EMT Jubilee JSD 6 Cartridge Lab Report

Lab Report

Although the JSD 6's output is specified at 1.05mV/5cm/sec, and our individual sample was QC'd by EMT at 0.21mV, on test it delivered an altogether different 786μV (0.79mV) – a figure entirely in keeping with an MC of this design. The recommended 2.3-2.4g tracking force is also entirely appropriate for an MC of low (12cu) dynamic compliance and this, in combination with the 6μm tip radius 'Super Fine Line/multi-faceted' diamond helps it clear a 65-70µm groove pitch and tough +15dB modulation (315Hz lateral cut, re. 11.2μm) at <1.5% THD. In practice, our JSD 6 mistracked in the maximum +18dB groove modulation so it's not quite as secure as the rated 80μm might suggest, but then I've never tested any low compliance MC that has tracked up to +18dB/80μm! Otherwise, with its 10g bodyweight – not including mounting bolts – the JSD 6 will be compatible with a wide range of medium/high-mass tonearms (8-20g).

EMT has engineered a very widebandwidth MC here, the response peaking at +5dB from 12kHz to 20kHz [see Graph 1, below], so beware systems that already have a sting in their tail. Note also the low bass boost – big, reflex-loaded speakers are possibly best avoided unless your phono preamp has a subsonic roll-off. More importantly, this contoured response shows excellent symmetry between lateral and vertical cuts [black and red traces], promising a very uniform colour across the soundstage and powerfully-focussed images. The matched lateral/vertical trend of THD versus frequency [Graph 2] is also very impressive and the high 10-16% distortion at 10kHz-20kHz simply a reflection of the JSD 6's extended response than any indication of a 'real' non-linearity. PM

819emtjub.lab1

Frequency response curves (–8dB re. 5cm/sec) lateral (L+R, black) versus vertical (L–R, red)

819emtjub.lab2

Lateral (L+R, black infill) and vertical (L–R, red) tracing and generator distortion (2nd-4th harmonics) vs. frequency from 20Hz-20kHz (–8dB re. 5cm/sec)

Generator type/weight Moving-coil / 10g
Recommended tracking force 2.3-2.4mN (2.35mN)
Sensitivity/balance (re. 5cm/sec) 786µV / 0.30dB
Compliance (vertical/lateral) 12cu / 12cu
Vertical tracking angle 26 degrees
L/R Tracking ability 65μm / 70μm
L/R Distortion (–8dB, 20Hz-20kHz) 0.3–17.5% / 0.5–15.6%
L/R Frequency resp. (20Hz-20kHz) –0.3 to +5.3dB / –0.1 to +5.1dB
Stereo separation (1kHz / 20kHz) 29dB / 22dB
Price £2599
COMPANY INFO
HiFiction AG, EMT Tontechnik
Mahlberg, Germany
Supplied by: Padood Ltd, Cambridge, UK
01223 653199
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