Lehmann Black Cube SE II Sven Väth Phono Stage

The Black Cube SE II Sven Väth Phono Stage features all the quality and precision of the original Black Cube SE II along with some interesting upgrades. Few Phono preamps can be tailored to the cartridge as well as the Black Cube SE II. Moving magnet or moving coil cartridges can be matched using a plug-in assembly to set the impedance and gain.

There is also a customizable bass filter. The Upgrades with the Black Cube SE II Sven Väth Phono Stage include Mundorf capacitors and a sleek front panel with an illuminated "Lehmannaudio X Sven Väth," Logo badge. The sound has also been tuned in collaboration with the iconic DJ, Sven Väth.

The input circuits

The RIAA equalization for the Black Cube SE II Sven Väth Phono Stage is located between two low-noise amplifier stages and uses top-quality Mundorf coupling capacitors. As a result, the equalization is precise and the channel separation is excellent.

This versatile unit has four different gain settings ranging from 36dB to 66 dB. There are also three impedance settings.

Upgraded external power supply

The Black Cube SE II Sven Väth Phono Stage features an external power supply that keeps any magnetic fields and interference well away from the sensitive preamp circuits.

The power supply features a custom toroidal transformer with a static shield. The PSU is reliable and designed to have a long life.

What is RIAA equalization?

Records are cut with equalization. This involves boosting the treble and cutting the bass. However, this is done in a very precise way. The equalization curve is known by the acronym RIAA. Bass is cut to reduce the chance of the groove being overmodulated while treble is boosted to reduce surface noise on playback.

The playback phono stage needs to reverse the characteristic to provide a flat response. This is achieved by a set of filters that use very precise resistor and capacitor values. These have to be temperature stable so that the frequency response does not wander with heat or cold.

About phono cartridges

Magnetic cartridges come in two types. Moving magnet and moving coil, They both have different gain requirements and impedance settings. However, only the best phono preamps, such as the Black Cube SE II Sven Väth Phono Stage, have these settings available to be changed by the user. Moving magnet cartridges have a relatively high output at around 5mV and an impedance of 47K.

However, moving coil cartridges have a much wider range of outputs, from less than 1mv to around 2mV. Hence they all need different settings to perform at their best.

Why are their different cartridge types?

The main reason for different cartridge types is performance. Moving coil types have tiny coils mounted on the cantilever to generate the audio signal. Notably, this lowers the mass of the stylus assembly. The result is improved tracking, especially at high frequencies. However, moving coil cartridges are more expensive to produce.

They are difficult to manufacture and can contain exotic materials. Moving magnet types are more consistent with their output characteristics and are cheaper to make.