E-02

The Esoteric E-02 is a fully balanced MC phonostage preamplifier for analogue playback. It follows the design philosophy of the E-03 phonostage, which remained a best-seller for 8 years, while adding a fully balanced transmission and amplification circuit for MC cartridges.

Dual Mono Construction

Each channel has its own power supply transformer, power board and amplifier circuits, mounted independently. This arrangement provides high channel separation, while the substantial power supply components support solid, powerful audio playback.

Fully Balanced Circuit Design

The circuit is fully balanced from the input stage through to the final output stage. It is designed to handle the very low-level signals from an MC cartridge, minimise noise interference and amplify the signal with low impedance.

Super High Quality MC Head Amplifier and RIAA Amplifier

The newly designed MC head amplifier and RIAA amplifier use a fully balanced configuration. The NF-CR type RIAA amplifier provides RIAA characteristics of ±0.2dB with minimum negative feedback, while the high-voltage power supply gives the circuit wide dynamic headroom.

The E-02 uses the same buffer amplifier technology as the Grandioso C1 preamplifier. The buffer circuit has high-current output capability and a slew rate of 2,000V/microsecond. Each channel uses 2 buffer amplifiers, which drive the hot and cold signals separately in XLR output mode. In RCA output mode, the amplifiers operate in parallel to maximise output linearity. This arrangement provides fast current output and high dynamic capability.

Three Types of Input Including XLR Balanced Input

Inputs comprise 1 XLR input dedicated to MC cartridges and 2 RCA inputs. The RCA inputs also use fully balanced transmission through every stage after the input amplifier. Cartridge impedance, filter on or off, and MONO switch on or off can be stored as presets for each input and selected using the large front-panel dial.

There are 9 impedance settings: MC at 10Ohm, 50Ohm, 100Ohm, 200Ohm, 300Ohm, 500Ohm, 1kOhm and 10kOhm, plus MM at 47kOhm.

ES-LINK Analogue Output

Alongside conventional XLR and RCA outputs, the E-02 supports Esoteric’s ES-LINK Analogue current transmission. This method uses the high-speed, high-current capability of the HCLD circuit to support compatible devices.

Various Control Functions

The DEMAG function can demagnetise unexpected magnetisation in the cartridge coils or step-up transformers. Playing a record for around 30 seconds with DEMAG switched on allows the original sound to be recovered. Controls also include a sub-sonic filter at 17Hz with a slope of -6dB/octave, a MONO switch, and output selection for XLR, RCA or ES-LINK Analogue.

Highly Rigid Chassis Construction

Because phonostage amplifiers handle extremely low signal levels, the E-02 uses a chassis designed to control vibration. Components are arranged in detail, and the bottom chassis that supports the circuits uses slit construction to minimise interference. The thick aluminium enclosure has a rigid construction, while the proprietary pinpoint feet, patent No: JP4075477, help minimise vibration from external sources.