Behind the Lens

FEATURE
FEATURE
995:Sound That Won’t Break The Bank
Triple Play
The Lounge Audio
LCR mk.III and Copla
By Jerold O’Brien
About two years ago we
turned you on to what we still think is
the best value in phonostages today, the
Lounge Audio LCR. Robert Morin could
have easily lounged around, put the LCR
in a bigger case, charged a thousand
bucks for this jewel and called it a day.
But he’s grown the company a bit, and
made not one, but two updates to the
design and eliminated the only bottleneck
of it only being an MM phonostage.
Enter the Copla step-up device. (Which
is amazing for those of you with an MM
stage that you love but would like to add
MC capability to.)
Everything that was fantastic about
the original has only been improved. The
incredibly quiet noise floor remains intact
and the slightly warm tonal balance has
moved a few more molecules toward
neutral, yet now the mk. III reveals more
music across the spectrum. Comparing
the mk. III to my original (which cost
$200, to the current model’s $300 price
tag) is a night and day jump in analog
prowess. There’s no better $100 upgrade
to your system out there. Heck, if you’re
an audiophile on a tight budget, give your
mk. I to a friend and just buy the mk. III;
it’s still an amazing value at that point.
92 TONE AUDIO NO.75
November 2015 93