
Historically speaking, any product called ‘Classic’ isn’t going to champion bold new industrial design. But in the conrad-johnson Classic Phono preamplifier, the company walks a very well-trodden design path. Everything from the colour scheme, the control surfaces, even the graphics and fonts on the front and rear panel, have changed little since the earliest days of c-j. You could easily mistake the Classic Phono for the TEA2 or even the EV1 phono preamplifier from 24 years ago on looks alone. While I applaud this dedication to c-j’s gold-fronted minimalism, such products can be lost in a roiling sea of marketing campaigns pushing ‘edgy’ looking products. Which is a shame because the new conrad-johnson Classic Phono preamplifier deserves not to fly under the radar.
Despite the changeless looks, this is a modern take on conrad-johnson’s line. It builds on the successful – and now discontinued – TEA1 and TEA2 phono stages (we tested the TEA2 back in Issue 70). Like many brands in 2024, c-j has been rationalising its line, and there are now just two phono preamplifiers in the range; the Classic Phono and the ART Phono (tested in Issue 226), although the Classic Phono is available in a premium SE version, where 20 passive components are replaced with custom Vishay metal foil resistors and proprietary CJ Teflon (PTFE) capacitors.
Regardless of SE status, the Classic Phono is a zero-feedback design with a passive RIAA equalisation network. It uses two cascaded single-ended triode amplifiers with a single-ended triode cathode follower. This is conceptually similar to most c-j phono stages and a very familiar design to users of the TEA2. The circuit results in a low distortion and wide bandwidth design, with low output impedance (below 700Ω) making it an ideal partner for current and vintage c-j line preamps.
Two gain options
Again like its predecessors, the Classic Phono is available in two gain configurations – High Gain (53dB and using 3 x 12AX7 and 1 x 12AU7 double triodes) or Low Gain (40dB with 2 x 12AX7 and 2 x 12AU7 double triodes). Don’t be fooled by the seemingly low gain values in both variants; c-j’s line stages have around 20dB of gain, so the sum of phono and line preamplifier gain values is more than enough. Moreover, the circuit is so quiet and noise-free that even when used with a low gain line stage (9dB in case of this review), the High Gain version remained respectably quiet, even at ‘respectable’ volume levels, and that’s with a MC cartridge with just 0.2mV output.
As befitting a minimalist phono preamplifier, controls are limited to an on-off switch on the front panel and a pair of phono terminals in and out, plus an earth connection. There is provision for adjusting cartridge loading, but it requires unplugging the Classic Phono, removing its top plate and adjusting the settings on two tiny four-gang DIP switches on the circuit board near to the input RCAs.
Factory door settings
These switches are set to 47kΩ out of the factory door, but you can assign a resistive load of 9.6kΩ, 2.4kΩ, 560Ω, 460Ω, 250Ω or 160Ω. I’d prefer these to be adjustable without removing the top-plate, but they are once-per-cartridge, fit-and-forget settings.
It’s such a c-j design fixture that it’s almost a cliché, but great attention has been paid to the Classic Phono’s power supply. The phono preamp uses discrete regulated supplies to yield minimal impedance up into the highest frequencies. Although the SE version adds more top-end components to the list, the standard Classic Phono bristles with high-grade components in its own right and the case features good shielding and anti-RFI measures. While these are not as thorough as the case-within-a-case of the ART Phono, this was still a conscious consideration throughout the Classic Phono’s development.
TEA-time is over
The TEA1 and TEA2 stayed in the c-j line-up for many years, albeit with the former going through three iterations over its long life. But they left the line-up for good reason; the Classic phono is better. A lot better. Recent c-j products have had what is both a sonic renaissance and a convergence of old and new. They retain much of the sweet musicality of early-era c-j but with the detail, focus, snap and precision of more modern designs. The combination of the two is close to the ideal for many.
So, if we are continuing to discuss those older conrad-johnson phono stages; the EV1 of the turn of the century sounds a little too ‘rose-tinted’ by today’s standards, but in some ways what came after – the TEA1 and TEA2 – overcompensated making a sound that while dynamic, precise and detailed, was lacking some of the ‘magic’ of old. It’s pretty clear that the synthesis of both means the Classic Phono – like the ART Phono before it – is a return to form and the perfect balance of what models like the EV1 and TEA designs did right. And where it scores highly is it blends those boons without sacrificing performance in other aspects.
Classic Phono improves over TEA1 and TEA2 in that fundamental synthesis of old and new. It takes the detail and tonal accuracy of the TEA models and gives it some of the musical insight and romance of the older designs, and the result is better than both. The romance is the right side of ‘lush’ and doesn’t get in the way of more forthright beat-oriented music. The Classic Phono’s blend of audio insight with intense musical communication makes your music come to life.
Soundstaging
A big part of the conrad-johnson presentation is about soundstaging. The Classic Phono presents an image unconstrained by the loudspeakers and is only limited by the rest of the system upstream and down. In particular, it has an image depth that draws the listener deeper into the music. That is coupled with good image solidity and a sense of dynamic shading that makes instruments in that stage sound believable and ‘in the room’ with you. While this is strongest with live instruments, it’s a universal effect.
It’s less of a detail machine than predecessors like the TEA1 and TEA2, but it retains those phono preamp’s fundamentally accurate tonal balance, and arguably ‘detail’ is replaced with ‘insight’. While that sounds like an oxymoron, the Classic Phono’s focus is less upon knowing what gauge and brand of strings the guitarist is using and more about how they are playing the music. String noises and squeaks on acoustic guitar are still presented with great clarity, but these seem set more into the context of the musical whole, more in line with older c-j phono replay.
That doesn’t mean the Classic Phono smooths over all kinds of music and adds a ‘niceness’ filter; albums like Optical Delusion by Orbital [Orbital] are very hit and miss, with tracks like ‘Dirty Rat’ sounding thin and undynamic… because they are thin and undynamic on LP. However, that honesty does not come at so high a musical price that you have to tailor your musical tastes to suit your system.
Notes in common
My listening notes shared a lot in common with those of the ART Phono, just in a slightly smaller scale. But, unless you have a system of such resolution that it demands a phono preamplifier with the gravitas of the ART Phono, the Classic Phono preamplifier is probably all you need. While audio reviewers spend their word counts on analytical aspects of performance, the Classic Phono is all about the music.
I’d like to hope the Classic Phono will be followed by a reborn Classic Line preamplifier to complete the series. However, I also fear the minimalist specification sheet of this Classic product is off-putting. While the conrad-johnson Classic Phono preamplifier has got it where it should count most – in the sound quality department – regrettably, many products today are sold more on specification that listening test. The Classic Phono’s ‘back to basics’ approach might be too basic to convert new customers to the c-j cause.
That all being said, I suspect the market for the conrad-johnson Classic Phono preamplifier will not be first time c-j owners. The clue’s in the ‘Classic’ name; this is a product for the vinyl music lovers who already know what the gold-fronted electronics can do and want that synthesis of old-school warmth and new-generation detail. If that’s ‘playing to the choir’ then get ready to sing!
Technical specifications
- Type: Valve Phono stage
- Valves: 2× 12AX7, 1× 12AU7 double triodes per channel
- PHONO 1: Gain 53dB, load fixed 47kΩ
- Gain 63dB, load fixed 46Ω (with step-up transformers)
- PHONO 2: Gain 53dB, load variable 147Ω to 47kΩ, 20pf to 956pf
- Hum and Noise: <500µv
- Output Impedance: Below 200 ohms
- Dimensions (H×W×D): 1 3.8 × 47.6 × 40.4cm
- Net Weight: 14.1kg
- Price: £7,495, $7,000 Special Edition version £8,995, $9,000
Manufacturer
conrad-johnson Design
UK distributor
Audiofreaks
+44(0)2089 484153
By Alan Sircom
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