By Michael Miguest
When my brother sold appliances, one of his most successful pitches was "Why not buy your last purchase first " ? Those customers with the financial where with all bought into the wisdom of his question and subsequently bought the high end: Sub-Zero, Wolf, Bosch etc...
This review is for Jean Nantais's Classic Lenco (Plain & Simple). I am no stranger to Jean Nantais' work. I reviewed his Reference MKIII in November 2015 Blog Archives The Classic Lenco is the Turntable that started Jean Nantais' idler-wheel drive Lenco revolution and his subsequent Lenco evolution.
Jean's product range consists of (1) Classic (Plain & Simple), (2) Classic MKII, (3) Reference MKII (4) Reference MKIII, and (5) The Ultimate. Jean had been asking me to review his entry level Classic (Plain & Simple) and a collaboration between Jean and a client of his who lives close to Chicago allowed me to do this review at his home.
As I stated above, I had reviewed his Reference MKIII witch had his updated platter that features extreme accuracy in machining which takes speed stability to another level along with the sound of the alloy chosen for the platter, provides across the board sonic improvements.
Jean's client had a dedicated music room and his system consisted of all Heed Products http://heedaudio.com/. The Classic (Plain & Simple) had the Graham tonearm mounted with a ZYX 100 Ultimate cartridge that was only a month old. I must admit initially, my expectations were not high having reviewed the Reference MKIII. However, evaluating audio involves a certain amount of hearing through a system, placing things in context, in order to realize what it is you're listening to and the merits of that listening experience. Albums listened to for this review included: CHET Chet Baker, "88 Basie Street" Count Basie & His Orchestra, Still Live Keith Jarrett, Dreams and Daggers Cecile Mclorin Salvant, Soul Trane John Coltrane, The Emerald Forest - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Junior Homrich, Brian Gascoigne, Ertha Kitt and some of his client's Hungarian music.
It didn't take long for me to realize that Jean's Classic (Plain & Simple) delivers a performance that was competitive with his Reference MKIII. In other words, a high-end turntable that delivers more bass control, greater detail, finer high frequencies, extraordinary imaging, a greater sense of timing, relaxation, and an even greater sense of naturalness at a price point that the greater majority in this hobby can afford. Jean's Idler-wheel drives provide the superior speed stability over other systems which leads to superior timing, PRaT and flow, transient speed (leading edge of instruments) which makes identifying different instruments in a mix easier as well as communicating a sense of a live event.
Then there is mass: a high -mass wooden plinth (which absorbs without absorbing too much; and doesn't reflect like metal or stone) not only absorbs and kills off noise, thus lowering the noise floor as to once again make differentiation and identification of instruments easier, but also restores the full spectrum of bass. The wooden high-mass plinth restores all of the information, and therefore doesn't appear immediately more detailed, because with full bass spectrum restored it yields a more natural sound closer to a live event. As you move up Jean's product line, the final element is the sound of materials. Each wood has its own sound (and yes, some woods sound bad) and every metal also has a sound, which increases detail, along with a full spectrum and an extraordinary sense of realism (the metal he chose for the Reference and Ultimate bearings he chose for this reason).
In conclusion, the Classic Lenco (Plain & Simple) is roughly $2500 base price and you supply a Lenco which Jean can help you obtain. Above the Plain & Simple is the Classic Lenco MKII, which has a better sounding plinth (different materials), better exterior woodwork, and shares most of the parts of the Reference Lenco MKII. It is priced at $3800 base price. Above this is the Reference Lenco MKII ($7250), which has a better plinth again over the Classic Lenco MKII, being the same plinth as for the Reference Lenco MKIII (which has a better chassis, bearing and platter than the MKII, and is priced at $12,000). Then finally the Ultimate. Any of his lower models can be traded towards his upper models so value is not lost ( you can trade a Reference Lenco MKII, towards an Ultimate Lenco). Bottom line, there are no tables at the price point of the Classic Lenco (Plain & Simple) which will compete. As my brother would ask, why not buy your last Turntable first?
This review is for Jean Nantais's Classic Lenco (Plain & Simple). I am no stranger to Jean Nantais' work. I reviewed his Reference MKIII in November 2015 Blog Archives The Classic Lenco is the Turntable that started Jean Nantais' idler-wheel drive Lenco revolution and his subsequent Lenco evolution.
Jean's product range consists of (1) Classic (Plain & Simple), (2) Classic MKII, (3) Reference MKII (4) Reference MKIII, and (5) The Ultimate. Jean had been asking me to review his entry level Classic (Plain & Simple) and a collaboration between Jean and a client of his who lives close to Chicago allowed me to do this review at his home.
As I stated above, I had reviewed his Reference MKIII witch had his updated platter that features extreme accuracy in machining which takes speed stability to another level along with the sound of the alloy chosen for the platter, provides across the board sonic improvements.
Jean's client had a dedicated music room and his system consisted of all Heed Products http://heedaudio.com/. The Classic (Plain & Simple) had the Graham tonearm mounted with a ZYX 100 Ultimate cartridge that was only a month old. I must admit initially, my expectations were not high having reviewed the Reference MKIII. However, evaluating audio involves a certain amount of hearing through a system, placing things in context, in order to realize what it is you're listening to and the merits of that listening experience. Albums listened to for this review included: CHET Chet Baker, "88 Basie Street" Count Basie & His Orchestra, Still Live Keith Jarrett, Dreams and Daggers Cecile Mclorin Salvant, Soul Trane John Coltrane, The Emerald Forest - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Junior Homrich, Brian Gascoigne, Ertha Kitt and some of his client's Hungarian music.
It didn't take long for me to realize that Jean's Classic (Plain & Simple) delivers a performance that was competitive with his Reference MKIII. In other words, a high-end turntable that delivers more bass control, greater detail, finer high frequencies, extraordinary imaging, a greater sense of timing, relaxation, and an even greater sense of naturalness at a price point that the greater majority in this hobby can afford. Jean's Idler-wheel drives provide the superior speed stability over other systems which leads to superior timing, PRaT and flow, transient speed (leading edge of instruments) which makes identifying different instruments in a mix easier as well as communicating a sense of a live event.
Then there is mass: a high -mass wooden plinth (which absorbs without absorbing too much; and doesn't reflect like metal or stone) not only absorbs and kills off noise, thus lowering the noise floor as to once again make differentiation and identification of instruments easier, but also restores the full spectrum of bass. The wooden high-mass plinth restores all of the information, and therefore doesn't appear immediately more detailed, because with full bass spectrum restored it yields a more natural sound closer to a live event. As you move up Jean's product line, the final element is the sound of materials. Each wood has its own sound (and yes, some woods sound bad) and every metal also has a sound, which increases detail, along with a full spectrum and an extraordinary sense of realism (the metal he chose for the Reference and Ultimate bearings he chose for this reason).
In conclusion, the Classic Lenco (Plain & Simple) is roughly $2500 base price and you supply a Lenco which Jean can help you obtain. Above the Plain & Simple is the Classic Lenco MKII, which has a better sounding plinth (different materials), better exterior woodwork, and shares most of the parts of the Reference Lenco MKII. It is priced at $3800 base price. Above this is the Reference Lenco MKII ($7250), which has a better plinth again over the Classic Lenco MKII, being the same plinth as for the Reference Lenco MKIII (which has a better chassis, bearing and platter than the MKII, and is priced at $12,000). Then finally the Ultimate. Any of his lower models can be traded towards his upper models so value is not lost ( you can trade a Reference Lenco MKII, towards an Ultimate Lenco). Bottom line, there are no tables at the price point of the Classic Lenco (Plain & Simple) which will compete. As my brother would ask, why not buy your last Turntable first?
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