After the thoroughly successful presentation of the pre-release version of the Wilson Benesch Tessellate Ti-S , I decide to swap the Transrotor Tamino against it, playing then the second side of Zakir Hussain's ECM album Making Music: John McLaughlin's acoustic guitar impresses on ‘Anisa’ with pressure and unbridled transients, but Jan Garbarek's saxophone is a little too much of a good thing regarding attack and high-frequency energy. That's why I'm paying a visit to the Audio-Freak website again, which had already told me that I have to select the 24-decibel input for the Tessellate if I want to reach the recommended range of 100 to 300 ohms. Even though the value then drops a little below 100 ohms, I try the 33 kiloohm load impedance on the MM-PH-AMP. The saxophone still has enough attack, but seems a little more restrained. The guitar and the tablas are bursting with energy and the – virtual? – space in the Rainbow Studio seems bigger than ever. This is extremely stimulating to listen to along one side of the record, but it still isn’t going to seduce you into hours of musical enjoyment. Increasing the load capacity for the transformer at the phono stage from 150 to 250 picofarads provides remedy: The dynamics, openness and spatial imaging continue to fascinate, but tonally everything is now hunky-dory. Even in a comprehensive test such as this one, it is impossible to explore all the possibilities the MK Analogue SUT-1L and the MM-PH-AMP have to offer. But I am sure that these two MK Analogue products will reward their owner for all his efforts..
Listened with
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Turntable | Brinkmann LaGrange with tube power supply |
Tonearms | Thales Symplicity II, Einstein The Tonearm 9", Ortofon AS-309R |
Cartridges | Lyra Olympos and Etna, Ortofon SPU Century, Wilson Benesch Tessellate Ti-S |
Transformer | Ortofon SPU-T100 |
Phono preamp | Einstein The Turntable‘s Choice (balanced) |
Pre amp | WestminsterLab Quest |
Power amp | Einstein The Poweramp |
Loudspeaker | Børresen 05 SSE |
Cables | Goebel High End Lacorde Statement, Audioquest Dragon HC and Tornado (HC), Dragon XLR, Ansuz Speakz D-TC Supreme, Digitalz D-TC Gold Signature and Mainz D2, Ortofon TSW and AC-5000 Silver |
Accessories | AHP sound module IV G, Audioquest Niagara 5000 and 1200, Synergistic Research Active Ground Block SE, HMS wall sockets, Blockaudio C-Lock Lite, Acoustic System Resonators, Artesania Audio Exoteryc, SSC Big Magic Base, finite elemente Carbofibre° HD, Harmonix Room Tuning Disks, Ansuz Sparkz, Darkz Z2S, various Sortz, PowerBox D-TC SUPREME |
Manufacturer's Specifications
MK Analogue MM-PH-AMP
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Cartridge compatibility | High Output MC, MM, MI; all Low Output MC via step-up transformer |
Input impedances | 33kΩ, 47kΩ, 68kΩ, 100kΩ |
Gain values | 40dB, 43dB, 46dB |
Capacity values | 50pF, 150pF, 250pF, 470pF |
Overdrive capability | +19dB (5mV, 4 kΩ) |
Signal-to-noise-ratio | - 89dB (unweighted, 47kΩ, 430Ω termination), - 93dB (C-weighted, 47kΩ, 430Ω termination) |
Frequency response | 3,5Hz bis 800.000Hz (– 3dB; 46dB) |
Phase linearity | Up to 31.000Hz |
Power consumption | 8 watts (preamp switched on; recommended!), 2 watts (only power supply switched on) |
Mains cable length | 1,2 meters (between MM-PH-AMP and PSU) |
Feet | Vibration-damping Sorbolution (Sorbothane) feet tailored to the weight (on both preamp and power supply) |
Colour | Black |
Dimensions (W/H/D) | 34 × 9,3 × 26,5 cm (preamp), 11,5/9,321 cm (PSU) |
Weight | 5kg (preamp), 1,7kg (PSU) |
Retail price | 4,900 euros |
Warranty | 5 years |
Manufacturer's Specifications
MK Analogue SUT-1L
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Input and transformer ratios | XLR balanced (2x), 24dB (1:16) and 30dB (1:32) |
Output | XLR balanced |
Termination impedance | 30dB: 45Ω, 24dB: 175Ω, with resistor plugs: 100Ω (red), 11,5Ω (yellow, optimized for SPUs); other plug variants available upon request |
Frequency response | 24dB: 10Hz - 65kHz (-3dB), 30dB: 10Hz - 35 kHz (-3dB) |
Signal-to-noise-ratio | 115dB (-10dB V) |
Distortion | K3 < 0,01% (f = 40Hz, -40dB V) |
Output impedance | 400Ω |
DC resistance | 10,2Ω at 1:16; 2,6Ω at 1:32 |
Dimensions (W/H/D) | 145/86/160mm |
Weight | 2,75kg |
Colours | Black, Silver |
Retail price | 3,200 euros |
Cables | Optionally available from 150 euros, RCA>XLR 80 euros |
Distribution
Audio-Freak, Markus Wierl GmbH
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Address | Wacholderweg 10 86836 Klosterlechfeld Germany |
Phone | +49 8232 9589033 |
Mobile | +49 151 22316655 |
info@audio-freak.de | |
Web | audio-freak.de |