I measured Lejonklou's Entity phono preamplifier with my Audio Precision SYS2722 system. The single, moving coil–compatible input preserved absolute polarity and offered 70.2dB of gain. (Though this is slightly lower than the specified 71dB, my measurement was affected by the voltage-divider action between the preamp's input impedance and the Audio Precision's output impedance of 20 ohms.) The input impedance was 90 ohms with it set to "90," 120 ohms with it set to "120," and 180 ohms with it set to "180," all values consistent from 20Hz to 20kHz. The output impedance is specified as 300 ohms; I measured 264 ohms at 20Hz, 295 ohms at 1kHz, and 297 ohms at 20kHz.
The error in the Entity's RIAA equalization (fig.1) was low, though there was a very slight, 0.2dB boost in the midrange. The channel matching was excellent overall. Channel separation (not shown) was >80dB in both directions across the audioband.
The Lejonklou's unweighted, wideband S/N ratio, measured with the input shorted to ground, was a very good 68dB (average of both channels), ref. 1kHz at 500µV. Restricting the measurement bandwidth to 22Hz–22kHz increased the ratio to 68.1dB in the left channel, 71dB in the right, and the A-weighted ratios were 74.9dB, left, and 77.7dB, right. Spectral analysis of the Entity's low-frequency noisefloor revealed that both the random noise components and AC supply–related spuriae were slightly higher in level in the left channel (fig.2, blue trace) than the right (red trace).
The Entity's overload margin (ref. 1kHz at the standard MC level of 500µV) was a very good 14dB at 20Hz and 1kHz, but dropped to 2.2dB at the top of the audioband. The Lejonklou offered very low distortion. Fig.3 shows the spectrum of the preamplifier's output reproducing an input signal of 1kHz at 500µV. The only distortion harmonic that can be seen above the noisefloor is the third, at –96dB (0.0015%). This very low distortion did not increase in level when I reduced the load impedance to the current-demanding 600 ohms. Increasing the input to 2mV, 2dB below the level where the Entity's output clips, actually reduced the level of the third harmonic by 10dB (fig.4), though the second harmonic makes an appearance at a still vanishingly low –103dB (0.0007%). The Entity also offered a low level of intermodulation distortion, even just below clipping into 600 ohms (fig.5). The second-order difference product lay just above –70dB (0.03%).
The Lejonklou Entity offers accurate RIAA equalization, very low noise and distortion, and a bombproof output stage. The limited overload margin at the top of the audioband means it will be best used with low-output moving coil cartridges. It is fair to note, therefore, that the preamplifier's manual does state that the maximum cartridge output is 0.4mV/400µV at the standard recorded velocity of 3.54cm/s. This would increase my measured overload margins by 2dB, and with a cartridge like Ortofon's Verismo, which has a nominal output of 200µV, the margins would be increased by another 6dB.—John Atkinson
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COMMENTS
More and more Reviewers seem to want to give some sort of preamble to the review, Art could do thia for the simple reason that he was a Writer.He could have written about plumbing and still have held the readers interest.The present generation of Reviewers , with maybe 3 exceptions, cannot.
If you're not a gifted writer, you can still make sure your work is factually accurate. Buddhas Country of birth?????
...you want to get your facts straight.
The writing you're referring to here was written by a Writer. Educate yourself with a simple search. I recommend Alex's pieces on butter and Rodney Dangerfield.
And re. Buddha, the piece references his place of death, not birth.
Michael Lavorgna
Editor, Twittering Machines
The constant negativity of commenters here is getting tiring. If they only knew how much work goes into writing for consumer publications. Not publishing white papers or technical posts on blogs. That's writing too but it's academic or amateur hour and not consumer facing. And I would love one of them that wants to discuss how a particular piece of equipment makes one feel more connected to the music. Not to nitpick measurements, comparisons or costs. I enjoy your site btw.
Thanks for your comment Michael. You could also have mentioned the two books he has written, both of which were reviewed in the New York Times:
Or we could mention books he himself has reviewed in The NY Times:
Zoo Animals and Their Discontents.
Or maybe one's tastes turn more toward The New Yorker:
Or, in pedagogical terms, we could mention that he teaches writing at NYU.
We can all agree that Art Dudley was an uncommonly gifted writer. But there are other gifted writers, and some of them write for Stereophile.
Jim Austin, Editor
Stereophile
Points off for improper capitalization
Points off for punctuation
Points off for poor spelling
Negative 100 points for negative.
If you don’t like the narrative skip to the factual parts.
After all who put you in charge?
and I'd rather not insult writers that I enjoy.
Thoroughly enjoyed reading this review including the opening paragraph, god I so want to own Shindo gear.
If this doesn't move you you're already dead.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/26/magazine/letter-of-recommendation-rodney-dangerfield.html
That piece on Rodney is truly great. And the link to the clip of Rodney D on the Carson show he references:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrFgD9-l390
. . . but not much of an engineer: "The cable swap changed the sound of the Entity to a degree I was unprepared for."
writing about stereo equipment. I'll take the word of someone who "feels" music and can describe it in a smart and enjoyable way over one that can only base their perceptions on measurements. I find nothing wrong with that sentence. I know exactly what he means by it (as did the editor of Stereophile) and you don't need an engineers degree to understand that. You don't like it. Tough.
Hi
How come we NEED an engineer here to review "the cable swap" ? You think an engineer would get better ears than anybody else to tell the sonic difference ???
I happened to be an electrical engineer with substantial involvement in audio cables & wires, incidentally. FYI, I design/built 99.99% pure silver interconnects & power cords for many years now.
So please tell what can I help you technically ??
Listening to music is believing
Jack L
Why don't
Hi, Jack-
You can't use an argument from authority ("I happen to be an electrical engineering. . . ") if the discipline which you're invoking avers that cables don't have any effect on baseband audio unless they comprise an RLC network which changes the FR of said cable.
BTW, I see you've changed your tagline. You used to write that you need your own ears to listen to believe. Now, you've made the path more direct: just listening and music, but no ears. The unnecessary, in-line distortion applied by that $63k switch box to line level signals which don't need a preamp anyway must have driven you to seek another path, which I applaud. Are we talking bone conduction, maybe?
Hi
Please don't put yr words in my mouth. Thanks. I never said so.
In fact, any insulated electrical conductor is a RLC circuit with dielectric loss along the entire cable run. The sending end & the receiving end are also RLC circuits. So we are talking a complex combination of 3 LCR AC circuits.
Therefore any bench test on a cable alone only provides cable data with reference to the testing equipment conditions, not the same resultant LCR impedances interconnecting the sending & receiving audio components.
That explains why same cable sounds different to many skeptical ears, including your truly's, when interconnecting different components. This is physics.
"you've made the path more direct: just listening and music, but no ears." qtd teched58
That is your strawman proposition, pal. We are born with a pair of ears which are used to hear as a matter of course. What made you fancy about bone conduction?
Likewise, when we go to dine, do you need to remind the waiter to serve with knife & fork ???
Listening is believing
Jack L
Hi
In fact "bone conduction" is always involved in hearing. But not the same "bone conduction" you have had in mind.
Soundwaves from the sources, e.g. L & R loudspeakers, hit BOTH our L & R ears. Soundwavs from L channel hit the R ears for some microscopic time slower than R channel soundwaves hitting the same R ear. Vise versa for the L ears. A minute part of the soundwaves received by the L ear also goes to the R ear via "bone conduction" & vise vera for the R ear.
Such soundwaves 'cross-talks' give our brain the spatial perspectives of the live performance reproduced by the loudspeakers.
But headphone music does not provide such abundant spatial luxury as L channel music only goes to the L ear & same for the R ear.
Listening with both ears is believing
Jack L
One fact check for Alex Halberstadt's review of the Lejonklou Entity. Ivor Tiefenbrun of Linn did not popularize The Tune Method, he popularized TuneDem. Lejonklou took TuneDem and added a proxy religious credo as a preface to the TuneDem original. The Tune Method begins with the performance of the artists to the recording, adds a hierarchy of equipment, components of equipment and so forth. Strict adherence to this credo is a requirement of Lejonklou's forum. Except when Lejonklou and his cronies choose to ignore their own credo.
Lejonklou's Tune Method has failed him frequently as has his narcissism. When either fails him whole forum threads can disappear. Or individual posts. One example was Lejonklou's assertion that changing the name of one's internet network to Lejonklou would result in more musicality from his streamer. If that snake oil isn't enough to doubt the man or his team, try this. He asserts that speaker cable is more musical if it's 2.48m. As a former Linn dealer his brand loyalty is almost charming. However to assert that OEM Linn speaker cable, interconnects, cartridges, turntable felt mats etc. are the best in the world defies logic.
If audio voodoo is your bag head over to the Lejonklou forum. Lejonklou (aided by O'Keefe) will satisfy your needs. Have any of these assertions been proved by blind tests? Hell no.
The marketing line about testing each component is pure hype. Many recommended components display no evidence of testing - a few have been shown to be faulty (by design).
The self proclaimed "LP12 Whisperer" opines today on the woods used for Linn LP12 plinths. He likens their characteristics to musical instruments: "I have heard it said that wooden musical instruments also get better sounding the more they are played, as if the notes and harmonics cause a slight restructuring of the wood. Seems like a possibility to me. Imagine what 250+ years of burn-in does for a violin?". He uses a tap test to determine relative musicality of various woods.
Here's the rub:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHXOPjI9l0I
Top violinists in blind trials could not differentiate between famous old violins and new ones by their sound. Good luck with the tap test LP12 Whisperer!
Lejonklou's attitude to tests is as problematic as his, "source first" credo. 20-30% of the source is in SW frequency response. Lejonklou is on record as stating that, "bass is not a musical term". Therefore Ron Carter et al are playing a guitar. Source first as part of the Tune Method scientology? Lejonklou doesn't like bass in the source.
On testing, let's be clear. On the manufacturing side Lejonklou claims to test every component (except when he doesn't). On the sound output side he didn't want any measurements of his equipment released in the U.S. But had to because of American law.
Buyer beware: these guys are charlatans. If your HiFi test is better from your kitchen why not stand outside your property? It's B.S.
Great review . Very informative and enjoyable read. Please review the Lejonklou Beozu integrated amplifier. Thank you
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