joshvito
Active Member
A review of The Black Cube from Lehmann Audio in comparison to the Parasound zPhono.
This article will not go into details on why one needs a phono stage in their HIFI system. It will assume the reader knows the basics of vinyl playback on modern HIFI stereo systems.
Notes on the gear involved
Both phone preamps were tested in the same system, which includes the following in the signal chain.
Why upgrade?
My audio journey did not start with the Parasound zPhono. Actually, it was the second dedicated phono pre-amp that I have owned, and the fifth pre-amp in my collection of audio gear (if you count the phono stages in the various receivers I own). The zPhono was actually an upgrade that was recommended to me by my local HIFI shop to replace a Bellari VP130 (w/Tungsol 12AX7 Goldpin tube).
I enjoyed the sound of the Bellari, it had a nice warm sound and had a built in headphone amp.Alas, it didn't have enough gain for my newly upgraded Moving Coil (MC) cartridge (Ortofon Quintet Blue). Therefore, the HIFI shop suggested if I wanted to get into the entry level of running MC cart's, the Parasound zPhono was a great little pre-amp for the price ($200 USD).
The Parasound served me well for a year or so, until I upgraded my room treatments and speakers. The Sonus Faber floorstanders I am currently running in my system revealed a lot of extra noise in the system compared to the previous B&W 685 S2's (stand mounted bookshelf).
This noise is what lead me to investigate the noise source and eventually upgrade my phono preamp. The noise is definitively from the Parasound zPhono (in MC mode). Switched over into MM mode, the zPhone becomes a lot more quieter. I still believe Parasound makes a great little pre-amp for the price, especially if you have a moving magnet (MM) cartridge.
Why the Lehmann Black Cube
I eventually settled on The Black Cube because of the praise it received from other hobbyists (and my local HIFI shop) and the fact that it has many settings to allow it to work with almost any cartridge. I also compared the manufacturers specs, and The Black Cube lists a higher signal to noise ratio (S/N) than the Parasound.
At first glance, I was dubious of the small difference (5dB) in listing of S/N ratio. However, the gain on the Lehmann product is 5dB higher too, and the Parasound is most likely weighted (which makes the number heigher). Now that we have manufacturer specs and the why out of the way. Let's get to overall impressions.
General Impressions on sound
I will be the first to admit, I am not a professional listener. However, the extra cost for the Lehmann Black Cube was worth every penny to my listening room experience. The Black Cube has a quieter noise floor at listening levels of ~80dB. To my ears, instruments sound closer to the real thing also. Specifically, the pluck of guitars and the high hat symbols sound much more like live performances. I don't hear a noticable difference at the bass end of the spectrum.
My Testing Procedure
Testing Equipment
I use a UMIK-1 with the supplied calibration file. I plugged the mic. directly into a laptop running Room Eq Wizard (REW).
All measurements are taken at the listening position in the room, with all external sources of noise removed (e.g. fans, A/C, etc). This was one of the more challenging tasks, it is surprising how often my neighbor mows his yard.
Output Equalization
Since each of the pre-amps have different gain levels, I wanted to make sure I was measuring each with the same listenting level. So before I took any noise measurements of the pre-amps, I played the same song on each and adjusted the volume on the amp to get the speaker output to average ~80dB's. Then I took measurements of the noise in the room.
My Noise Measurements
Not much to say here, expect that the measurements back up what I was hearing in the room. At the same listening levels, using them in MC mode, The Black Cube has a lower noise floor than the Parasound zPhono. This isn't too surprising, as the S/N ratio specs from manufacturer also back up this finding. However, it was a fun experiment to listen to the differences in the gear, and to back up what I was saying with measurements.
Conclusion
While both pre-amps are very good at producing acurate representations of the music, The Black Cube wins in all categories of sonic performance. However, It should be noted that the cost of ownership has not been mentioned in my review above. At an MSRP of $200 (USD), the Parasound zPhono holds its own at that pricepoint. However, I think pairing it with an MC cartridge is a bit of a mismatch due to it's higher noisefloor at that gain level. The Black Cube (MSRP $630.00 USD) in MC mode is a much quieter device, and it also produces a cleaner mid range and high end of the sound spectrum.
This article will not go into details on why one needs a phono stage in their HIFI system. It will assume the reader knows the basics of vinyl playback on modern HIFI stereo systems.
Notes on the gear involved
Both phone preamps were tested in the same system, which includes the following in the signal chain.
- VPI Classic w/Ortofon Quintet Blue
- Parasound zPhono OR The Black Cube
- Marantz PM6005 Integrated
- Sonus Faber Venere 2.5
- Audioquest Forest Interconects
Why upgrade?
My audio journey did not start with the Parasound zPhono. Actually, it was the second dedicated phono pre-amp that I have owned, and the fifth pre-amp in my collection of audio gear (if you count the phono stages in the various receivers I own). The zPhono was actually an upgrade that was recommended to me by my local HIFI shop to replace a Bellari VP130 (w/Tungsol 12AX7 Goldpin tube).
I enjoyed the sound of the Bellari, it had a nice warm sound and had a built in headphone amp.Alas, it didn't have enough gain for my newly upgraded Moving Coil (MC) cartridge (Ortofon Quintet Blue). Therefore, the HIFI shop suggested if I wanted to get into the entry level of running MC cart's, the Parasound zPhono was a great little pre-amp for the price ($200 USD).
The Parasound served me well for a year or so, until I upgraded my room treatments and speakers. The Sonus Faber floorstanders I am currently running in my system revealed a lot of extra noise in the system compared to the previous B&W 685 S2's (stand mounted bookshelf).
This noise is what lead me to investigate the noise source and eventually upgrade my phono preamp. The noise is definitively from the Parasound zPhono (in MC mode). Switched over into MM mode, the zPhone becomes a lot more quieter. I still believe Parasound makes a great little pre-amp for the price, especially if you have a moving magnet (MM) cartridge.
Why the Lehmann Black Cube
I eventually settled on The Black Cube because of the praise it received from other hobbyists (and my local HIFI shop) and the fact that it has many settings to allow it to work with almost any cartridge. I also compared the manufacturers specs, and The Black Cube lists a higher signal to noise ratio (S/N) than the Parasound.
Parasound zPhono source
- S/N MC 58dB
- Gain at 1 kHz: MC, 61 dB
The Black Cube source
- S/N (RMS unweighted) 63dB
- Gain 1 kHz: MC: 66 dB
- S/N MC 58dB
- Gain at 1 kHz: MC, 61 dB
The Black Cube source
- S/N (RMS unweighted) 63dB
- Gain 1 kHz: MC: 66 dB
At first glance, I was dubious of the small difference (5dB) in listing of S/N ratio. However, the gain on the Lehmann product is 5dB higher too, and the Parasound is most likely weighted (which makes the number heigher). Now that we have manufacturer specs and the why out of the way. Let's get to overall impressions.
General Impressions on sound
I will be the first to admit, I am not a professional listener. However, the extra cost for the Lehmann Black Cube was worth every penny to my listening room experience. The Black Cube has a quieter noise floor at listening levels of ~80dB. To my ears, instruments sound closer to the real thing also. Specifically, the pluck of guitars and the high hat symbols sound much more like live performances. I don't hear a noticable difference at the bass end of the spectrum.
My Testing Procedure
Testing Equipment
I use a UMIK-1 with the supplied calibration file. I plugged the mic. directly into a laptop running Room Eq Wizard (REW).
All measurements are taken at the listening position in the room, with all external sources of noise removed (e.g. fans, A/C, etc). This was one of the more challenging tasks, it is surprising how often my neighbor mows his yard.
Output Equalization
Since each of the pre-amps have different gain levels, I wanted to make sure I was measuring each with the same listenting level. So before I took any noise measurements of the pre-amps, I played the same song on each and adjusted the volume on the amp to get the speaker output to average ~80dB's. Then I took measurements of the noise in the room.
My Noise Measurements
Legend
20180701-LP-TBC-A: The Black Cube (Avg)
20180701-LP-PzP-A: Parasound zPhono (Avg)
20180701-LP-TBC-A: The Black Cube (Avg)
20180701-LP-PzP-A: Parasound zPhono (Avg)
Not much to say here, expect that the measurements back up what I was hearing in the room. At the same listening levels, using them in MC mode, The Black Cube has a lower noise floor than the Parasound zPhono. This isn't too surprising, as the S/N ratio specs from manufacturer also back up this finding. However, it was a fun experiment to listen to the differences in the gear, and to back up what I was saying with measurements.
Conclusion
While both pre-amps are very good at producing acurate representations of the music, The Black Cube wins in all categories of sonic performance. However, It should be noted that the cost of ownership has not been mentioned in my review above. At an MSRP of $200 (USD), the Parasound zPhono holds its own at that pricepoint. However, I think pairing it with an MC cartridge is a bit of a mismatch due to it's higher noisefloor at that gain level. The Black Cube (MSRP $630.00 USD) in MC mode is a much quieter device, and it also produces a cleaner mid range and high end of the sound spectrum.
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