So I bought a Lounge Audio MCR MKIII and Copla........

Sound Dragon

Yawns and sets his couch on fire!
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Well, They haven't gotten here yet. So this is a placeholder for now I guess. Though I know there are a few members with Lounge Audio Products in their systems who can opine if they so choose. The LCR and Copla are built to order so may take a week or so to get here. I have sold my current preamp to get me the extra cash I needed to make this purchase a bit special.

It would appear that there is an upgrade or "enhanced" (their terminology not mine) version available. Now maybe this is common knowledge and I am simply not in the know. Having read about it on another forum where this Phono Preamplifier is the topic of discussion, I decided to reach out to Lounge audio to inquire what this was all about. It would appear that they can add some of the enhancements from the LCR Gold (which includes a headphone output) into the LCR MKIII. The below is stolen from another source and verified by Lounge Audio.

"We can add Teflon caps and a silver wire ground buss which will give you more frequency extension, a more liquid midrange and PRAT (pass, rhythm, and timing). This will get it closer to the work we did for the LCR Gold."

"We decided to upgrade the 604 metal resistor to Caddod foil resistors. Also, Robert inserted 2 inches of silver wire for the audio ground."

The Copla also will get the "enhanced" treatment with silver wire, organic polymer capacitors installed.

Well, Sign me up! Now there is an additional cost to this option. Please inquire with Lounge Audio about this as I don't want my new thread to end up in Dollars and Sense. Just know that it is not too bad and in line with their value-oriented pricing. Daniela of Lounge Audio is very pleasant and responsive answering all my questions and thoughts. The customer service was top notch and really made this an overall fantastic transaction. I have been promised some build pictures which I intend to add to the thread. So now the waiting for the LCR and Copla begins! I have decided against purchasing a stop gap Phono pre while I wait for the Lounge Audio pieces to arrive. I figure when I am ready to do comparisons, I have enough Audio friends that wouldn't mind an extended listening session/comparison.
 
I had a nice phone conversation with Robert when I had a small issue with my MCR. He repaired it for me personally and did an upgrade to make up for the inconvenience. I really enjoyed my time with the Lounge...
 
I've never heard one. But had some good conversations with Robert (?) last year. I told him what phono gear I had. He called back next day — he'd googled all 6 items and studied them. He also googled me. That's taking customer relations seriously! But he wouldn't offer a buy-and-return if I didn't like his gear — I understand, it was a shoestring operation then (doing much better now I think!), but when the competition offers it, it's almost a necessity. But he did invite me over to his place to listen (we both live in LA) — then to my surprise told me he only had two crappy turntables and I should bring my own if I wanted to listen seriously. Really shoestring. I trust he's upgraded his TTs since then: how does he assess his own work? The visit never happened. A helluva nice guy and everyone seems to love his designs. I wish him phenomenal success.
 
I've never heard either unit. But had some good conversations with Robert (?) last year. I told him what phono gear I had. He called back next day — he'd googled all 6 items and studied them. He also googled me. That's taking customer relations seriously! But he wouldn't offer a buy-and-return if I didn't like his gear more — I understand, it was a shoestring operation then (doing much better now I think!), but when all the competition offers it, it's almost a necessity. But he did invite me over to his place to listen (we both live in LA) — then to my surprise told me he only had two crappy turntables/cartridges and I should bring my own if I wanted to listen seriously. Really shoestring. I trust he's upgraded his TTs since then: how does he assess his own work? The visit never happened. A helluva nice guy, I really enjoyed our talks, his enthusiasm, his interest in me — and everyone seems to love his designs. I wish him ubelelievingly phenomenal success.
 
So here are the build pics for my LCR. I will include the cool little tech notes that are included as well!


Here is how far we got today!

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LCR configuration refers to the type of RIAA correction. It involves two inductors:1.8 Henrys and 47 mili Hernys. We match these inductors for left and right channels to better than 1% precision.

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Other components we measure to match channels are polypropylene.

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Polystyrene caps are used for high frequencies pass through them easier than a polypropylene and have less distortion. These caps are military grade from Russia and now put to use to make good audio :)

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Foil Caddock resistors are used for input cartridge loading and first gain stage feedback and RIAA network termination.

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We use LT1358 video op-amps. We check them for noise to make sure they are not higher than -72db. Robert chose these op-amps because they have a high slew rate which captures transients and microdynamics.

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How cool that they are showing me the actual build out of my Unit and allowing me to share it with you all! I cannot wait for the next batch of pics and comments. These are the moments that I really enjoy working with a small outfit and having access to the logic and thinking behind the design and build.
 
Bought the Lounge Audio MKIII last Dec. The thing that really took me back was the bass response on my rig. Not the reason I bought
the unit originally ... but since I like good bass (in the British sense) ... I'll take it. :trebon:
 
Hi Ron,

Once the component leads are bent, we insert them on the PCBoard and tack one side of them from the top.


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Then, the PCBoard is turned and soldered from the bottom
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Surface mount caps are soldered directly onto the pins of the LT1358 opamp. This is done on the LCR Enhanced because the closer these parts are to the pins of the op-amp, the better they can filter out the high-frequency noise. Essentially, if these parts were further from the opamp the resistance of the pc board trace would attenuate the filtering effect of these caps.

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A combination of bulk foil, surface mount, and large half watt Dale resistors were installed today. All these together contribute to the increased sound staging, depth, and frequency extension that LCR Enhanced excels in over the LCRMKIII.

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So with the exception of one bad Youtube review that I found really suspect, to say the least, everyone else really likes the sound of the Lounge combo and even the LCR on its own. I am hoping that I can count myself among them.

The latest from the folks at Lounge Audio.


You can see the Teflon caps on each side (large silver cylinders on each side of the board). We use them on LCR enhanced. These Teflon caps provide a very clean return path for the feedback of the audio so it translates into very low distortion and very good frequency extension. These are also military-grade Russian caps and we special order them.

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Here you have a picture of the bottom of the board.

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Silver wire is added to give PRAT (pace, rhythm, and timing). We do this on the LCR enhanced. The middle wire is pure silver and the other four wires (2 on each side) are sterling silver.

We are now beginning to burn in the preamp. The Teflon caps take many hours to fully break in.
 
Here is you have a picture of the Copla board at this moment.

You can see the photodiodes and LEDs. Copla has an optically isolated power supply for low noise, allowing liquid, cohesive midrange and deep soundstaging

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A youtube description of what the Copla is and how it works.

 
Hey:
Just read the review of the Lounge Audio LCR Mk.III phono stage with the Copla Moving Coil step up amp in the Feb 2018 issue of Stereophile . Apparently these components have been available for over two years as mentioned in the review. Reading the article makes me want to order at least the Phono stage to see what difference it makes in my system :
Has anyone else had experience with this phono pre ?
Ed
 
Well, in a few days I will be getting mine and will update this thread with my thoughts on it. I have read the reviews also and with the exception of one youtube video that bombed it. Everyone else has given it a very positive to glowing reviews. Makes me wonder if the negative reviewer had a defective unit or something.
 
So my goal is to live with the LCR Mk III and Copla for a few weeks breaking it in and familiarizing myself with its characteristics. Then do a battle royale with some phono stages from a few friends that I have sold and lent gear to.

So far I have lined up the return of my former iFi Phono 2 now paired with an SBooster external power supply. Another ghost from my audio past that I deeply regret letting go, the Jasmine LP 2.0 recapped with fancy "audiophile" caps. And last but not least, a Schiit Mani with a Swagman Labs linear power supply. Not sure If I will be fortunate to have them all here at the same time but at least within a short time of each other is the hope.

I hope to have my Technics SP 10 MkII back by that time also. So the LCR is going to have a lot of friendly competion here. Its going to be a good few weeks that's for sure!
 
Hey:
Just read the review of the Lounge Audio LCR Mk.III phono stage with the Copla Moving Coil step up amp in the Feb 2018 issue of Stereophile . Apparently these components have been available for over two years as mentioned in the review. Reading the article makes me want to order at least the Phono stage to see what difference it makes in my system :
Has anyone else had experience with this phono pre ?
Ed
I'm pleased with my LCR III and Copla. Good sound. Definitely bang-for-the-buck components. Good luck. :)
 
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