Gary SteelAnd now for something completely different: an EQ Phono Stage to go with the critically acclaimed The Wand tonearm.
Design Build Listen – deep south creators of NZ’s finest tonearm The Wand – have now created an EQ Phono Stage especially to complement their key product.
Or more correctly, they commissioned the folks at Pure Audio to design the phono stage, while Design Build Listen voiced it to make sweet musical love with The Wand.
‘EQ’ in this case is short for ‘Emotional Quotient’ and it’s fine-tuned to maximise the emotional quotient of must that “can only be resolved in vinyl”, according to owner Simon Brown, whose business is based in Fairlie in the South Island of New Zealand.
“The EQ Phono Stage uses an extremely low noise dual J-FET input and power supply to complement this and the detailed resolution possible from The Wand 14-4 turntable and tonearm. It operates purely in Class A.”
The Wand EQ phono stage is available as a stand-alone unit or as a module inside The Wand 14-4 turntable. It’s switchable for Moving Coil Cartridges or Moving Magnet cartridges and impedance and capacitance on the back panel.
The stand-alone unit is housed in an acoustically inert plywood case on a tripod of feet for vibration isolation. “In keeping with a product that is 90 percent handmade in Aotearoa, the plywood is hand-rubbed with Manuka Beeswax polish.” This, says Simon, “connects with audio enthusiasts who literally want the unvarnished truth.”
Specifications;
• Gain (@1kHz): MC 62dB, MM 40dB
• Frequency Response: 20Hz to 20kHz within +/-0.3dB of RIAA spec
• Input Impedance: 82, 100, 475, 47k Ohms switchable (and 220pF switchable)
• Hum & Noise: >80dBA (referenced to 5mV input)
• Distortion: <0.01% in normal operation
• Output Impedance: 100 ohms
• Power consumption: 2.5W
