Lounge MKIII Preamp, where to buy????

Honestly, i have tried, shipping is 80pounds plus import tax, it reaches near 500pounds. I have spoken direct to Lounge; its just not an option for us Europeans!! Thanks for your support however xx

 

Well, the same thing happens in the opposite direction when we buy Rega products over here in the US, or a host of other audio products that are much cheaper in their home country. The Lounge price markup does seem kind of extreme because of its relatively low price here, but certainly not unprecedented.

 

Yikes. I hate being raked over the coals....

 

Good point.

 

I have the Copla too for an MC setup, you won't be disappointed, if you price out the various Step Up transformers out there, the Lounge is a steal. I particularly like the impedance potentiometer on the front, provides different loading for different cartridges.

Other SUT's that are 1:10 for example, limit the cartridges you can use, and are great for LOMC, especially ones that are in the 0.3mv to 0.4mv range - they bring the output up to 3.0 - 4.0mv which is very conducive to a MM phono stage. However, if you have a HOMC cartridge like the Denon DL-110, or AT Mono3/LP (which are 1.6mv - I own both) a 1:10 step up brings the voltage to a whopping 10.6mv, which will overload most MM stages. The Copla, for reasons I don't understand, deals with a 1.6mv DL-110 spectacularly - in fact better than in standalone LCR mode IMHO (and others opinion too as I have read).

Note - be sure and use the best cables possible between the Copla and LCR, and as short as possible. It is the same concept when going from TT to Phono stage - shortest distance possible, lowest capacitance high quality cable. Of course on the output side cable distance and quality are not as critical since the signal is boosted / amplified. (up to about 12-15 ft from experience, then the loss may be noticeable after that). Good news is Lounge shipped a set of 15 in hand made cables with the Copla, which was a pleasant surprise, to interface with the LCR.