$3,700 Conrad-Johnson MF-2500A Solid State Power Amplifier

$3,700 Conrad-Johnson MF2500A Solid State Power Amplifier

The Conrad-Johnson name is one of the most legendary and desirable names in high-end audio gear. They are especially known for their amps, both solid state and tube amps. This unit is a 250 watt per channel stereo solid state design that we're selling on consignment for a long time customer. He's a professor who takes very good care of his gear and uses it only lightly. He has multiple systems and actually a lot of his listening is done with headphones to avoid disturbing family members. He had this amp to drive his B & W 802D Diamond series loudspeakers, which we also have for sale. But then he got a Bryston amp so that he could enjoy balanced XLR connections. Click "More from this seller" above to see those other items for sale. So this sweet amp has just been sitting in storage. Now he also has us selling the Brystoin because he's bought McIntosh MC601's from us. You can pick this CJ up for $1,800 or less than a sixth of what those McIntosh amps run! This is under half the retail price and below the private party blue book despite the fact you're getting it from a dealer. And we've tested it and it sounds great.

We hope you'll find this to be an excellent price from a trusted dealer with 100% perfect feedback since Audiogon began. We also have perfect feedback score on Ebay as well as, over 1,400, from selling this type of gear. You may feel free to make a lower offer and it will be considered but the way we do consignments is that we're not going to sell to lower offers right away, we're going to do our best to get our customer his asking price. If we were selling your gear we'd do the same for you! So if you think you can buy this for less then please by all means make your offer and it will be considered in the order received and maybe you will win. Naturally, if someone offers the asking price then that person will be the lucky one who gets to enjoy this amp in his or her listening room going forward and I really do suspect the seller can get his asking price.

This amp sounds very tube like, but without the roll off in the bass you'd experience in a tube amp at this price point. It's very listenable, I agree with the reviewer about it not sounding bright or harsh as many solid state amps from this range do. This was a very, very solid accomplishment from the engineers at CJ and our customer really loved it. He had a very hard time parting with it even though he has not been actually using it anymore. It's just one of those products that you fall in love with and then you don't want to be without even once you have reached a level of success of being able to afford much more expensive gear. But finally when we delivered his new McIntosh MC601 Mono Blocks he agreed to let us take and sell the CJ. He's still using the CJ preamp and digital front end that he bought at the same time as this even though he has spent a fortune on system upgrades since that time. He just hasn't found anything for him that sounds enough better than what the Conrad-Johnson components of this era sounded like. And while I would of course love to sell him something newer as his dealer, I clearly have a vested finanical interest in that, both selling him the new item and then consigning the old one. But I respect his point of view not to buy something new just because it's new and to keep really well made components that you love. I have components much older than this one still in daily use in my systems and I have sold on things that are far newer that I could have kept. So I get it.

What finally did get him to agree to let us sell this is that he's bought a whole bunch of upgrades. He had bought the Salon2's from us a while back but now he also bought the McIntosh MC601 mono Block amplifiers, beautiful Verastarr granite amp stands for them to go on, a Timbernation rack for his other gear, Stillpoints Ultra feet for everything, some more Revels for his office and now he is finishing out the upgrades with Verastarr Grand Illusion power cords and interconnects. So it's a lot and we encouraged him to let us sell this sweet big amp and let him recoup some money toward all that. Not only that but to let another audiophile draw pleasure from this piece. It's a shame to just have it stored in the closet! It's such a well made piece of gear. I've really enjoyed listening to this CJ. It's a very sweet sounding amp. I haven't pushed it hard at all, cranked up a little Pink Floyd but never felt like I was driving it hard and it never got hot. While it does have some cosmetic flaws which are detailed below it is still a really handsome amp. I like the styling on this one better than some of the newer CJ's actually. Some of them got a little too fancy shmancy for me. I like the simple, manly look of this one.

Comes with original box, manual, and captive power cord. We ship worldwide but we do not offer power conversion on this item so you'd be looking at getting your own conversion done or running it through a stepdown transformer if you want to use it in a 230V country.

The following MF2500A Description and Specifications are a compilation from the manual and the Conrad Johnson website:
"The overall circuits in these amplifiers used a combination of FETs, and bi-polar transistors. FETs were chosen for the gain stage because like tubes and unlike bipolars, they produce almost no strident odd-order harmonics. Bi-polar devices were specified for the output stages of these amplifiers for their low output impedance, resulting in improved bass response.

Specifications:

Power Output: MF2500A – 250 watts per channel. All deliver their power from 20Hz to 20KHz at no more than 1% THD and IM, both channels driven into 8 ohms.

Distortion: less than .1% THD or IMD

Frequency Response: 20Hz to more than 20kHz , +0, -.5dB

Hum & Noise: 100 dB below full power output

Input impedence: 100K ohms

Mechanical:  MF2500A  19" X 6 ¾" X 16"

Martin Colloms reviewed the Conrad-Johnson MF2500 Power Amplifier for Stereophile. This one for sale is the upgraded MF2500A version which provides slightly more power and better sound so the review is not of the same exact model but we felt that it was close enough to include. If you would like to read his whole review you may do so here.

"Technical story

Like many Conrad-Johnson designs, the MF2500's higher performance goals have been attained through experience and the refinement of established circuits, not by some magic new topology that's claimed to solve all previously known audio-fidelity problems. Thus the input stage is a standard differential circuit executed with FETs. The second stage comprises a buffered voltage-gain amplifier, and uses bipolar transistors. It drives a regular class-A/B push-pull bipolar output stage, which is direct-coupled to the speaker.....

The MF2500's regulation topology is of Premier quality. For example, the input stage has its own transformer tap stabilized at a voltage higher than the output stage requirement. Discrete open-loop regulators have audiophile-grade polystyrene and polypropylene capacitors. Only the main current reservoirs are electrolytic, but here there is no choice. Voltage-reference and feedback-control resistors are costly metal-foil Vishays. Six 10,000µF Nichicon electrolytics form the central reservoirs for both channels, giving a total of 30,000µF per DC supply phase and ensuring good current delivery at low frequencies. ...

It is finished in satin-black textured enamel. The baseplate can be removed to access the underside of the printed circuit board. The only control is a front-panel power switch, and there's no soft start. The heavy transformer is affixed to the right side of the chassis, while the single, external, full-size finned heatsink is to the left. The inputs are single-ended phono sockets, the outputs 5-way binding posts, all gold-plated. Thermal protection is via a self-resetting thermal trip circuit. The power cord is a captive three-core type. "

"Listening

In some respects, the MF2500 gave an understated view of musical events—with casual listening it's possible to dismiss it on grounds of a lack of forthrightness for its rather measured pace, and an almost rich, distant presentation. Yet, over the long term, and along with its even-tempered if slightly sweet tonal balance, it was the very absence of a forced or excitable character, false hardness, or excessive attack that endeared the MF2500 to me. There was a sense of ease; aural fatigue was significantly lower than usual for this class of amplifier. Just when I thought I'd got about as much out of the MF2500 as I was going to get, it got better by stages.

Within that slightly "relaxed" temperament, the MF2500 nevertheless managed to pack quite a punch—this is a bighearted amplifier, and sounds it. As it continued to break-in and I grew more familiar with its balance, musical values asserted themselves. Pace, rhythm, and timing, plus dynamic resolution, were all rated significantly above average. "....

"Conclusion

Conrad-Johnson's MF2500 is a successful product on many grounds. It closely approaches the classic tonal character of a fine tubed amplifier—a C-J hallmark—and holds on to that quality over a great range of output power and possible speaker loading. Not easy to accomplish.

It also avoids the cheap, quick thrill of a bright, fast, forward sound. Instead, it builds on quality and depth of performance to achieve its commendable rating. Its sound is musically entertaining without being hyperactive, while its broad, bighearted approach is easy on the ears. All kinds of music were handled with equanimity.

In the lab, the MF2500's high output power and good load tolerance were confirmed. The amplifier could dump up to 900Wpc into 2 ohm loads for short-term peaks, and cruise happily at around 300Wpc driving 8 ohm loads. This matches the attainment of significantly more costly amplifiers. Except for the modest channel separation at high frequencies, no test result gave rise to concern.

Well-built and well-finished, with effective if old-fashioned circuit protection, the MF2500 idled at quite low power and could be safely left on for extended listening periods. This musically well-balanced powerhouse represents fine dollar value, and wins a warm recommendation."

We have created this photo montage to give you an idea of some of the beautiful and fantastic sounding consignment gear that we have up for sale on Audiogon. Our business mainly consists of helping our clients to make the biggest possible upgrades to their systems given their tastes and budget. Then we order them the gear they want. Usually that leaves them with an old piece of gear they no longer need themselves but which is still a very nice piece of gear for someone. Increasingly, clients are turning to us to sell their old gear. Everything in this montage is for sale now or else it just sold. So please click: "More from this Seller" above to see all our other listings. We have wonderful things from Audio Research, Grant Audio, Bryston, Conrad Johnson, BlackNote and more.

Plus, there's more info below about how to consign with us in case you have high end gear you don't need anymore and you're too busy to sell it, too famous to sell it, or whatever the case may be. We'd be pleased to discuss it with you. While I love talking with all the people from around the world who contact us about our sales a lot of our customers have told me that they either don't feel they have time to do it, they don't feel safe doing it themselves because they are too well known, or they just feel as if they'd rather focus on what they are best at and let us sell their gear for them. obviously if you make hundreds of dollars an hour (or more) at your profession then it makes more economic sense that you focus on that and leave selling your leftover gear to us. We're honored to have all this beautiful gear entrusted to us. We test it all thoroughly so that means we get to listen to it here in our own facilities and that is something we love to do.

And as a Buyer, you really get the best of both worlds when you buy these consignment items. You get the safety of buying from a trusted dealer who will support you with your purchase long after the sale is completed, which you won't get buying from regular Audiogon sellers. But you get the same cheap pricing that you could get buying from a private seller.

High End Zone is a family business. Stef and Heather are the parents, Isaac is our 14 year old son. Heather does the photography, specs, selling policies and reviews with help from Isaac, who is away at Duke University participating in a writing camp but helped on these listings before he left.

The back of this unit has a blem area that I would like to point out. As with all the blems on this unit, they do not detract from the power of the amplifier and are out of sight, however, they are there if you look from the correct angle. The back of the fin area has some scratches.

The sides of the fins look great.
The right side looks good overall, you can see a small nick at about the middle of the top ridge if you look for it, but generally good overall.

As you look more closely at the right side, at different angles and in different light, several scratches do appear.
This unit comes with the original box, attached power cord, manual and the some originally accompanied brochures.

The faceplate is free from any noticeable flaws.

Feel free to contact us if you need to upgrade any of your cables, Tranquility Bases or other items in your system to the current spec at the same time through email at [email protected] or by phone at 575.535.2280 and we'll be happy to assist you with a package deal for everything that you need. Thank you.

We have disabled the "Buy it Now" button on Audiogon because we had a whole run of people 2 years ago who agreed to buy then didn't pay. We prefer to do business the old fashioned way where we exchange emails like gentlemen and conduct a smooth and safe transaction for all parties. Because we don't own this we cannot take much less than the asking price for it. If you make us a low offer there is no way I am going to go to this gentleman and tell him that I have a low offer, that so and so really wants it but his wife won't let him spend more than X amount for it. I'll just ignore the lowball offer and wait til a better one comes in. However, if you want to buy this together with some other items, as part of a package deal, then that would be something we can discuss. Just let me know what items you want.

If you are the one who decides to purchase this item, thank you and enjoy! Our full store policies are included below the pictures, but for now I would like to let you know about a few of them. For payment, we are happy to accept a cashier's check, a bank wire or PayPal. If PayPal is your preferred payment method then please add the following percentage of your purchase and shipping price to your total to cover the PayPal fees: 3% for domestic buyers or 4% for international buyers. Also, since this is a consignment sale where the equipment does not belong to us but to our customer, we need to ask that the buyer promptly inspect and test the item upon receipt and report any problems found so that if there is a problem found we could withhold funds from paying our customer to deal with the problem. We don't think there will be any problem, but once we have paid him we won't have any recourse if any problem is found. So, please take the time to unpack and test as soon after the equipment arrives as possible. Our policy states that we will hear from you within 10 days of receipt if any discrepancy is found. However, what we really want is to receive your email saying how much this enhances your listening experience right away, just as soon as possible so that we know you are satisfied. But if there is any problem at all then we want to hear about that right away as well, so that we can make it right for you and make this a successful transaction for all concerned!

Also, because we're selling this for a client and have to give him the cash for it, we're not going to take trades unless you make us some trade offer that we consider to be so far in our favor that we can't resist putting in our own money to buy your gear. An exception to this that we would be willing to consider would be that if you want to buy this AND some other items that we sell then we'll try and make you a package deal for all of it. Since this is not ours we cannot discount it much, but we can give you an extra discount on other items we sell to make you a package deal. So if you want some Lansche speakers or Ypsilon amps or any of the many other things we sell, which are listed below, then please email us.

We would be happy to sell your gear on consignment if that would help you to purchase this or other items from the High End Zone. In some cases we might sell your gear on consignment even if you don't want to buy more gear from us, if the gear is very nice. Our most successful customers are very busy folks and we understand that if they spend hours answering questions from Audiogoners, that is thousands of dollars that they lost in terms of what they could have earned with that time. We do have some restrictions as to what we can sell because of the manufacturer rules about online sales and so on, but we do our best to help. We can arrange to have the gear picked up from your home or office, or in some cases we can even have someone come in and pack it for you. Then we will handle all the testing, photography, sales of the item and follow up after the sale. Since many people prefer to buy from a dealer and because we have 12 years of perfect feedback on Audiogon and Ebay with no neutrals or negatives ever we can usually get more for your items than you could get yourself. Depending on the exact item, you may net as much or even slightly more having us sell it. And once you factor in the value of your time, it's a clear savings to let us sell the gear for you. So let us know if we can be of service to you in that area.

We are truly appreciative of responsible Audiogon members, please make sure you are one of them before you make us an offer. If you have questions concerning the gear, the terms of sale, or if you need to upgrade any of your cables, Tranquility Bases or other items in your system to the current spec, please contact us through email or by phone at 575.535.2280. We will be happy to get back with you as quickly as possible. Thank you for your interest and may our gear help facilitate your ears meeting high quality sound with ease.

Here is the shipping info for the
$3,700 Conrad-Johnson MF-2500A Amplifier


24 inches X 21 inches X 12 inches

Weight of 60 lbs.

The Conrad-Johnson MF-2500A will be shipped using the original form fitting foam and box.

Origin: We ship from Gila, NM 88038 / USA

Please email us at [email protected] if you are sincerely interested in purchasing this and have any questions. We may also be contacted by phone at 575.535.2280.

Welcome to the home of High End Zone!

Thanks for looking at our listing.

Please check our perfect feedback from years of trading on Audiogon and buy with confidence. We have sold gear all over the world, to every continent except Antarctica and hopefully one of those scientists there will order from us soon!

We offer professional packing, prompt shipping with tracking info sent to you and a high level of customer service and support. We provide guaranteed quality and service. We think we are the perfect service for the customer who wants great savings but does not have time for all the hassle of putting together a system with pieces obtained from many different sellers. We offer one stop shopping for all your high-end needs.

The High End Zone, is a full service audio and home theater dealer offering superb gear at substantial discounts. That's our demo theater above, loaded with the gear that I love and the same gear that we love to sell, Runco, Revel, JL Audio, McIntosh, Anthem, Lexicon and more.

The High End Zone is all about listening to good music, talking to clients around the world by email, and helping people get the most joy out of the time and money they invest in their high-end audio and theater hobbies. If you're a successful individual, you and your family should be able to enjoy beautiful music and video in your home affordably, and the buying process should be fun, not a chore. We're dedicated to that and I hope we get the chance to sell you something that you and your family can enjoy together for a long time in good health, just as my family and I enjoy our several high-end audio and video systems!

Thank you for your interest, please do not hesitate to email us with your questions at [email protected] or give us a call at 575.535.2280.

The Fine Print:

We accept payment by PayPal and wire transfers from anywhere in the world and cashier's checks drawn on US banks. We will also accept escrow if the buyer pays the fee.

If PayPal is your preferred payment method, then please add the following percentage of your purchase and shipping price to your total to cover the PayPal fees: 3% for domestic buyers and 4% for International buyers. If you pay by PayPal then your purchase must be shipped to the PayPal shipping address only, per PayPal's rules.

We may accept a personal check from long-standing Audiogon members, but it does delay shipping for clearance. Please ask before paying that way. If you desire to pay by some other means you do not see here then please email us, we will try to accommodate you if we can.

Our items are guaranteed to work properly and be in the condition we describe. If we make a mistake, if an item does not work properly, or if the item description is inaccurate, we'll offer you a full and prompt refund or exchange at our option and issue return shipping labels at our expense.

Please check your purchases promptly upon arrival. In general, our policy is that any flaw, damage, missing item, incorrect item, etc. must be reported to High End Zone by email no later than 3 days (72 hours) after that item is delivered. If you are not able to check the item yourself in that time frame, please make the necessary arrangements to have someone else make such a check for you in your absence.

All sales are final with no returns or exchanges allowed unless the buyer finds a defect and reports it to High End Zone within 72 hours after delivery. See below for special note on delays due to customs on international shipments. If the buyer finds a defect and reports it to High End Zone by email within 72 hours after the item is delivered then High End Zone will repair, replace, or refund at our option.

In rare cases we have allowed a return to happen for a 20% restocking fee. Any item that is returned to us due to any reason other than the item not working properly or not in the condition we describe, the buyer will be charged a 20% restocking fee. This includes sales where the buyer "changes his mind", where his wife beats him over the head for spending too much money, where some unforeseen crisis, financial or otherwise, strikes the buyer, his family, his friends/ business/ job/ pets/ favorite sports team/ etc. or any other reason that the buyer may seek to cancel the sale or return the item for some reason other than a mistake or discrepancy on the High End Zone's part. And this includes cases where the buyer changes his mind and wants to cancel the sale before he even receives the item, possibly before we even ship it. We are a small company and the moment a buyer commits to purchase one of our items we are redeploying our capital to get other items for our customers to buy. If you decide 2 hours or 2 minutes after you buy something that you don't want it anymore, chances are we've already spent the money to restock. So the restocking fee absolutely applies in all cases of buyers changing their minds, wanting to cancel a sale after it is agreed or returning an item for any reason other than High End Zone providing a flawed or incorrect item. This does not mean that we will agree to accept a return or to allow for the cancelation of an order where a buyer changes his mind. An order is a contract to purchase and we are setting aside the goods for you the moment you order them. You would never want us to accept a higher offer after we accepted yours and sell the goods to someone else, and we would never do that. By the same token, we expect you to follow through on what you have contractually promised to do and to pay for your item as agreed.

So for example, if a buyer who used PayPal were to apply to PayPal for a refund because he changed his mind about purchasing an item, then IF we did give that refund it would be less the 20% restock fee. So the moral of the story is, if you're not sure you want it, just don't buy, wait until you actually are sure, and then buy. It's the same as if you're going to buy a house, you don't sign the contract til you and your wife are sure you want the house and can afford it. I feel like an idiot for having to say this but we have had a number of people who think "I changed my mind." or "My wife says I can't buy the amp." just magically gets them out of a contract they agreed to with us. With no consideration that we have incurred costs above and beyond the listing fees. By taking it off the market we may have lost potentially perfect buyers and we will have to spend more on listings fees and so on. So, we have to be strict about this and ask that buyers please be conscientious here. We charge low margins, that's only possible if people follow through and pay for items as agreed. So while all sales are final and there are no refunds or exchanges unless you receive a defective item and report that within 3 days as specified above, IF for some reason we do agree to accept your return or cancel your order when there is no mistake or defect on High End Zone's part, then you agree to pay us the 20% restocking fee on your order.

In the case of items that are shipped internationally the buyer is responsible to make sure the item clears customs in a timely manner. We've had cases where buyers waited a long time to pay their customs bill, delaying the release of the item. The trouble with that is we need to know promptly if there is any problem with your item so that we can file a shipping claim if needed or withhold payment from a consignor or a supplier on a defective item, etc. So we now require that any item be picked up from Customs within 5 business days or less in order to preserve the buyer's protections for shipping damage and defective merchandise under our selling policies. We discourage the use of Postal Mail as it may be harder to meet this deadline using that shipping method. Generally FedEx will clear items within one business day.

We can sometimes make an exception to some of the above policies if you change your mind in order to buy something else that we can sell you that costs more. For example, if you make a deal to buy a JL f113 from us and then you decide that what you REALLY want is a Gotham g213, then we can probably work it out to make that switch for you without a restocking fee. That said, please don't buy if you're not sure that you want the item you are buying. If you need to check with your wife, your broker, your business partner, your kids, or the Supreme Court before you buy, please do that. The High End Zone cannot be held responsible for any case of wives beating their husbands for spending too much money on good gear!

The High End Zone is a full service home theater dealer located in Southwest New Mexico. While we are well established as the premier dealer in our small town market, we also serve many clients who have multiple homes or live in far-flung places. The world is increasingly a small place and I delight in talking with and serving clients from all continents and many countries of the world. Depending on your needs we are happy to just sell you gear (note some manufacturers may prohibit us from sending gear to certain places) or we can provide a full service experience including system design, acoustic design and construction, installation, programming, and more. We've done work for very high profile clients with multiple homes and we are also proud to serve many hobbyists who enjoy this hobby on a modest budget. No matter your budget, we'll strive to provide the products you want at a price that is fair with top shelf service.

Some of the many lines we sell include, but are not limited to:

AB Amps

Acoustic Sciences Corporation ASC Tube Traps

AMX

Audio Desk

Axonix

B.M.C.

Capriccio Continuo (ATD)

Cineak

Crestron

Da-Lite screens

Daniel Hertz (ultimate audio creations of Mr. Mark Levinson)

Denon

Dragonfly screens

Einstein

Escient

Extreme Media Servers

Finite Elemente

Furman

Golden Acoustics

Hartvig

HB Cable Design

Ikeda

Isoclean

JBL

JBL Synthesis

Kaleidescape

Key Digital

Lansche

Lexicon

Lutron

Mark Levinson

Marantz

McIntosh

Middle Atlantic

Millenium

Mozaex

Paradigm

Parasound

PHC (Professional Home Cinema)

Polk Audio

Revel

Runco

Salamander

Scaena

Screen Excellence

Screen Innovations

SE2 Labs

Silverline Audio

Stage III

Stewart Film Screens

Tandem

Thales

Transparent Cables

Tru-Audio

Velodyne

Verastarr

Vidikron

Wireworld

Ypsilon

*List includes lines we are factory direct with as well as lines we get through distribution or through our extensive dealer network. Most customers don't care whether we are factory direct if we provide authentic product and great service at a fair price, but if you care about this or any other issue, please ask us.

Unlike most shops that sell a very small number of lines that they are authorized for and will always try and talk customers in to buying just those few lines, we are willing to sell you virtually any line that you want. Obviously we make a lower profit if we have to get it from another dealer, but our goal is to provide you, the customer, with one stop shopping and top notch service. It's more like the business model of Amazon than the old school brick and mortar stores. We want the customer's business and we will try and earn it by providing competitive pricing and top notch service for you on whatever brands you want. Of course if you are not sure what brands are best for your needs and want us to provide expert analysis of what gear represents the best value for your dollar, we are more than happy to provide that too. We spend a great deal of time and money listening to and viewing a wide range of audio and video systems, as well as bringing in gear for long-term testing in our facilities. Most of the salesmen you might deal with in a home theater store do NOT have a high-end audio video system in their homes. I have 4 such systems, including Runcos in every nook and cranny, and I live with this stuff daily. So I truly know what works well and what is worth spending money on and what is not. And even if I used something for years and loved it, when I hear something better, that is a better value, I switch immediately. My main loyalty is to the customer and your satisfaction--I want you to buy not just one thing from us, but all your gear, for life, and to recommend us to your friends and family. To that end, I will strive to give you the best and most honest advice, fair prices and great service. And I'll try to get you any brand you want, ultimately your system needs to satisfy you, not me.

Our clients certainly enjoy their home audio and video rooms. We do as well and hope you'll also take pleasure and be inspired by the variety of these beautiful installations.

Some aspects of making an informed choice in an audiophile grade listening room or a home theater system are worth a little extra effort. We invite you to contact the High End Zone for help in making your choices, we will make the extra effort worthwhile.