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by Dick OHHHH!!
Phono system consisting of moving coil cartridge and dedicated phono preamp.
CARTRIDGE. Frequency response: 5 to 50,000 Hz.
Output voltage: 0.25 mV. Impedance: 6.8 ohms. Recommended load: 15 to 30 ohms. Compliance: 17 Cu, horizontal; 16 cu, vertical. Recommended tracking force: 1.5 grams.
PREAMPLIFIER. RIAA frequency response: ±0.5dB, 15-20,000 Hz.
Gain: 70 dB, phono stage. Price: $1495 complete.
MANUFACTURER: Win Laboratories, PO. Box 332, Goleta, CA 93017.
You might call this a nostalgia review because the Win cartridge and preamp are no longer in production. But they are still available from some sources, and it's one of the finest sounding phono systems I have heard.
The cartridge is very fast, more so than any other moving coil I know of. and that speed is achieved without sacrificing control. Treble transients are clean and detailed without gratuitous ringing, and dynamic contrasts are excellently reproduced. Sound staging and imaging are the best I've experienced from my reference system.
The treble balance of the Win cartridge is strongly dependent on the tonearm used.
I tried it with both the Premier MN1T and the Well Tempered Arm. The brightness region was more prominent, and the extreme treble somewhat more etched, with the Premier than with the WTA. The WTA provided, to my ears, the more natural treble balance.
Bass extension and impact will also he somewhat dependent on both the tone-arm and the turntable. Using the Win 'table (also not in production), bass definition and clarity were superb. Although I suspect that the WTA (at least with the Win 'table) slightly reduces the impact of bass transients, I still find the Win cartridge itself somewhat lacking here.
The only other fault I could find with the Win has to do with the character of the lower midrange, which is slightly lean, in the same manner as the Dynavector Ruby of some years ago. I hear this trait with a variety of ancillary electronics, so the problem is definitely with the cartridge.
The preamp provided is vintage Sao Win in finish and attention to detail: different, yet elegant. The front and back panels are made of exotic hardwoods, and the amplifier modules are housed in chromed copper tubes to minimize RF interference. Volume control is achieved with variable output LEDs that activate photoelectric cells. The gain stages utilize a proprietary high speed, wide bandwidth, and very low noise integrated circuit. This is claimed to be the world's quietest IC preamp. The preamp's input impedance is matched to the Win MC to provide accurate equalization.
Sonically, the preamp competes with the best solid-state gear money can buy. It is quiet. detailed, and very transparent-but lacks the focus and soundstaging dimensionality of the top tube gear. I finally switched to a highly modified Theta preamp for phono amplification (a further example of my cur rent passion for both tubes and out-of production components; the Theta hasn't been made for years). The Theta uses two ODJ8 tubes per channel and incorporates very expensive passive parts: Teflon caps and noninductive wire-wound resistors.
With the Theta, I realized the full potential of the Win cartridge in soundstage and imaging, which borders on the holographic.
Tubes also tend to flesh out the lower mid range of the cartridge, a welcome synergism. In case you're wondering, the Theta mod is available from John Beatty, 11424 E. 215th Street. Lakewood CA 90715. He's one of the founders of the now-defunct company.
As a system, the Win MC and preamp are a genuine bargain; I would be tempted to spend the price of the system just to get the cartridge. For S1495. you get not just an outstanding cartridge, but also an excellent preamp. (And the preamp provides a unity gain AUX input that should handle a CD player.) Both of these components are highly recommended. It will he well worth your time to look for them on the used market.
JGH Comments: While I pretty much agree with DO about the sound, I found the Win pi- vamp's human engineering abominable. The control knobs and switches are not labeled as to function, the knobs have no indexing marks to tell you where they are set, and I found the artsy/deco styling more suited to the boudoir than the listening room., Also, it is necessary to distinguish between the late-model version of the Win preamp that DO tested and its earlier version. One of the earlier units (Serial Number 1522) that I auditioned had a marked tendency to exaggerate acoustic feedback, resulting in a very heavy, poorly-controlled low end at listening levels above moderate.
My advice: caveat auditor, or "listen before you buy."
1. So what's the complaint? Take it to bed with you. -L.A
--
[based on a March 1986, Stereophile review article]
Also see:
THE CONRAD JOHNSON MV-50 AMPLIFIER
THE NEC CD-705E COMPACT DISC PLAYER
THE INFINITY IRS-III AND RS-IB: STILL FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS
THE RAUNA TYR MARK II LOUDSPEAKER
THE SYNTHESIS LM-20 AND LM-250: A NEW LINE OF TOP QUALITY SPEAKERS
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