at the Golden Gate Bridge. The MV-55 is like sitting on the Marina Green, with the GGB in the distance. Other, more forward-sounding amps would be like going right up to Fort Point, and standing at the foot of the Bridge.

Because of this more distant perspective, the MV-55 initially seems like it doesn't reproduce details. A closer, more careful listen shows that the details are there, but are further away. If you have a small room, like those here in San Francisco, you are forced to sit close to the speakers. That often means that the music is too up-front. In this situation, the MV-55's distant soundstage can be ideal.

Yes, the MV-60SE is more powerful, and can kick and punch harder. But the MV-55 doesn't botch the music's timing as much as the rhythmically inept MV-60SE does. While the MV-60SE is kicking and punching, it does so in a drunken way, and always misses the target. The MV-55 allows you to hear subtle variations in flow and tempo. You may notice yourself gayly waving your arms to Anything Box's "Living In Oblivion." Yet, you'll find yourself just nailing the start-stop riff's of Prong's "Lost And Found." You may find yourself tossing off your stiff clothes, while leaning back to Olomana's "Waimanalo Blues." Heck, the MV-55 surprisingly (or not) held together Glenn Medeiros' "Lonely Won't Leave Me Alone," that my 2-year-old stopped eating his rice, stood up, and started dancing!

You don't necessarily need $$$$ equipment to get the MV-55 to sing. The trick is in finding complimentary matches. In some ways, the tipped-up Eastern Electric Minimax CD lent the MV-55 a sparkling, upbeat hand. 'Tis certainly better than the cloudy and metallic Esoteric DV-60 [which costs five times as much as the Minimax CD]. The "hotter" Nordost Red Dawn is musically more compelling than the deader (but more refined) Kimber Select cables I have on hand. Don't have a fast-sounding powerline conditioner? No problem. Just plug the MV-55 directly into an Oyaide SWO-XXX outlet. Think you have to use expensive NOS tubes? Think again. The MV-55 yields thoroughly modern, high-rez sound when using Sovtek 12AX7LPS, EH 6SN7, and Sovtek/EH EL-34.

So then it comes down to speaker choice. The plodding Sonus Faber Grand Piano Home and Thiel CS2.4 are terrible matches. But the fast, dry, precise, detailed, and focused Audio Physic New Spark absolutely rocks with the MV-55! For about a decade, the MV-55 has been a popular amp to use with the ProAc Response One SC - a classic match, IME. Better yet, Totem have just come out with their 20th anniversary The One. Coming off of other amps, The One really showed its mettle when presented with the "old" and "outdated" MV-55. From Zakk Wylde's big Gibson (from Ozzy Osbourne's No Rest For The Wicked), to Steve Howe's unique-sounding solos (Howe also uses Gibson. Check out Howe's playing on Asia's debut album, then see how little his sound has changed on the 2008 Phoenix album), to C.C. DeVille's late-80s B.C. Rich party chords, the MV-55/The One combo let it all hang out.

And if you only have a little slice of a room, try to find NHT's SuperZero. Just get some of the new Kimber 4TC, and be done with audio! In fact, this is what my friend in the Inner Sunset has done. He has the SuperZeroes on a computer desk, and he can look out the window, and see Lincoln Avenue and Golden Gate Park. If he wants bigger sound, he just ditches the electronics, leaves the house, and goes to any of the myriad Bay Area concert venues. For such cramped quarters, why bother with bigger amps, and their excessive heat, weight, gain, and energy demands?

In the mid-90s, $1995 was a lot of money. Even today, $1995 is a lot of money. That can get you Jimmy Choo shoes, Coach handbag, Victoria's Secret bra and undies, Ann Taylor blouse, lunch at Aqua, spa treatment for two, followed by dinner at Chez Panisse. Heck, at $4/gallon, you could buy almost 500 gallons of gas.

But I've tried several samples of the Conrad Johnson MV-55. Used samples go for considerably less than the original retail price of $1995. And that's in today's dollars. Each MV-55 I've tried is still going strong. In many ways, they perform better now (because of higher-rez associated equipment) than they did in the mid-90s. Though the MV-55 initially seems lacking, when you sit down for the long run, you keep discovering its subtle, never-hyped inner workings. The MV-55 is more about inviting you into the music, rather than forcing the music upon you. Hey, you already have several nice purses. You don't need another one. When you take off the watch and bling bling, you'd like to relax at home. Maybe you want to immerse yourself in music. What better way, than to use a Conrad Johnson MV-55?

-Lummy The Seahorse

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Product Weakness:	discontinued long ago; fixed powercord; heat
Product Strengths:	relatively small size; reliable; relatively quiet; accepts banana plugs; easy to bias

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Associated Equipment for this Review:

Amplifier:	Conrad Johnson MV-60SE, Mark Levinson No. 431, Simaudio W-7
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	Mark Levinson No. 326S, Simaudio P-8
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	EAR Acute, Esoteric DV-60, Simaudio Andromeda; Rega P9, Koetsu Jade Platinum, EAR 324
Speakers:	Audio Physic New Spark, NHT SuperZero, ProAc Response One SC, Sonus Faber Concertino, Thiel CS2.4, Totem The One
Cables/Interconnects:	Nordost Odin
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	Rock, pop, metal, Hawaiian
Time Period/Length of Audition:	11 years
Other (Power Conditioner etc.):	Nordost Thor
Type of Audition/Review:	Product Owner

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This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:

Atma-Sphere Music Systems, Inc.

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