I have the same phono stage.
Have you tried the xmfr, if so what are your thoughts on the impact on the sound.
Brinkmann Edison MKII Phono Amp
Just a little more of that song please ... In the background is Anne Bisson’s voice from the September in Montreal song playing from a vinyl record!
My analog journey began about two years ago, during which I underwent a transformation from using only digital audio accompanied by a traumatic memory to something from my childhood and youthful turntable to a beginner vanilla lover.
It started with the Dtown 2017 (Israel’s main HiFi & Video show), I started my first steps back to the analog with a Michelle Engineering turntable and a Zesto (PS1 Andros) phono stage. about a year and a half later (February 2019), the turntable was upgraded to Brinkmann Bardo with the company’s 10.5 arm and Miyajima Kansui cartridge, since the Zesto’s excellent phono stage it continues to accompany me.
Fast forward to 2020, the COVID19 outbreak that accompanies us in recent months means, now more than ever we are all spending more time at home, so my listening hours are soaring by hundreds of percent and with it the hours my turntable works.
From that reason I find myself this week with 2 upgrades, the first one is Brinkmann’s turntable lamp power supply named Ront II, it’s amazing how much change the supplier can bring out from the already wonderful Bardo turntable, the other upgrade is the Brinkmann Edison MKII phono stage.
Data (in short) - I will not go into the depth of the technical details Anyone who wants to read beyond invites to do so at the manufacturer’s website.
This is a fairly flexible phono stage amplifier, it allows you to connect up to 3 different arms at the same time (2 out of 3 inputs are rca xlr and one is rca only) for MC or MM heads, it is hard to think of any resistance (12 steps 50 - 47,000 ohms) and Gain (16 steps from 49 up to 73dB) configuration which cannot be programmed, in addition, the phono comes with .... remote control (modern-day analog I’d say).
It is possible for the user to determine whether the signal transmitted in the phono passes through two adjacent amplification stages, Also on the front are buttons that besides turning the phono stage allow onoff allows the user to switch to Mono and Mute the phono stage.
Construction - Brinkmann’s phono stage like the rest of the company’s products are magnificently built and you can feel that considerable time had spent on planning, considering even smallest detail, this is a no compromised German build quality product.
Except for the 4 lamps (NOS Telefunken) located inside the heatsink that protects them the other pop to the eye thing is that the top is made from glass that allows you to see all the parts inside, this is a beautiful sit for people like me who love quality and uncompromised engineering.
Sound - Things are written after playing almost every possible style of music I have (vocal - female and male, opera, different style of jazz, rock, progressive rock, country, blues, and pop) but for not lengthen the description below will focus on a single song.
Brinkmann’s phono stage use lamps, but this does not mean its no quiet one (I had to raise my pair Luxman’s m900u mono blocks very high level’s to hear a hesitant and silent hiss), as far as I’m concerned, this is a great start that allows the human or single voice to be amplified under a quiet backdrop and this is just the moment to return to the opening lines and to Mrs. Anne Bisson in the song “September In Montreal”, anyone familiar with the song knows that the singer’s voice and the music clips accompanying a near-silent, almost silent entrance of a quiet piano sound and a snare passage on a drum drill, those come in stark contrast to the quiet background.
The ability to raise and emphasize individual and even very quiet voices in the background as one of the most important features of the Edison, no matter what record is played, background noise is almost imperceptible (Zesto also has a similar feature but the Edison also much better qualifies for this issue).
Compared to the previous phono that itself is considered excellent for its price range, the feeling that music (especially in high voices) is less distorted, the Edison sounds cleaner and more pure, with the sound stage from a dynamic, large and addictive, the ability to restore the human vocal in such a natural way through the Edison is something to die for.
The Edison is endowed with a musical ability that allows music and vocals to emanate from the speakers in a relaxed and natural way while at the same time adding just a tad lamp colorization (you can’t mistaken the Edison for an SS phono stage) but it comes in a precise, natural and direct dose – this is simply licious experience.
Sum up - there may be some phono stages that may be better from the Edison (Pass XP27, D’agostino, CH Precision for example) and sure, in the double price range there are some who will also play better, but Edison’s ability to produce music in light and musical way alone makes This is a coveted phono for me.
Bottom line, this is a reference-level device whose performance does not fall short of much more expensive devices, along with the infinite flexibility, build quality and addictive sound it’s the phono stage for me, seems like on the front of analog amplification, I reached the top I aspired for the next decade or so.
Analog Setup
Analog source - Brinkmann Bardo turntable with Ront II power supply
Phono stage amp - Brinkmann Edison MKII
Preamplifier – Luxman c900U
Amplifiers - 2x Luxman m900u
Speakers - Magico S3MKII
Cables - Cardas
My analog journey began about two years ago, during which I underwent a transformation from using only digital audio accompanied by a traumatic memory to something from my childhood and youthful turntable to a beginner vanilla lover.
It started with the Dtown 2017 (Israel’s main HiFi & Video show), I started my first steps back to the analog with a Michelle Engineering turntable and a Zesto (PS1 Andros) phono stage. about a year and a half later (February 2019), the turntable was upgraded to Brinkmann Bardo with the company’s 10.5 arm and Miyajima Kansui cartridge, since the Zesto’s excellent phono stage it continues to accompany me.
Fast forward to 2020, the COVID19 outbreak that accompanies us in recent months means, now more than ever we are all spending more time at home, so my listening hours are soaring by hundreds of percent and with it the hours my turntable works.
From that reason I find myself this week with 2 upgrades, the first one is Brinkmann’s turntable lamp power supply named Ront II, it’s amazing how much change the supplier can bring out from the already wonderful Bardo turntable, the other upgrade is the Brinkmann Edison MKII phono stage.
Data (in short) - I will not go into the depth of the technical details Anyone who wants to read beyond invites to do so at the manufacturer’s website.
This is a fairly flexible phono stage amplifier, it allows you to connect up to 3 different arms at the same time (2 out of 3 inputs are rca xlr and one is rca only) for MC or MM heads, it is hard to think of any resistance (12 steps 50 - 47,000 ohms) and Gain (16 steps from 49 up to 73dB) configuration which cannot be programmed, in addition, the phono comes with .... remote control (modern-day analog I’d say).
It is possible for the user to determine whether the signal transmitted in the phono passes through two adjacent amplification stages, Also on the front are buttons that besides turning the phono stage allow onoff allows the user to switch to Mono and Mute the phono stage.
Construction - Brinkmann’s phono stage like the rest of the company’s products are magnificently built and you can feel that considerable time had spent on planning, considering even smallest detail, this is a no compromised German build quality product.
Except for the 4 lamps (NOS Telefunken) located inside the heatsink that protects them the other pop to the eye thing is that the top is made from glass that allows you to see all the parts inside, this is a beautiful sit for people like me who love quality and uncompromised engineering.
Sound - Things are written after playing almost every possible style of music I have (vocal - female and male, opera, different style of jazz, rock, progressive rock, country, blues, and pop) but for not lengthen the description below will focus on a single song.
Brinkmann’s phono stage use lamps, but this does not mean its no quiet one (I had to raise my pair Luxman’s m900u mono blocks very high level’s to hear a hesitant and silent hiss), as far as I’m concerned, this is a great start that allows the human or single voice to be amplified under a quiet backdrop and this is just the moment to return to the opening lines and to Mrs. Anne Bisson in the song “September In Montreal”, anyone familiar with the song knows that the singer’s voice and the music clips accompanying a near-silent, almost silent entrance of a quiet piano sound and a snare passage on a drum drill, those come in stark contrast to the quiet background.
The ability to raise and emphasize individual and even very quiet voices in the background as one of the most important features of the Edison, no matter what record is played, background noise is almost imperceptible (Zesto also has a similar feature but the Edison also much better qualifies for this issue).
Compared to the previous phono that itself is considered excellent for its price range, the feeling that music (especially in high voices) is less distorted, the Edison sounds cleaner and more pure, with the sound stage from a dynamic, large and addictive, the ability to restore the human vocal in such a natural way through the Edison is something to die for.
The Edison is endowed with a musical ability that allows music and vocals to emanate from the speakers in a relaxed and natural way while at the same time adding just a tad lamp colorization (you can’t mistaken the Edison for an SS phono stage) but it comes in a precise, natural and direct dose – this is simply licious experience.
Sum up - there may be some phono stages that may be better from the Edison (Pass XP27, D’agostino, CH Precision for example) and sure, in the double price range there are some who will also play better, but Edison’s ability to produce music in light and musical way alone makes This is a coveted phono for me.
Bottom line, this is a reference-level device whose performance does not fall short of much more expensive devices, along with the infinite flexibility, build quality and addictive sound it’s the phono stage for me, seems like on the front of analog amplification, I reached the top I aspired for the next decade or so.
Analog Setup
Analog source - Brinkmann Bardo turntable with Ront II power supply
Phono stage amp - Brinkmann Edison MKII
Preamplifier – Luxman c900U
Amplifiers - 2x Luxman m900u
Speakers - Magico S3MKII
Cables - Cardas
- ...
- 24 posts total
Hello @alan60 Yes, I use the xmfr; it's the default setting in my setup. My interconnects (IC) are XLRs. The transformer allows the signal to maintain true full balance and maximize my interconnects' performance. Additionally, I use Miyajima Laboratories cartridges. In the past, I used Kansui, and currently, I use Madeka; both have low voltage output. With the xmfr, I don't require a step-up transformation since the balanced signal provides a +6dB boost. |
Interesting I tried xmfr last night hence my question for the 1st time, it's suppose to be a 1:1 transformer but I found it to be a bit louder when switched in using the same volume settings on my preamp. The other most notable difference I found it brought the soundstage forward and was more vibrant and live sounding. Is this your finding? I also use a low output MC an Ortofon SPU Royal N. |
It’s louder since the signal is pure balance, aka +6db Check your gain and resistance configuration to match your cartridge On my system it works perfectly your soundstage perception change might be from the increased DB in the signal, that makes things louder.
if you lower your volume to match previous SPL, does the stage or sound forwarding get back to what it used to be? |
I read the manual again after your first reply and saw about the extra 6db. As for the sound staging it still is more forward even after dropping the volume on the preamp. What I will say is I thought it was great phono stage before using the xmfr takes it up another level. What I do find strange is that in any review I have read there is no mention of xmfr I use. |
- 24 posts total