Merrill Audio Jens Reference Phonostage

Mr Spock · 12 Νοεμβρίου 2019

The RIAA equalization is based on extensive calculations that take into account the loading effects of the front and back impedances surrounding the EQ circuit. The resultant RIAA accuracy is considerably better than 0.1dB. Both channels feature matched components for superb channel balance. The matching process is apparently quite long and costly; while Merrill Audio has become good at this, it still takes a lot of time to build every unit.

Cartridge loading is adjustable via two knobs located on the rear panel over a range from 5 to 5000 ohms in 12 discrete steps, which includes 100 ohms

With a gain of 72dB, a 0.5mV nominal cartridge voltage is amplified to a 2V line-level signal. That means that in addition to a typical medium-to-high-gain preamp, the Jens may also be connected directly to a buffer preamp or autoformer volume control, unless your power amp is exceptionally insensitive

Tonally, good recordings were reproduced with a sweet midrange and layers of sumptuous textures free of irritating distortion artifacts. The presentation was never pushed forward, as is often the case when the upper midrange is bright sounding. Transients, both at the point of attack and during decay, flowed organically with speed and purity. The Jens was also highly revealing of microdynamic nuances and manifested extra gears to propel the music from loud to very loud without even a hint of distres