LDA MCJ3 Phono Stage - Impressions

[Qwin]

I've had my MCJ3 for a couple of weeks now and love it.

Its a LOMC only Phono Amp.
Hybrid, in that it has a JFET stage followed by Tube stage.

There's only one control, to adjust cartridge loading.
It has a fixed gain of 60dB so suits cartridges around the 0.2 to 0.8mV range (most LOMC's)
Fixed Capacitance of 330pF.
One pair of single ended Inputs/Outputs.

If your looking for great flexibility and lots of settings to play with, its not for you.
Its designed to perform one specific task and it does that, extremely well.





It was reviewed over at TNT Audio and was rated as the best sounding, non Balanced Phono stage, they had heard.

From my point of view, its silent in use, has great bass, warm detailed mids and a crisp top end, without over emphasising anything.
Works well with my VDH ONE Special at 100ohm loading.
To be honest, I don't even listen to the phono stage in an analytical way any more, I just enjoy the music it makes, which is a sure sign its doing everything right.

Can't praise it enough, great build quality and parts used, even came with a MCRU lead.
At £1400, if purchased direct, it's an absolute bargain.

I'll be bringing it to the next Nebo meeting in May 2023

[DiveDeepDog]

I had the granddaddy of that one, enjoyed it very much.

The Longdog gear is well made, I have their PS on my Garrard ��

[Firebottle]

Nick's designs are good and it is a well thought out phono stage.

I don't know of anyone who hasn't liked it.

[Andy831]

I had the granddaddy of that one, enjoyed it very much.

The Longdog gear is well made, I have their PS on my Garrard ��

I bought the Granddad off Mark a few years ago, I am still delighted with it, with the Garrard Power Supply and with Nicks built 300b Mono Blocks.

Nicks stuff just gets on with doing the job it was designed for with little or no drama, just well thought out design and implementation of that design.

[rubber duck]

Ken, how does this compare to your Aqvox 2ci?

[Qwin]

Ken, how does this compare to your Aqvox 2ci?

Hi Jeff
Detail and transparency through the mids and top end are about the same, ie very good.
LDA has slightly deeper bass, but with more detail and texture being noticeable and a nice richness to lower mids.
I would never have called my Aqvox lean in the mids, but in direct A/B comparison with the LDA it comes across as less capable in this area.
I suspect the Aqvox is truer to the source, but I like the sound of the LDA.

The LDA is SE so has a bit less gain, gets loud enough though, 1 o'clock instead of 12 o'clock on the Freya+ Volume knob, gives loud home listening.

I like the LDA so much, I'm considering selling the Aqvox 2ci.

[rubber duck]

Thanks Ken, that's very helpful. I may be interested in a second 2ci if you decide to sell.

[Qwin]

I'm waiting for the caps to fully settle in the LDA and I've just changed the output caps in my Freya+ Pre, from Wima to V-Cap ODAM, which take a while as well.
When everything settles down, if I'm still as happy with it all, I will let the Aqvox go, so I'll make a decision early in the new year.
If I do decide to move it on, I'll give you first refusal Jeff.

[rubber duck]

Thanks Ken, appreciated

[petrat]

Only just spotted this, Ken ... glad you got sorted ... looks a really nice choice for your system