Review Reflex C & Lautus Interconnects

No mobile in the room i am afraid

Radio frequency interference concerns are treated with utmost importance by us, and it is a legal responsibility on us that our products are electro-magnetic compliant.

The Reflex C and Elevator EXP are the very last of our phono products to use bipolar junction transistor technology. All others have moved onto FET input technology.

Bipolar transistor junctions have a greater 'ability' to rectify radio frequencies--you may be aware of the old 'cats whisker' radio??

However, nothing else is capable of the moving coil performance we are able to provide.

The proliferation (and I call it madness) of radio frequency devices demanded by this modern (crazy IMO) world are at odds with moving coil.

I have voiced this exact same opinion numerous times on this forum. You can't have the extreme gain moving coil demands--with extreme musicality which demands high frequency peformance way beyond the audio spectrum--with the low noise moving coil must have--and also guarantee zero breakthrough from all the radio frequency equipment and their strong signals that are in abundance in this day.

You don't need a mobile phone yourself to have interference. There are plenty surrounding you. They have free abandon to over-modulate and they are not in themselves fault free.

Politically their manufacturers are free to do what they want - governments think it 'cool' to allow all this. Just think what the public backlash would be if they reverted to the strict laws governing the use of radio transmitters we had less than half a century ago?

The moving coil amplifiers of that day couldn't exist today. I've cloned many and they all pick up interference to a much greater degree!

I called in EMC consultants Cherry Clough recently because of my concerns regarding RFI (radio frequency interference) with our products. I spent £2K on a one day visit from them where Cherry Clough tested our most sensitive products (phono stages) using 'pre-compliance' techniques.

Overall our products performed better than most when subjected to RFI. However, I was shown advanced ways in which further protection could be implemented.

We have since that visit (some months ago) implemented modifications in production which did not exist at the time the loan equipment was manufactured.

However, and I must stress, moving coil will always be a problem no matter how much RFI protection technology is used. It is quite frustrating that people are unable to grasp the enormity of the problem moving coil in a modern RF gone mad world results in.

You have a high frequency antenna (the cartridge) on the end of a "wand" (arm tube) which gives zero shielding to the cartridge wires it contains (at RF), and people expect a phono stage to give them the extreme entertainment value we strive for--whilst at the same time removing all the RF the 'antenna and wand' "welcome with open arms"!!!

At some point the cartridge and turntable manufacturers need to get real!

Put it this way: it's different when it comes to microphones--the things used to record or reinforce sound in live performances. There a responsible attitude is obvious--they shield microphones!

The shielding is so good they can make radio mikes! Yes, audio and RF can co-exist in the same microphone case.

Now take a look again at that wide-open plastic (or whatever) cartridge--which is a high frequency inductive coil waiting for radio frequencies to be induced into it.

And the wires looped onto its pins!

The wires travel in an arm tube grounded at one end only--when professionals know that to avoid RFI that shields must be grounded both ends to be effective.

The average arm length at around 9 inches loses all protection above 30MHz.

The cartridge design itself ignores the physics of low-level amplification. Microphone design doesn't!!!

It is a complete mismatch with what is possible in physics!

How the hell something that is so wrong can be added to all the other things that are so wrong, and yet still be greeted with such enthusiasm by people is--and will always be--beyond my understanding (as well as the consultants I brought in).

OK, others can do it, you will say. But others don't give you the entertainment value. It's a circle which can't be squared unless all in it do their part. But don't expect cartridge, arm and turntable manufacturers to consider or act on the problem anytime soon.

(PS: Under current EMC law, cartridge, arm and turntable manufacturers are exempt)



Edited by Graham Slee - 03 Dec 2015 at 10:20am

Cant say it dampened my enjoyment of the sound,as it never interfeared with the music,just when the arm had lifted and the bleeps faded out just as quick as they came.Nice to know there is a rational explanation to it,as the first thing you think of as a layman,what the bloody hell could have caused that noise.Needless to say it wont put me off,sending my letter off to Santa soon

Thanks Tony for the reassurance,thinking back many years ago,i just remembered i had an amp that picked up radio stations,now that was F annoying.!