"Let the Music Play"

JENS Phono Stage Preamplifier

$15,449.00

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Description

Jens is a dream. An enchanted nostalgic love ? vinyl, the record, the stylus in the groove, spinning that sweet music.

It took seven years to realize the dream. Jens was a whisper, a rumour, something extraordinary was happening, something was being born. Finally we brought Jens, one of the finest phono stages ever created, into the light.

Building Jens was hard.

Because the output from a fine moving coil cartridge is in the microvolt range the amplification factor is very large ? perhaps a thousand times or more. Any electrical interference entering the system, or any noise from the unit’s internal circuitry may enter the amplification stage to swamp parts of the signal, and if we lose even a tiny part of that it is guaranteed that we have lost essential musical cues, inflexions, subtleties and micro data from the recording which can place us back in that moment, in that concert hall or recording studio. We don’t want this. We want to hear everything.

The key is silence. Jens is a void, a black backdrop against which the music, the event, the performance, spirals out of the groove. The legend is here. Re-discovering your treasured vinyl collection with Jens in charge is a joy like no other. Priceless times, to be enjoyed over and over.

With Jens we thought long and hard about dynamics, the light and shade of music, the entire range of sounds from the subtlest spatial cues to the loudest timpani rolls, trumpet fortissimi and power chords.

Dynamic range can be an issue for vinyl, compared to newer formats, but it really depends on the quality of mastering. A well recorded, well mastered LP will leave nothing to be desired with Jens in the replay chain. You may discover a new confidence and wonder in the power of vinyl to seduce and startle by turns. Jens holds it all in perfect equilibrium. Sit back, enjoy.

Jens is the ultimate tribute to our precious heritage of vinyl recordings; special, unique times, locked into a curling trace, in a black disc, now revealed by Jens at a new level of detail, coherence and musicality.

Jens. Let the music play.

Features

In keeping with the philosophy of a product whose job is to sonically ‘disappear’, to be as transparent as possible, Jens partakes of a pared back, minimalist, clean aesthetic. It shares the Merrill Audio design dna with its beautifully finished sultry rose gold fascia. Gently radiused and with purposeful depth and weight, it forms an attractive contrast with the mid-dark finished solid steel chassis. A deeply recessed center window encloses the amplifier’s clear and easy to read information panel with its soft blue LEDs that can be brightness adjusted or turned off. Its name is proudly engraved top right in an elegant curling script.
The Jens reference phone stage exudes class, quality and the sense of quiet authority. It sits at the heart of the system and controls everything with masterful grace and poise, feeding the preamplifier the precious musical signal with our class leading speed and control.

Jens has 70db of headroom to accommodate any moving coil cartridge, even the most exotic. Selectable loading from 25 ohms to 5 kilohms. Best in class headroom for fast, accurate and wide dynamics. Ultra quiet external power supply. Better than 0.1db RIAA equalization. Single ended inputs.

Specifications

  • With 70 dB of gain, you can play any moving coil cartridge
  • Set your load from 25? to 5 kilohms
  • Huge headroom for excellent transient volume
  • External power supply
  • Better than 0.1dB RIAA equalization
  • Single ended inputs

Reviews

  • I?ve listened to it as it has progressed towards completion and I find it shockingly good. I?ve had it in my home for a long listening session and when it left I not only felt embarrassed to again listen to mine but almost couldn?t come up with words to say how good the ?Jens? phono stage. Unbelievably quiet. A stage so huge that I could not believe my speakers could ever re-produce such a soundstage. Lightning fast and able to handle all transients at all volumes. 70 db! Un f*#king believable.?
    by?David Nemzer, President, NY Audiophile Society

     

  • ?I have owned the preproduction Jens phono stage for awhile now. All I can say is the production version surpasses it nicely. But that wouldn?t mean much if it wasn?t for the fact that this phono stage handily outperforms anything I have owned or heard. It reproduces the sound of LP?s with complete neutrality and a total lack of noise, it allows the phono cartridge to reproduce everything with a faithfulness to the recorded event that is unsurpassed. I know this for a fact from playing my own recordings both in mono and stereo. Partner the Jens with Miyajima Madake or Zero and you need look no further because there is no better. Just buy more LP?s and be amazed.?
    by?Robin Wyatt, Robyatt Audio
  • ?In my already revealing system, the Jens caught me off guard. From the first notes of a reference LP, it unleashed a soundstage so life-like, and so alive with natural detail that I just sat there, completely engaged, mouth open, possibly drooling. Yes, it?s that good, and yes, you need to hear it before spending five figures on any phono stage on the market.?
    by?Al?n Sagee, President, San Francisco Audiophile Society
  • ?Best phono stage I have ever heard.?
    by?Harry Weisfeld, Founder/Owner, VPI Industries
  • ?The Jens? lack of sonic signature doesn?t really make for exciting audio journalism. Extended listening with a wide range of highly familiar pressings proves highly engaging. A perfect tonal balance, wide dynamic range and weighty presentation gradually increases the gravitational pull of your listening area.Combining the Jens with the Christine makes for a dynamic combination. Both share the same ultra wide bandwidth design ethos and provide a very fast, clear and immediate presentation.?
    The Merrill Christine Pre and Jens Phono?by?TonePublications.com
  • ??the Jens is a very accomplished sonic performer. My opinion after 10 minutes wasn?t altered after 10 hours, 10 days or even 10 weeks. The Jens is just fantastic. Sonically, I haven?t heard anything that can keep up with it.?
    MERRILL AUDIO JENS PHONO PREAMPLIFIER?by?PartTimeAudiophile.com
  • ?The advance word on the Merrill Audio Jens Phono Stage highlighted resolution. Yes, it is a real groove plunger, digging in as deep as the best units I?ve spent time with. But I am more impressed by its dynamics, and even more by its musical qualities.?
    Merrill Audio Jens Phono Stage?by?Positive-Feedback.com
  • ?Out of all the many moving coil amplifiers I have auditioned this one best preserves the original performance. If you love music and play vinyl recordings with a moving coil cartridge, then I think you will be impressed. That is only if you care enough about the myriads of small clues that create a living experience.?
    Merrill Audio Jens Phonostage Preamplifier?by?EnjoyTheMusic.com
  • ?The Merrill Audio Jens is a two-box affair. The main box (16?D x 17?W x 3.5?H without footers) is quite elegant in appearance: a stainless-steel case with a faceplate electroplated in rose gold. Behind a small window in that faceplate are rows of LEDs indicating varying stages of operation. The case rests on four IsoAcoustics Gaia III feet (add 2? of height). The smaller outboard power supply, housed in its own stainless-steel case (9? x 10? x 14?), has a faceplate of black acrylic. The two boxes are linked with a supplied umbilical cord. All inputs and outputs are via Furutech single-ended jacks (RCA) of pure copper. The Jens is entirely solid-state.?
    Merrill Audio Jens Phonostage Preamplifier?by?SoundStageUltra.com

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