Brinkmann introduction
Phono stage »Edison«
The »Marconi« line stage and the »Edison« phono stage are closely related, visually as well as sonically. They both process the signal with vacuum tubes and solid-state components. And of course they are both optimized for sound quality without cutting corners and are built with highest precision in mind. The »Edison« offers three separate phono inputs followed by switchable 1:1 input transformers. The impedance can be optimized for each input in 12 steps between 47 Ohms and 47 kOhms. The gain can be adjusted for each input individually in 16 steps by means of a knob on the front plate; the settings for gain, impedance and routing (transformer in or bypassed) are saved in an EPROM chip when switching to another input. The first gain stage employs bipolar transistors carefully selected for their sonics. The RIAA equalization curve is applied between the two following tube stages; the EQ network is implemented partly as local feedback and partly as plate load of the first tube stage. A third tube stage handles the phase inversion for the balanced outputs. (As is to be expected from Brinkmann, the equalization is very precise and switchable between RIAA and IEC curve.) With its adjustable gain, the superior S/N ratio and the extremely low distortions, the »Edison« will extract all possible information from any given cartridge. [review
link]
Brinkmann introduction
Phono stage »Fein«
The black finish hides yet another«Golden Oldie». Even though the »Fein« has been in production since 1985, it is anything but an oldie. Continued refinements have pushed this phono stage well ahead of its class. It features a single input, a volume control, and low output impedance; vinyl purists can thus drive an amplifier directly with their »Fein« should they so chose to.
Sonically, »Fein« (engl. fine) lives up to its name.Amongst the reasons is because it runs in pure Class-A with all operating points referenced to a single and temperature-compensated voltage source; the power transformer will never run into magnetic saturation thanks to ultrafast diodes and noninductive resistors; and last, but certainly not least, because the power consumption is so low that we decided to omit a power switch. (We recommend instead to leave the »Fein« powered up continuously because it sounds even better that way.) [review
link]
Frederic Beudot
....as it turns out, the Nano is such a good bargain that I decided it was worth sharing the news.
.....but what keeps amazing me is how well the Nano performs at just a fraction of the price.
....but responded with greater bass weight and extension, better macrodynamics, sweeter treble and lower noise.
The Nano confirmed that it performs on par or even slightly ahead of the phono boards inside my McIntosh MA2275 and Musical Fidelity A5 integrateds. That may seem like faint praise but the phono stages in those two are actually well regarded and often compared to phono pres costing to US$700. Hence the performance of the half-priced Nano was more than respectable.
I would be hard-pressed to name anything that will give you more bang for the buck than this unique combination of built quality, versatility, low price and sweet dynamics. [review
link] [more]
Features:
Frequency Response : 0.25dB ref 1KHz (MM and MC) 30Hz to 20KHz(with IEC roll off thereafter).
Sensitivity and Signal to Noise Ratio -
Jumper 1 fitted : 250uV, >64dB S/N for 250mV out
Jumper 2 fitted : 500uV, >69dB S/N for 250mV out
No jumper fitted : 1mV, >74dB S/N for 250mV out
Loading MC : 6n8 in parallel with 1K5 ohms or with jumpers fitted :
Frederic Beudot 
