Hifi News

FEBRUARY 2010 | www.hifi news.co.uk | 57
HI-FI NEWS VERDICT
This is a true audiophile phono
stage and, partnered with
equipment of equal quality, the
results are remarkable. Indeed,
the SE II is diffi cult to fault even
compared to competition in a
much higher price bracket. The
exceptionally low background
noise allied to a fabulous
rhythmic and tonal rendition
make it worthy of consideration
for those seeking the most detail
from their vinyl without having to
make a hyperspace price jump.
0 - - - - - - - - 100
Sound Quality: 82%
texture of the instruments and
raw quality of the vocals were
stunningly portrayed. If there
was a rough edge to a phrase
it was never glossed over, yet
the freshness and beauty of the
performance shone through.
LAID BARE
Nevertheless, experimenting with
some recordings from my distant
past I was not surprised to fi nd
that the Black Cube didn’t take
kindly to surface noise, blips and
scratches. I heard the lot, while
poor production and recording
techniques were also laid bare.
It’s fair to say that in doing the
job so well there is a ‘what you
see is what you get’ aspect to the
accuracy on offer here and that
you’d never confuse the Black
Cube with the more forgiving
presentation of many a valve
phono stage. Having said that,
never did I feel that musicality was
sacrifi ced for transparency.
Coming back to the Cube after
having left it powered up over a
weekend brought a perceivable
improvement in the depth and
breadth of the soundstage – not
to mention an extra sweetness
of tone. This was particularly
noticeable when playing
‘American Tango’ from Weather
Report’s sublime Mysterious
Traveller LP [CBS 80027]. The
silences between the musical
phrases were inky black while
the decay of the hi-hats was fully
resolved. To fi nd more depth and
detail in music I know so well
was a remarkable experience and
I warmed to this little gem of a
phono stage all over again.
Niggles? The lack of an on/off
switch is unfortunate as it means
the the unit has to be completely
unplugged from the mains to
be powered down. But then the
absence of such a switch might
partly account for the remarkably
low noise fl oor here.
LEFT: Three
pairs of DIP
switches act in
combination
to select
between four
gain settings
(between
36-66dB) and
a choice of
16 different
bass rolloff
frequencies
extending from
7Hz to 90Hz
[see Lab Report,
opposite]
Without question, the Black Cube SE II is the most impressive
sub-£1000 phono stage to grace the lab bench in recent times,
exceeding Lehmann’s own specifi cation in most instances.
The MM/MC gain is +36dB/+56dB which equates to an input
sensitivity of 16mV and 1.6mV, respectively, to realise a 1V
output. If you are saddled with an extremely low output
cartridge then Lehmann does include an extra +10dB gain
option under the lid. Otherwise, this phono preamp offers a
useful 150mV/15mV input overload margin (a headroom of
+30dB over the standard 5mV/500µV input levels) together
with fabulously wide 86dB (MM) and 77dB (MC) A-wtd S/N
ratios. This is a very quiet phono stage. Distortion, too, is
uncommonly low – as low as 0.0002% through the midrange
and typically <0.001% over the bulk of the audio range [see
Graph 2, below].
Lehmann offers numerous low frequency response options
for the Black Cube SE II, with its default setting (a specifi ed 7Hz
corner frequency) rolling off to –1.1dB/20Hz. The 23Hz, 30Hz
and 47Hz options reach 20Hz at –4.5dB, –6.1dB and –8.9dB,
respectively [see Graph 1, below]. The last of these represents
quite a substantial LF roll off which contrasts with the extended
ultrasonic response of the preamp, reaching out to +0.2dB at
100kHz. Few cartridges are capable of reproducing anything
close to this bandwidth, Ortofon’s Cadenza series being a
notable exception. Readers are invited to view a QC Suite test
report for Lehmann’s Black Cube SE II MM/MC phono amp
by navigating to www.hifi news.co.uk and clicking on the red
‘Download’ button. PM
ABOVE: Distortion versus frequency is extremely low
(MM sensitivity, 47kohm loading), at 1V output
HI-FI NEWS SPECIFICATIONS
LAB
REPORT
ABOVE: RIAA corrected frequency response from 5Hz-
100kHz [black = fl at (7Hz); red = 23Hz; blue = 30Hz;
green= 47Hz corner freqs.]
Input loading (MM/MC) 47kohm/100pF / 100-470ohm
Input sensitivity (MM/MC re. 0dBV) 15.67mV / 1.60mV
Input overload (MM/MC) 150mV / 15.0mV
Maximum output (re. 1% THD) >7V
A-wtd S/N ratio (re. 5mV/500µV in) 85.9dB / 77.2dB
Frequency response (20Hz-20kHz) –1.1dB to +0.17dB
Distortion (20Hz-20kHz, re. 0dBV) 0.0002–0.0022%
Power consumption 2W
Dimensions (WHD) 114x45x93mm (not inc. PSU)
LEHMANN BLACK CUBE SE II (£600)
058-059 Lehmann_v3_PMPF.indd 57 7/12/09 15:39:45