Well, I admit that after its set-up, I would have wanted the Aquilar with a little more pressure in the lower frequency range, but this could have also resulted from the fact that the Etna hadn’t been able to collect more than a few hours of operation so far. But that’s not the real reason. However, a little more impact in the lows is only the click of a switch away: with 100 instead of 500 ohms of load the Etna acts a good deal more sonorous, tonally more colourful and also more voluminous. Awesome! Actually, I could have come earlier to that conclusion, as with Einstein's The Turntable's Choice the Lyras feel most comfortable loaded at 85 ohms. The Einstein rounds up and fills the upper mids sightly more than the 42, plays dynamically with a lot more pressure, but lacks a bit of fine detail and lets the musicians play on a minimally smaller stage – all that without taking away the irresistible drive from Jack DeJohnette's Special Edition’s title track on Tin Can Alley. Emotionally both phono preamps are one hundred percent convincing, but if you take mere hi-fi criteria as a reference, then the Blue Amp takes the lead: It combines the musical enthusiasm so characteristic for this piece of music with a touch more fine detail and airiness. In the case of "Maracatu" from Egberto Gismonti’s Sanfona, it’s rather a question of definition: on this track the 42 brightly shines with its enormous resolution abilities and the openly breathing spatial imaging. That's why I again tried the 500 ohms loading, which offers a shade better performance regarding the aforementioned criteria, but also entails a slightly cooler sound. For me 500 ohms seem to be the ideal choice for the Etna. Einstein's The Pickup, which was developed in cooperation with Ortofon, also works splendidly well with the 42: this combo captivates you with its filigree style of playing and its broad spatial imaging. Even more of that you get at 845 ohms, where The Pickup in fact loses a bit of pressure in the lows as well, but that it can handle with more ease than, for example, the Etna, since Einstein's cartridges offer a more powerful low/mid frequency band and richer tonal colours. At this point it has become really difficult to opt for one of these two load impedances.

Wondering how Rolf Becker came across 845 ohms? It is exactly 845 ohms that Jan Allaerts demands for his cartridges. For a long time I was thrilled by his MC 2 Finish, but then I was increasingly disturbed by its extremely low output voltage, which certainly doesn’t correspond to the value listed in the respective product information, and which also drives most phono amps to the limits of their performance. But before I swap one of the carefully adjusted cartridges for the MC 2 Finish, and then reassemble everything back again, I prefer to luxuriate in the widths of the sonic stage where the London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Jean Martinon, performs Schostakowitsch's The Golden Age (Reissue of LSC 2322): it is simply magnificient, how wide and deep the spatial image is, that Etna, Aquilar and Blue Amp are able to draw into the listening room. What an abundance of detail, what a lack of coolness or harshness – but, this really can be enjoyed only under very exceptional circumstances. Virtually unique!