Descripción

La NUEVA cápsula de bobina móvil Amber de Allnic Audio finalmente es una realidad. La culminación de 13 años de investigación, ensayos y experimentación resultó en la creación de lo que será reconocido como un verdadero transductor musical de vanguardia.

Impulsados ​​por la búsqueda interminable de una goma lo suficientemente flexible y duradera para usar en el inusual motor de 2 imanes MC de Allnic, experimentamos con gomas de suspensión de todos los continentes. En octubre pasado, el director ejecutivo y diseñador de Allnic Audio, KS Park, anunció con alegría el descubrimiento de una goma de suspensión perfecta fabricada a 100 millas de su instalación en Corea.

¡Comenzó la prueba! Esta nueva cápsula se probó exhaustivamente con calentamiento en horno y secado a 130 grados durante horas y horas. Estas pruebas en horno demostraron la capacidad de la goma para retener la humedad, proporcionando la flexibilidad y la estructura integral que requiere la suspensión. El mayor inconveniente del envejecimiento de la cápsula MC es el efecto de secado. Las suspensiones más antiguas pierden flexibilidad debido a la pérdida de humedad y se endurecen, dando como resultado un sonido brillante, duro y nervioso. En climas secos, este efecto es más pronunciado. Debido a esto, la capacidad de seguimiento del lápiz óptico se ve afectada por el endurecimiento de la goma, lo que aumenta las frecuencias altas y la sibilancia exagerada.

Durante 6 meses de pruebas sónicas en Corea, Canadá, Bélgica e Italia, Amber, con el nuevo caucho y Fritz Gyger suministró el voladizo de Boro, los oyentes informaron que este carro tiene muy pocos competidores al doble del precio anunciado. Personalmente, no tengo nada tan bueno en mi colección de cápsulas, y esta observación fue reportada por algunos otros en estas evaluaciones. En los juicios, no podía esperar a volver a Amber. Algunos carros pueden tener una ventaja en ciertas cualidades, pero ninguno proporciona la emoción y la satisfacción total con el pasatiempo que Amber imparte mucho después de participar en las sesiones de escucha. ¡Esta cápsula canta!

Incluso con el mayor cumplimiento de Amber, se obtuvieron mejores resultados con brazos de masa más grandes, como el Kuzma de 4 puntos, Ikeda 407, FR 66 y 64. La palabra es, los diseños de brazos de 14 gramos y de tono más pesado producirán la mejor combinación.

Lo que Amber ofrece, con creces, es la capacidad de hacer todo bien, produciendo una dinámica enorme, audaz y sin esfuerzo, bajos profundos, transparencia táctil y alcance, con una separación fantástica y un escenario de sonido de una milla de profundidad. Amber sigue muy bien y está a la par para un ruido de superficie récord. Normalmente, las mejores grabaciones ofrecen una reproducción más silenciosa. Irónicamente, durante las pruebas, todos los oyentes informaron que los vinilos más antiguos, incluso con verrugas y rasguños, tenían un seguimiento más silencioso que la mayoría de las producciones actuales.

¿Es realmente bueno? Los comentarios de Amber hasta la fecha han sido increíbles, especialmente dado que los probadores han estado comparando con cartuchos mucho más costosos y reconocibles.

¡Sin decepciones! Bien podría ser la mejora de su sistema del año.

LA ESTRUCTURA MARCA UNA GRAN DIFERENCIA

Primero, cada master de registro LP se graba usando el cabezal de corte de un torno de corte LP. Las cápsulas de bobina móvil (MC) Amber y Rose están diseñadas para reproducir música a través de un mecanismo que emula el cabezal cortador del torno de corte LP, por supuesto, sin embargo, con una aguja de diamante que rastrea las caras de las ranuras de grabación, en lugar de con un cincel de diamante. para cortar las ranuras en el vinilo.

En segundo lugar, el Amber y el Rose tienen dos bobinas de policarbonato huecas separadas, a diferencia de una bobina diseñada como un cuadrado de hierro o un bloque transversal.

En tercer lugar, el hierro es aproximadamente nueve veces más pesado que el policarbonato, por lo que una bobina de hierro convencional reacciona con mucha menos agilidad a los surcos musicales de un disco de vinilo que una hecha de policarbonato hueco.

Cuarto, a medida que un voladizo se mueve a lo largo de las ranuras del vinilo, necesita un pivote. Las bobinas de las cápsulas MC convencionales están ubicadas cerca del pivote debido a su gran masa en movimiento. Debido a su masa en movimiento más ligera, en comparación con las cápsulas MC convencionales, las bobinas de Allnic Amber y Rose están más cerca de la aguja de diamante. El resultado para Amber y Rose es una mayor capacidad de vibración de la bobina y, por lo tanto, una reproducción de audio más detallada.

Ambar y Rose también cuentan con:

• Un nuevo amortiguador de goma desarrollado por Allnic
• Nuevas bobinas dobles CCA (aluminio revestido de cobre)
• Lápiz óptico Fritz Gyger S
• Ámbar: voladizo de boro macizo (rosa: aluminio macizo)
• Placa de montaje de zinc
• Peso de 11 gramos

La experiencia indica que Amber y Rose mejorarán continuamente durante un mínimo de cuarenta (40) horas de reproducción, alcanzando un nivel de rendimiento mucho más allá de sus iniciales y, creemos, mucho más allá de la mayoría de las cápsulas MC.

• Imán: Neodimio 50. Sin yugo en bobina móvil, pero en conjunto de imán: hierro puro.
• Capacidad de seguimiento 78um a 300Hz, cumplimiento de aproximadamente 9um / mN.
• Prueba excelente en + 15dB 300Hz en LP de prueba de HiFi News.
• Se recomiendan brazos de masa media y alta; masa baja no recomendada.
• Voltaje de salida: 0,35 mV 1 KHz / 7 cm / s
• Impedancia: 9 ohmios
• Cumplimiento: 10 X 10-6 dyn / cm (100Hz)
• Fuerza de seguimiento: el mínimo sugerido de 2,0 gramos (+/- 0,2 gramos) varía según la altitud; use esto solo como una guía
• Separación de canales: 30 dB por encima
• Balance de canal: dentro de 0.2dB
• Respuesta de frecuencia: 20 Hz a 30 KHz
• Voladizo: Boro sólido
• Aguja: diamante Fritz Geyger S
• Peso del cartucho: 11 gramos

The Amber ya era una ganadora del premio Audiophilia Star.

¡¡Ahora es un PRODUCTO DEL AÑO !! 

¡Sin decepciones! Bien podría ser la mejora de su sistema del año.

COMPRAR

Description

Allnic Audio’s NEW Amber moving coil cartridge is finally a reality. The culmination of 13 years of research, trials and experimentation resulted in the creation of what will be recognized as a true State of the Art musical transducer.

Stymied by the endless search for a supple and durable enough rubber to use in Allnic’s MCs unusual 2 magnet motor, we experimented with suspension rubbers from every continent. Last October, Allnic Audio CEO and designer, KS Park, gleefully announced discovery of a perfect suspension rubber manufactured within 100 miles of his Korean facility.

The testing began! This new found rubber was extensively tested with oven heating and drying at 130 degrees for hours on end. These oven tests proved the rubber’s ability to retain moisture, providing the suppleness and its integral structure the suspension requires. The biggest drawback with MC cartridge aging is the drying out effect. The older suspensions lose suppleness from moisture loss and harden, resulting in a bright, hard, edgy sound. In dryer climes, this effect is more pronounced. Because of this, the tracking ability of the stylus is impacted by the rubber’s hardening, boosting high frequencies and exaggerating sibilance.

During 6 months of sonic tests in Korea, Canada, Belgium and Italy, Amber, with the new rubber and Fritz Gyger supplied Boron cantilever, listeners reported this cart has very few peers at twice our announced price. Personally, I have nothing as good in my collection of cartridges, and this observation was reported by some others in these evaluations. In trials, I could not wait to get back to Amber. Some carts may have an edge in certain qualities, but none provide the thrills and the total satisfaction with the hobby that Amber imparts long after engaging listening sessions. This cartridge sings, mama!

Even with Amber’s higher compliance, better results were gleaned from bigger mass tone arms such as the 4 Point Kuzma, Ikeda 407, FR 66 and 64. The word is, 14 gram and heavier tone arm mass designs will produce best matching.

What Amber provides, in spades, is the ability to do everything well, producing huge, bold effortless dynamics, deep bass, reach out and touch transparency, with fantastic separation and a mile deep sound stage. Amber tracks very well and is on par for record surface noise. Typically, better records offer quieter playback. Ironically, during trials, all listeners reported older vinyl, even with warts and scratches, tracked quieter than most current day productions.

Is it really good? Amber’s feedback to date has been unbelievable, especially given that testers have been comparing to much more expensive and recognizable cartridges.

No disappointments! Might very well be your system improvement of the year. And as with every Allnic Audio component to hit these shores, expect a ground swell of praise and accolades!

STRUCTURE MAKES A BIG DIFFERENCE

First, every LP record master is engraved using an LP cutting lathe’s cutter head. The Amber and Rose moving coil (MC) cartridges are designed to reproduce music via a mechanism that emulates the LP cutting lathe’s cutter head, of course, however, with a diamond stylus that tracks the record grooves’ faces, rather than with a diamond chisel for cutting the grooves into the vinyl.

Second, the Amber and Rose have two separate hollow polycarbonate bobbins, as opposed to one bobbin designed as an iron square or cross-block.

Third, iron is about nine times heavier than polycarbonate, so a conventional iron bobbin reacts with far less agility to the musical grooves of a vinyl record than one made of hollow polycarbonate.

Fourth, as a cantilever moves along the vinyl’s grooves, it needs a pivot. Conventional MC cartridges’ coils are located near the pivot because of their heavy moving mass. Because of its lighter moving mass, relative to conventional MC cartridges, the Allnic Amber and Rose’s coils are nearer to the diamond stylus. The result for the Amber and Rose is increased coil vibration capability and, therefore, more detailed audio reproduction.

The Amber and Rose also feature:

• A new rubber damper developed by Allnic
• New CCA (Copper Clad Aluminum) dual coils
• Fritz Gyger S stylus
• Amber: Solid Boron cantilever (Rose: Solid Aluminum)
• Zinc mounting plate
• Weight of 11 grams

Experience indicates that the Amber and Rose will continually improve over a minimum of forty (40) hours of playing time, reaching a level of performance well beyond their initial ones and, we believe, well beyond that of most MC phono cartridges.

• Magnet: Neodymium 50. No yoke in moving coil, but in magnet assembly: pure iron.
• Tracking ability 78um at 300Hz, about 9um/mN compliance.
• Tests great on +15dB 300Hz on HiFi News test LP.
• Medium and high mass tone arms recommended; low mass not advised.
• Output Voltage: 0.35mV 1KHz / 7cm/s
• Impedance: 9 ohms
• Compliance: 10 X 10-6 dyn / cm (100Hz)
• Tracking Force: Suggested minimum 2.0 grams (+/-0.2 gram) varies by altitude; use this as a guide only
• Channel Separation: 30dB above
• Channel Balance: Within 0.2dB
• Frequency Response: 20 Hz to 30 KHz
• Cantilever: Solid Boron
• Stylus: Fritz Geyger S diamond
• Cartridge Weight: 11 grams

Allnic Audio Amber MC Cartridge

JULY 24, 2020 ANTHONY KERSHAW

The star products from South Korea’s Allnic Audio continue to arrive on the island for review. Usually, the delivery guy/gal is cussing me under his/her breath wrangling the massive boxes in which the Allnic tube amps and preamps arrive. This time, no grumbling. A tiny cartridge.

The new Allnic Audio Amber Moving Coil Cartridge, in fact, the more expensive sister to the equally new Rose MC Cartridge ($2900—now in Karl Sigman’s hands—review up late August). The MSRP of the Amber Moving Coil Cartridge is $4500.

The Amber is handbuilt in South Korea by Allnic head Kang Su Park. Park’s brilliance is well known by audiophiles heard through his aforementioned amps and preamps. Less so for his original Puritas MC cartridge. 

The Puritas gained quite a reputation with audiophiles but the new Amber is the end of 13 years of research and development, especially in the search and choice of advanced materials.

The Amber comes in a lovely presentation box, housed in a screw down, metal case. Beware, there is no stylus guard. However, the Amber is released by two small screws, easily manipulated. Setup below.

Features

Allnic Audio is very proud of the hard work that has gone into producing the Amber. The design reproduces music via a mechanism that emulates an LP lathe’s cutter head, the cart’s diamond stylus replacing the lathe’s diamond chisel. 

Unlike many high end carts, the Amber MC has two separate, hollow, polycarbonate bobbins as opposed to one. Park believes that polycarbonate reacts far more quickly than traditional iron giving the Amber greater speed and agility in the grooves. 

One of the new features Park is most proud is the development of a new rubber damper. Park was totally focused on producing a significant improvement over his earlier Puritas but the quality of rubber he was finding hindered progress. When he found the correct rubber after years of research, it was almost a ‘Eureka’ moment! 

Also included on the Amber are CCA (Copper Clad Aluminum) dual coils, a Fritz Gyger S stylus, and a solid Boron cantilever with a Zinc mounting plate. The magnet is Neodymium 50. 

Specifications

Output Voltage: 0.35mV 1KHz / 7cm/s

Impedance: 9 ohms

Compliance: 10 X 10-6 dyn / cm (100Hz)

Tracking Force: Suggested minimum 2.0 grams (+/-0.2 gram) varies by altitude; use this as a guide only

Channel Separation: 30dB above

Channel Balance: Within 0.2dB

Frequency Response: 20 Hz to 30 KHz

My Use

The Amber is said to continually improve over a minimum of 40 hours of playing time; pretty standard for a quality MC. The distributor mentioned his beta testing team demonstrated exceptional, out-of-the-box performance. He wasn’t fibbing.

The always important weight/compliance, cart/arm matching:

My Bergmann Audio Magne Tonearm is 11 grams and considered medium mass. By a hair. The distributor mentioned the pairing should work but reminded me of the Amber’s tracking ability 78um at 300Hz, about 9um/mN compliance. Before purchase, check with the dealer whether your arm will work. The Amber is beefy and 11 grams of Duralumin. Too light an arm will deteriorate the sound.

Visualize the problem this way. If you think of the arm mass (A) and cartridge compliance (B) pairing as a venn diagram, then, according to Allnic, my arm manages to fit in the ‘it works’ intersection of A and B. Happily, science won out. I heard no distortion or funny business with tracking or light bass (a big problem with mismatched arms/carts) during the audition period. 

The happy combination story was foretold by the simple setup. Literally, two, insert from above, screws. Heaven. Compared to my reference Phasemation PP-2000 MC Phono Cart ($6000), it was simple. The PP-2000’s miniscule screws/washers/nuts have to be inserted from above and below which makes it a finicky nightmare to set up and needs my wife’s delicate, safe fingers for completion. The Amber was up and running in minutes, and, arm-dependent, can be set up by ham-fisted audiophiles of all stripes. 

Overhang with the Magne Linear Tracking Tonearm was a non issue. And, as usual with this type of arm, the Ortofon protractor is just a quick double check item. Your overhang and null point cross check may take a little more time. But, for my setup, the cartridge was plug and play. 

I set the tracking as instructed by the paperwork to 2.0 grams. After a couple of days, the distributor suggested 2.4 grams. I obliged. Check your paperwork upon purchase and crosscheck with your dealer. As always, use your ears. Same for VTA. The distributor suggested a slightly elevated rear end. I liked what I was hearing with the arm parallel.

Loading? Both phono stages, the Allnic Audio H-7000 LCR ($16,500) and Icon Audio PS1 Mk. II ($2400), were set at 100 ohms. The Amber appreciated that number. 

If you’d like to see how my Amber looked in action, we have a video on our YouTube channel (please subscribe). If you want to hear from the great man himself, Kang Su Park has three fascinating, in depth videos on Allnic’s channel (Video 1 ,Video 2, Video 3) about his long journey to the Amber. For vinylphiles and cartridge enthusiasts, a must watch.

Sound

As suggested by the distributor, the sound is pretty well ready to go out of the box. You won’t be waiting an interminable time for a lengthy break in. Power, dynamics, slam, translucence and subtlety were heard on the first record. Even the most agreeable carts need fifty hours. The additional break in hours only served to reiterate what an exceptional cartridge the Amber is, adding a little more transparency and timbral sophistication. 

The cart’s initial tell was very accurate. It throws an immense soundstage but always in keeping with the original event. Big orchestral recordings give you the best concert hall seat, and jazz, a Goodfellas, supper club table. Led Zeppelin? Amber gave me a rocking picture of what the boys were trying to recreate on their debut album. Big, electrifying sound!

But, the three main takeaways from those initial sessions were immediacy, coherence and timbral accuracy. Like many well designed cartridges, the bass is rocking—you’ll never be wanting more—but the musical midrange and sweet, transparent highs are equally enthralling. 

During analogue reviews, the first LP on the Bergmann is always The Firebird; Mercury’s superb reissue with Antal Dorati conducting the 1959 LSO from Kingsway Hall. The late ‘50s, early ‘60s LSO had to compete with Walter Legge’s EMI-funded Philharmonia Orchestra for the top British players, money usually winning out. Happily, the LSO, with London’s massive pool of exceptional players, still managed to secure wonderful soloists, but some had very ‘idiosyncratic’ sounds, like Roger Lord, oboe and Gervase de Peyer, clarinet. The Amber nailed their particular sounds to the wall; absolutely secure timbral accuracy. Many carts I’ve used hint or blur de Peyer’s vibrato and thin sound or the wiry timbre of Lord’s oboe. Even the subtle finger movement on Lowry Sanders’ gorgeous piccolo playing is heard. 

As for those sweet, transparent highs, nothing sounded better than the Amber’s portrayal of Rossini’s String Sonatas (ASMF on a magnificent 1969 Argo) played through the 30W triode mode of an integrated amplifier in for review. Absolutely stunning. The combination with the Allnic H-7000 had me shaking my head at its beauty. Vinyl representation far above the $4500 price point.

The Amber is superb with voices, too. I’m not a Led Zep aficionado, but Robert Plant’s expressive falsetto and head tones (usually unsupported by the diaphragm—achieved with pure, brute strength) sounded entirely accurate to me. Instruments or voice, you’ll be getting the whole picture. 

If you already have a cartridge of quality and are big into vinyl, an Amber audition is a must for 2020/21. I think you may be quite shocked at what a great design can offer at this price point. As you audition your favourite records, you’ll be captivated by the most subtle detail retrieval.

Hitherto unheard accents here, background counterpoint now heard, and lots more. But most importantly, coherence—all the Amber’s qualities seem to be in service to the music. It stays out of the way for the busy audiophile. 

So, how does Allnic Audio’s $4500 Amber Cartridge fare against my reference $6000 Phasemation?

The PP-2000, once set up, is remarkably easy to live with, works beautifully with phono stages of all types and prices, is handbuilt in Japan by artisans, and is loved by many audiophiles. The Amber is the shiny new kid, and, in value terms, is offered at a knockout price. Yes, $4500 is not cheap, but it’s axiomatic in the analogue domain you get exactly what you pay for. That’s why the Allnic Audio Amber is an exceptional bargain. I’ve heard many carts costing more but delivering less. 

Your choice between the PP-2000 and the Amber will come down to personal taste. Both will give you all the vinyl qualities you desire. The Amber offers a slightly bigger musical picture, beefy and big-boned, with the Phasemation giving the listener a little more delicacy, repertoire specific. Amber can unravel thick midrange textures as well as any cartridge I’ve reviewed, even better than my reference. Both will replay your favorite voices in magnificent Technicolor and instruments sounding exactly as they should in glorious musical spaces.

Bass? Amber by a hair—it replicates the transient as well as the Phasemation, but decay in a resonant acoustic is a smidgen more controlled (try Chicago SO/Reiner/LSC reissue Lieutenant Kijé by Prokofiev, opening track). As for massive bass drum hammer blows on side 2 of the aforementioned Stravinsky record, the Amber tracks them and produces the immense sound as if a mere bagatelle.

For $10,000 more, a Clearaudio Goldfinger may give both cartridges a bit of a spanking on the sophistication benchmarks, but this will only be apparent to those with a quality vinyl collection and an equally superb phono stage. And, will take time to appreciate. But, 10 grand! 

I’ve got a $15,000 Air Tight Opus 1 coming soon for review. I’m looking forward to running Amber and the Opus 1 against each other. Happily, Amber will be staying on the island for a while. As such, it’ll be a perfect stable mate for this reviewer.

Conclusion

I would encourage all who love vinyl, have some coin burning a hole in their pockets, or those who want to upgrade, to audition the Amber. Even those very happy with their more expensive cartridges should have a listen. The Peter Principle, its ‘lateral arabesque’, specifically, should be in play, here. If you are getting itchy feet or just want a knockout performer, the Amber will give you end-of-journey performance at a relatively reasonable cost. It’s an analogue no-brainer. Very highly recommended.