The Duel of the phono preamps - both parts!

 After forgetting I had even started a blog page for over ten years, it suddenly started filling up! To my own dismay I noticed, that it already takes a medium attention span to find and read both parts of my review and comparison of two audiophile grade, but somewhat affordable phono-preamplifiers.

So here are both parts together:

 

THE DUEL, Part 1

It's the duel of the phono preamps at high afternoon!

Lehmann Audio Black Cube goes vs. Pro-Ject Phono Box S2 in toe to toe vinyl combat!

Why no Youtube video? I am not set up for video productions, and my house is a mess, PLUS Youtube is famous for censoring even test videos with short samples, if they happen to recognise any copyrighted music. So no, no video!

The story how this came about (to skip this all, look for the header "The Duel"):

I've had my Pro-Ject Phono Box S2 for several years now, and really love it. It simply is plain pleasure, has no noise, and no hum on my OC9 moving coil cart, which is difficult for any budget phono-preamp!

Some cheap pieces are plain lame and are too low in volume, or they spit, hiss, and shriek. The Pro-Ject in contrast is a joy, as it is refined, and has very good adjustable gain to give music enough impact, without distorting anything.

In the shelf before the Lehmann Audio:

Its companion phono-preamp for a second turntable so far has been a surprisingy good and dirt cheap (around 80 bucks) Technolink TC-760LC from Phonopreamps.com. They sell the TC-760LC on Amazon with an optional higher grade power supply. They come in black and a dark off colour sort of "champagne" silverish kind of finish.
The Technolink is noticeably weaker and has a bit more hum on the moving coil input, but if you are on a budget, it is perfectly satisfactory, delivers fine detail, does not fatigue, and is a good long play listening device! As my first moving coil capable phono box was a cheap Music Hall (which cost 20 bucks more!) with actually a bit lower and non-adjustable gain, this one is not bad at all. If I had not tried and kept the Pro-Ject, I would probably be ignorant and happy with this budget phono-preamp!

The 200 dollar Pro-Ject Phono Box S2 (which has been more than excellent for my very entry level system) had bumped a far more expensive Creek OBH15 without contest. That was easy, as the Creek was playing so bad with my Audio Technica OC9 moving coil marvel, having some kind of deep bass resonance problem, it made my ears hurt, no matter what amp I yanked from my collection of vintage classics that included Marantz, Superscope, Pioneer, Yamaha, Technics, and others at the time. So the OBH then sat in its box in a dusty shelf for several years, and I was glad to be rid of it as a trade in before I even bought the Pro-Ject.

My friend Peter, proprietor of "Turntable Treasures" in Tacoma, was curious about what I thought of this "Lehmann Audio Black Cube Statement" and loaned it for a little testing.


The Setup:

This called for 2 turntables, close enough to start with and set up to sound identical.
My main living room turntable has been a Dual 510 for some time now. The original platter mat has been replaced by a foam mat, which makes the normally slightly dark sounding machine (due to its factory mat it turns out) a little brighter. It is augmented by a secondary player, a Dual 1246, fully automatic, with a very similar platter, but different mat. This mat was also replaced by a foam mat of the same type. Having the same arm and counter weight, and both running with a Grado Black now, we now have two practically identically source turntables.
The machines feed into the Lehmann Audio (Dual 1246) and the Pro-Ject (Dual 510), then into a remote control Sanyo LC 75342 chip set kit preamp, into a Dayton Audio APA150 power amp. The Dayton came out of an audiophile scrutinisation on TNT-Audio with flying colours, and I have to say I like it!
The weakest part of the chain is my speaker pair, the Dayton Audio B652, but I cannot play loud in this neighbourhood, and the B652 is actually highly regarded in many circles, so there would be absolutely NO point for me to spend more money on other speakers. They deliver the goods at low to mid volume.


THE DUEL:

FIRST RECORD

Archic Produktion
"Musica Antiqua Koeln", Reinhard Goebel
Digital Recording on vinyl
Digital Stereo 2566127

side 1 track 1, Pachelbel, Kanon & Gigue D-dur

Lehmann: more chunkie sounding cembalo with more impact

track 2, Handel, Sonata G-dur, 2 violins & coninuo

On the Lehmann the violins are more open/spacious sounding vs. more boxed in on Pro-Ject.

I drifted off on the rest of the record and just enjoyed through both preamps, somehow turning off my critical listening mode. This actually means, that BOTH preamps achieve a most important goal, which is just forgetting about the equipment, and enjoying the music. I have certainly had equipment, where I kept thinking and imagining what a better piece would sound like, but these preamps just simple are. "Zen", just being, has been achieved. 

 

FIRST RESULTS FOR MOVING MAGNET CARTRIDGE TEST ONLY:

This is a comparison test, so while close, if you have the extra money, the edge goes to the Lehmann Audio.

Both are a step above cheaper phono stages, and they are VERY close. 

The Lehmann Audio Black Cube does appear to deliver a "sturdier" bottom end foundation and sounds more spacious than the Pro-Ject, so it gets the nod!

However, we have entered the realm of "high end" audio, where differences and improvements are subtle. Too often, an upgrade of one piece means skipping another vital part altogether, so setting up your budget is first, and choosing the second best option with something else you need for a complete system will often win over not having a missing piece. 

In this case, the more than 250 dollar difference between the Pro-Ject S2 and the Black Cube phono stages (you need a phono stage for playing vinyl) means being able to buy the Dayton Audio APA150 (which you can use as a standalone without any remote control preamp) and a pair of the reasonable good and audiophile approved Dayton B652 speakers. 

Plus, the differences noted in this first comparison will likely only be noticed in a direct back and forth comparison of the same record rapidly plopped from one player/preamp to the other.

BUT ISN'T THERE A WINNER FOR NOW? 

Yes my Dear, it is the Lehmann Audio Black Cube Statement.

Here is TNT-Audio's take on The Lehmann Audio Black Cube:
https://www.tnt-audio.com/ampli/statement_e.html

Here is the TNT-Audio review of the Dayton Audio APA150:
https://www.tnt-audio.com/ampli/dayton_apa150_e.html

The low budget, but very acceptable Technolink TC-760LC:
https://www.phonopreamps.com/TC-760LCpp.html

The TC-760LC with upgraded power supply:
https://smile.amazon.com/TC-760LC-BLACK-Phono-Control-optional/dp/B00II2L880/

The TC-760LC with upgraded power supply in silver(ish ... sort of)
https://smile.amazon.com/TC-760LC-SILVER-Phono-Control-optional/dp/B00IHHNVNG/

Pro-Ject Phono Box S2:
https://www.project-audio.com/en/product/phono-box-s2/

Lehmann Audio Black Cube Statement:
https://www.lehmannaudio.com/phono-stages/black-cube-statement.html

The Duel, Part 2

This is continued from the first part of "The Duel", so please refer to it for more details about my set-up!

Tonight, the duel between the Pro-Ject Phono Box S2 and the twice as expensive Lehmann Audio Black Box Statement came to a thundering conclusion. 

Mounted was my sample of a 20 year old Audio Technica OC9 moving coil cartridge. A new moving coil cart is simply not in my budget, but this old classic still works just dandy!

This old beastie, despite all opinions about the cantilever suspension dying a slow rubber grommet death after 5 years (I for one think this is mainly a sales pitch for new junk, as long as you store your treasures in good temperature and humidity conditions), still delivers the sounds locked up in the vinyl grooves in a way, that my most recent brand new and best moving magnet cartridges simply cannot replicate.

It sounds positively great using my Pro-Ject S2.

However, on the Lehmann Statement it really comes to life in a way I never experienced before!

Toto IV (1982, CBS Master Sound, HC47728, 7464-47728-1) is a well known classic. 

On the Pro-Ject S2, the vinyl sounded a lot like the radio and CD deliveries I was used to. There was simply nothing wrong, and the S2 just amplified the sound my OC9 delivered with all the improved detail in a very enjoyable way.

Then I put the record on the other machine connected to the Lehmann Statement. 

It suddenly came to life in a spectacular way. The sound started to pop, bass was cracking, and something magical (hard to describe) had happened to the clarity and spaciousness of just everything. It was the kind of thing you need to hear to understand.

The Lehmann Black Box Statement was absolutely the immediate clear winner without any arguments.

The one question is this:

Is it worth the extra money?

The rest of your system needs to keep up for sure, especially your cartridge and turntable!

As I mentioned in Part 1, the extra money spent on this Lehmann vs. the Pro-Ject S2 can actually buy you a fairly decent amplifier you may not have yet!

Prices for everything have gone up last year, so you cannot include speakers anymore, but still, 200 bucks stepping up from the S2 to the Lehmann is a real word difference that many people cannot sneer at!

Most likely, a phono-preamp will be in your shelf for many years, so budgeting and how to pay it or save for it will be a very personal decision.

I have to say that my personal budget is really restricted, and I am happy with and enjoy my Pro-Ject Phono Box S2. While it is "entry level", cheaper than many other phono-preamps (but expensive for frugal observers), and sneered at by some HiFi snobs, it is certainly already above what most people have in their homes. But had things gone differently, the Lehmann Black Box Statement would be my pride and joy for sure!

If you have the budget, go for it. There is nothing to regret with the Lehmann!
Otherwise, any budget minded curmudgeon can get along with the basic but surprisingly good Techlink TC760LC from phonopreamps.com, or the definitely already refined sounding Pro-Ject Phono Box S2.