Comparison Summary
| Decca:Ebony TR:JSD 5: | Powerful, transparent, trouble tracking “Amazing Grace”More beautiful sounding than either of the other two, transparent, but not quite as powerful sounding, good trackerNearly, maybe the equal to the Decca at being bold, powerful, and transparent. It is more organic sounding than the Decca and was also a good tracker |
Listening to Ry Cooder’s great album Jazz, I found it to be a very involving experience. This is the kind of album that highlights the differences between the JSD 5 and my own Benz Ebony TR. The Benz is more delicate, sweeter, it just plain sounds prettier on the top-end on many of the cuts on this album. The JSD 5, on the other hand, is more alive sounding, the music flows more like a musical performance, it has more impact, and the sound just has more substance.
Comparison Summary
| Decca:Ebony TR:JSD 5: | Transparent, alive, with great impactMore beautiful sounding than either of the other two, sweeter, delicate, flow is very good, incredible inner detailBold, powerful, and as transparent as the Decca, more beautiful and delicate than the Decca, but not quite up to the TR here, again the most organic of the bunch |
The musical Evita is a wonderfully musical experience on vinyl that never quite worked for me on redbook CDs. On the opening of side four, there is a children’s choir. These delicate voices need to be reproduced with clarity, and with beautiful harmonics. The Benz Ebon TR gets the delicacies of these voices so real they’ll make you want to cry, the London Reference gets the harmonics right, it also seems to remove one last, very thin veil. With the Decca, you also feel like the phrasing of the singing actors is so precise that it comes across like they are just a few feet from you. It is on this number that you really get the most of best of both worlds with the JSD 5. Still, I will understand those who prefer the ever so slightly more refined sound of the Ebony TR. Heck, I may be among your number. I’m finding it hard to make up my mind, because I like them both so much.
Comparison Summary
| Decca:Ebony TR:JSD 5: | Harmonics very right, extremely clear, lots of presenceGets the delicacies of the voice just right, a little more organic sounding and not quite as forward soundingComes close to getting the strengths of the other two on this cut |
I find listening to Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash sing “Girl from the North County” from Dylan’s Nashville Skyline always useful in evaluating equipment. These two men are both great folk singers, yet so different in voice and technique. This is why the song is so great for evaluation. You should be able to hear the power in Cash’s voice, the gravel in Dylan’s and the emotion in both of their voices. First, let me say that the JSD 5 conveys the great power and emotion of the song with flying colors. It also conveys the flow of the music well. The delicacies of the voices and differences of technique of the two men is not quite up to the TR’s ability in these areas.
Comparison Summary:
| Decca:Ebony TR:JSD 5: | Powerful, transparent, great bass, incredible emotion, tracking below parConveys the delicacies and differences of the two men’s voices better than either of the other, but not quite the drive of the other two, tracked wellGreat power, emotion, very organic, and tracked well |
Conclusion
What else is there to say? Well, I should have said it earlier; this is one great cartridge for listening to classic rock. If you’re looking for a cartridge that just reaches out and makes music come alive from those magic vinyl records, the EMT JSD 5 is a cartridge you should hear. If you can afford it, I highly suggest living with it.
Manufacturer’s Comment:
Thank you Jack Roberts for a nice and thorough review of the EMT JSD5 cartridge. I’m really glad you’re enjoying it so much. It might be interesting to hear Jack’s impressions of the JSD6 or JSD5 or JSD6 Gold in the future. I think he’d find a bit more ease of set up with a more relaxed, delicate and beautiful presentation without sacrificing the dynamics, body and intoxicating sound that Jack loved. The JSD5 was the right choice for this review as it seems to bring a nice balance to Jack’s arsenal of cartridges.
Jonathan Halpern
Tone Imports LLC
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Thanks for your review!
While I have not heard the JSD 5 I live with EMT HSD 6 and absolutely love it.
It makes very many MC cartridges to sound like a toy (as in lacking harmonic completeness and, substance and impact).
I think the explosive dynamics, the impactful bass and the organic nature of the sound is an EMT house sound. There is something very appealing about the the fact that these cartridges, although very revealing (especially spatial information and depth), tend to compliment most recordings rather than find faults. I agree that they “man handle” recordings in a way which doesn’t not mask details but does not scrutinize to the point that only 10 recordings sound great and the rest are unlistenable.
You hit the nail on its head saying they do not really belong to the “musical”, “chocolaty” camp which creates “sameness” and “agreeability” either.
It is an “all rounder” type cartridge that does many things right and is very easy to fall in love with for its “rightness” in sound reproduction.
Cheers on a very good review.
How MANY DOCTORATE DEGREES does it TAKE TO WIND TWO COILS ON A PICK-UP CART. THIS CAN BE DONE BY AUTOMATION TODAY and with BETTER ACCURACY.If these are HAND-WOUND, there are no TWO CARTS ALIKE.GIVE ME A BREAK!
MY ORTOFONS COST ME 75 BUCKS APIECE!
The EMT sounds like a good cartridge. If you are satisfied with a $75 Ortofon, then count your lucky starts you don’t have to spend more than that.
(ANd not quite sure why you would read and comment on a review whose price alienates you?)