Lounge LCR Mk iii, Mofi StudioPhono, U-Turn Pluto

I've been lurking for a while here, posting for the first time.

I happen to have the Lounge LCR Mk iii, the Mobile Fidelity Studio Phono, and the U-Turn Pluto in my possession. I hope this comparison can help some people who may be considering getting one of these. But as always, YMMV. I am almost 50 and have tinnitus from a couple of decades of gigging in bars and clubs, so less abused ears probably can hear things I am missing.

I compared each of them to digital files (either AIFF 1411kbps/16-bit/44.1khz or FLAC 3021kbps/24-bit/96khz), by listening to same songs simultaneously with my iMac and TT and switching back and forth. Then changing the phono stage and doing the same. TT is a Pioneer PLX-1000 with Ortofon 2M Blue. iMac goes into a Schiit Modi MB through optical out. Phono and DAC are fed into a Schiit SYS, then into JBL LSR305s.

Pluto (have had since April)
Seems to emphasize the mids, while suppressing the lows a bit. This creates an illusion of 3-dimensionality — pushes the voices and solo instruments forward, while pulling bass further back. I think they did this by simple EQ-ing. It is possible to recreate similar (but not quite the same, of course) sonic character using EQ with digital sources. Tonality of instruments is decent. Cymbals and drums sound more natural than digital. As I said earlier the lows are suppressed a bit, but not very tight. Gain is quite low.

StudioPhono (have had it for a little over a month, used it exclusively for a solid month)
All DIP switches off; other settings sound overly bloated and muddy.
Has a lot of highs. Lows seem to be suppressed a bit, but not as much as the Pluto. Very clear sounding because of this balance. Sounds less 3-D than the Pluto (however artificial that may be). Not much soundstage depth. Tonality is maybe more natural than the Pluto, but not 100% sure. Instrument separation seems to be better than the Pluto.

LCR Mk iii (got it a little over a week ago, has more than 30 hrs of playing time)
Sounds big, and perhaps you could say thick. In spire of this thickness, instrument separation is quite good. Has a lot of lows, but bass is tighter than the other 2. Highs are suppressed a bit. Cymbals and drums sound the most natural of the 3. Doesn't have the (somewhat artificial) 3-dimentionality that the Pluto has, but gives a sense size (like I said, sounds "big") and dimensions that is difficult to pinpoint or describe. Little more gain than the StudioPhono.

I'd say the LCR Mk iii sounds better than the other 2. Can't really think of any one aspect that the Pluto or the StudioPhono does significantly better. But the Pluto and the StudioPhono have frequency balances that are markedly different from digital files, so even a casual listener would be able to spot the differences to digital quite quickly. Some well-mastered digital files may sound quite similar to the LCR Mk iii — differences can be subtle. But it has softer highs, sweeter (only slightly on some songs) mids, and pronounced but tighter lows. Plus the sense of size and dimensions that I can't quite describe.

 

Good job!

 

I felt the LCR Mk III sounded quite dark and subdued at first. Give it some more time, it'll balance out.

 

Thanks, bluemooze and Helom!

It's been a week and a half since my post. The LCR Mk iii sounds clearer and more 3-D now. I have to say the LCR is much better than the StudioPhono or the Pluto.

 

The Pluto shouldn't perform as well- it's 89 bucks.

If you had compared the Vincent PHO-8 to the other two, your findings may have been different.

 

Your description of the Lounge sounds like it would pair with the Ortofon 2M series nicely. I can’t wait to get the Lounge!