Entity MC

[Hermann]

Judging by the reports so far, this seems like a good one. Is there any possibility to post it?

[ThomasOK]

Judging by the reports so far, this seems like a good one. Is there any possibility to post it?

When they publish it online we will be able to post a link but that may be a while. I just noticed yesterday that they hadn't yet published the Klimax LP12 review from last month's magazine online. Fredrik and I are not allowed to even quote from the review until one month after it is published. I don't believe we are allowed to publish a pdf of it unless we buy the rights to publish from Stereophile.

[Hermann]

Thanks for the info Thomas. I know the great merits of the Entity, but reading other opinions might be interesting.

[Pedro]

The enthusiasm of Alex Halberstadt, the reviewer of Stereophile (July 2022 issue) for the Entity phono preamplifier becomes clear from a few quotes from the review (I assume that this is permissible):

’… , the Entity sounded neutral, extended, and transparent. Listening to "Footprints" from Miles Davis's Miles Smiles (Columbia CS 9401), I was bowled over by the portrayal of cymbals. Tony Williams is the Walt Whitman of the cymbals, and the Entity rendered his shimmering, impressionistic, primal playing with matter-of-fact presence. Some phono stages make cymbals into sheets of white noise, but through the Entity they sounded embodied, controlled, and starkly metallic, with no hardness.'
...
’The Entity's most impressive quality was how exciting it made listening to records. This was largely a function of the Swedish phono stage's knack for pace, rhythm, and timing. Another way to say it is that it made the musicians sound like they were playing together with uncommon empathy; yet another is to observe that the notes coming through the Entity were more musically meaningful than with the other phono amps I had on hand.'
...
‘For weeks after, whenever I played a record, I felt torn between the Entity and the Little Loco. I loved the tunefulness and drama of the former but wanted the more refined sound of the latter. Just then, a large envelope from Thomas O'Keefe arrived in my mailbox. It contained two pairs of Linn Silver interconnects ($452 for a 1.2m pair), the cables Fredrik Lejonklou used when voicing the Entity.’
...
‘The cable swap changed the sound of the Entity to a degree I was unprepared for. The Lejonklou Entity retained its remarkable timing and tunefulness but now sounded more refined, dimensional, controlled, and tonally richer.’
...
‘The Entity excels at communicating the emotion and meaning of music - the very things most of us sit down in front of our speakers to experience—and it does this considerably better than phono stages I've heard anywhere near its $2695 price. Fredrik Lejonklou is someone who does things his own way and has supreme confidence in his ears. I cannot wait to hear more of his work.’

[ThomasOK]

Thanks for the post Pedro. That is certainly permissible for you, just not for me. I think you have indeed pulled the most important quotes out of the review.

[tpetsch]

Judging by the reports so far, this seems like a good one. Is there any possibility to post it?

When they publish it online we will be able to post a link but that may be a while. I just noticed yesterday that they hadn't yet published the Klimax LP12 review from last month's magazine online. Fredrik and I are not allowed to even quote from the review until one month after it is published. I don't believe we are allowed to publish a pdf of it unless we buy the rights to publish from Stereophile.

https://www.stereophile.com/content/lin ... ing-system

Congrats to the team BTW on a very positive Entity review..

[lejonklou]

Thank you for the quotes, Pedro!

And thank you all for the congratulations.

As usual in Stereophile, Entity was thoroughly measured. I was very pleased with the measurements and how they were commented.

[Hermann]

Thanks also from me Pedro.

[tpetsch]

Thank you for the quotes, Pedro!

And thank you all for the congratulations.

As usual in Stereophile, Entity was thoroughly measured. I was very pleased with the measurements and how they were commented.

Even the bit about PRaT?

[lejonklou]

I don’t recall PRaT being mentioned in the measurements section.

[nostinkingloops]

the stereophile review + the enthusiastic recommendation by my dealer don better were just what i needed to get me to purchase an Entity and a pair of linn silver cables (1.2m).

my question is to what extent break-in will improve the already very impressive performance. i've never really grasped how break-in works with solid-state equipment - tubes, yes, i can certainly understand that, but transistors? perhaps someone here can provide a rationale.

meanwhile, congratulations on hitting the sweet spot!

thanks - nsl.

[lejonklou]

Thank you nsl! How exciting to hear you bought an Entity!

I can’t provide much of a rationale for break in effects, but their presence is easily heard. They apply to most electronic parts, including transistors, resistors, capacitors, wires, cables and soldered joints.

As I have spent a lot of time evaluating various soldering equipment and techniques, I know exactly how long it takes for a soldered joints to “settle”, and that is 4 months. Most of the variation is gone after 3.5 months, but after 4 months I have never noticed any change in sound or musicality. And they are stable for at least a decade, probably two. I have old reference units and cables that I can compare with more recent ones, to keep track of whether there’s any change.

When it comes to the musical impact of the break-in effects, opinions differ. I know that some enthusiasts are annoyed by the not broken-in sound and think that things improve immensely. Personally I don’t mind the slightly unsettled sound of new machines and enjoy hearing them mature. And usually I find the differences subtle.

[Hermann]

A very readable review in Stereophile about the Entity. Congratulations Fredrik, you will be compared with Ken Shindo.

https://www.stereophile.com/content/lej ... eamplifier

[ThomasOK]

Good to see that the review is now up online. Interesting that on the photos the second one online is different than the one they used in print, which was a 3/4 side view in better focus than the second front shot.

Fredrik has been compared to Ken Shindo by a few people now, including another reviewer who hasn't published yet but hopefully will soon. I have little experience of Shindo equipment but it does seem there is a similar approach even though they chose different parts to achieve their goals.

[Tendaberry]

A very readable review in Stereophile about the Entity. Congratulations Fredrik, you will be compared with Ken Shindo.

https://www.stereophile.com/content/lej ... eamplifier

I especially love this part of the review:
"The more versatile Entity, though, had the upper hand in timing and excitement. When listening to the Little Loco, my first thought was "This sounds great"; with the Entity, it was "I love this record." The Entity's particular musical strengths were made obvious when I glanced around midsong and saw Herb and Ken bobbing their heads to the music, eyes closed."

[Hermann]

I spontaneously saw this part of the report:

[...] The Entity's most impressive quality was how exciting it made listening to records. This was largely a function of the Swedish phono stage's knack for pace, rhythm, and timing. Another way to say it is that it made the musicians sound like they were playing together with uncommon empathy; [...]

Which I can't get to the point any better and a smile on the following

Fredrik Lejonklou is someone who does things his own way and has supreme confidence in his ears.

[ThomasOK]

I spontaneously saw this part of the report:

[...] The Entity's most impressive quality was how exciting it made listening to records. This was largely a function of the Swedish phono stage's knack for pace, rhythm, and timing. Another way to say it is that it made the musicians sound like they were playing together with uncommon empathy; [...]

Which I can't get to the point any better and a smile on the following

Fredrik Lejonklou is someone who does things his own way and has supreme confidence in his ears.

I really loved the statement about the musicians "playing together with uncommon empathy". Isn't that what it is all about?

While I like that second statement, I felt that it was truncated. it should have ended with "obviously for good reason." ;-)

[lejonklou]

Thank you all!

Nice to see it online. I miss the measurements section, however.

[Hermann]

Fredrik Lejonklou is someone who does things his own way and has supreme confidence in his ears.

[...]

While I like that second statement, I felt that it was truncated. it should have ended with "obviously for good reason." ;-)

Perhaps the entire description of the Entity was reason enough for him to let the thought stand alone.

[Pedro]

Hello Fredrik,

you can go on holiday with peace of mind, the page with the measurements is also included in the online version of Stereophile.
Have a look here:

https://www.stereophile.com/content/lej ... asurements

Regards,
Peter

[lejonklou]

Thank you Peter!

[Arjen]

Supporting reviews of Entity. A phono preamp even making the intake of breathe of CS&N audible. The reviewer, mr. Alex Halberstadt is asking for more Lejonklou to review. I wonder what he will hear with a Slipsik at his set. I’m playing the CS&N debut with the Slipsik, Helpessly Hoping for the same audible breathe. Voices beautiful timbred and separately performed, broad and tall soundstage the same as at the reviewers set. But only a bland hint of inhaled breath into my ears. Suite: Judy Blue Eyes breathtaking is more audible. Did you yourself Fredrik any Tune Method comparison with Entity and Slipsik under same conditions? This CS&N album is a good one to do make that comparison I think. Looking forward to it.

[lejonklou]

Did you yourself Fredrik any Tune Method comparison with Entity and Slipsik under same conditions?

Comparing Slipsik with Entity involves more than the phono stage, as one is made for MM cartridges and the other for MC's. So you'll be comparing several things at once, not just Slipsik versus Entity. And cartridges vary - and matter - more than phono stages do.

I think the comparison that makes most sense is to use the same MC cartridge and use a step-up transformer (SUT) with Slipsik. I did that in August 2019, before Entity was released, with the generous help of Lundahl Transformers. My favourite transformer of theirs was the amorphous core LL1971 with a 1:12 winding ratio. I liked it a lot and achieved best results when removing the cartridge load (47 kOhm and 68 pF) from the input of Slipsik and placing it before the transformer (180 ohms, 10 nF) instead of after. That tightened up the performance a bit.

Slipsik 7+LL1971+load before transformer sounded very musical, analogue and "real". Overall I thought it was close to a prototype Entity, where each of them had their strengths, but musically they weren't that far apart. Then in September I realized that this prototype Entity wasn't good enough. I had been using left-over components from SINGularity, those that were outside of the specifications (there was a lot of those) and frankly spent too much time trying to combine different imperfections so that they would cancel each other out. This approach had worked so well on Boazu, so why wouldn't it on Entity? Well, it kind of worked, but the music just wasn't ever fully convincing, no matter which combinations I tried.

At this point I realized that my mind had become too locked up with the idea of using the left over components from SINGularity, because it felt rational and was cheaper. When I finally did an Entity with the SINGularity selections, it just sounded sooo right from the very first note and the feeling never went away. I had to do Entity that way and accepted that it became more expensive.

I haven't compared the real Entity, or even Entity 1.1, which I think is quite a bit better, with a SUT+Slipsik. But my suspicion is that there isn't a SUT that is as good as the active input stage in Entity.

[Charlie1]

Interesting post Fredrik.

What's the plan with Entity and the new Linn carts? Will they fit into the existing Krystal / Kandid settings or will you add more options?

I've ordered a Koil but will run it in on the Wakonda MC before comparing to Entity.

[lejonklou]

I would be happy to try a Koil and a Kendo to hear how they perform and find the optimal load for them.

Thomas found Ekstatik to sound most musical at 82 Ohms/10 nF, so perhaps Kendo is around that too. I have never tested various loads on an AT-OC9, so I have no idea what it “wants”. Hopefully Koil is more fun than OC9, though.

If necessary, I could shift all three loads on Entity, either upwards or downwards. It’s unlikely to ever get more than three options, though. I think it’s enough and that the difference between the current 90, 120 and 180 Ohm is quite subtle.