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Merrill Audio JENS Phono Stage Preamplifier
Jens is a dream. An enchanted nostalgic love ? vinyl, the record, the stylus in the groove, spinning that sweet music.
It took seven years to realize the dream. Jens was a whisper, a rumour, something extraordinary was happening, something was being born. Finally we brought Jens, one of the finest phono stages ever created, into the light.
Building Jens was hard.
Because the output from a fine moving coil cartridge is in the microvolt range the amplification factor is very large ? perhaps a thousand times or more. Any electrical interference entering the system, or any noise from the unit’s internal circuitry may enter the amplification stage to swamp parts of the signal, and if we lose even a tiny part of that it is guaranteed that we have lost essential musical cues, inflexions, subtleties and micro data from the recording which can place us back in that moment, in that concert hall or recording studio. We don’t want this. We want to hear everything.
The key is silence. Jens is a void, a black backdrop against which the music, the event, the performance, spirals out of the groove. The legend is here. Re-discovering your treasured vinyl collection with Jens in charge is a joy like no other. Priceless times, to be enjoyed over and over.
With Jens we thought long and hard about dynamics, the light and shade of music, the entire range of sounds from the subtlest spatial cues to the loudest timpani rolls, trumpet fortissimi and power chords.
Dynamic range can be an issue for vinyl, compared to newer formats, but it really depends on the quality of mastering. A well recorded, well mastered LP will leave nothing to be desired with Jens in the replay chain. You may discover a new confidence and wonder in the power of vinyl to seduce and startle by turns. Jens holds it all in perfect equilibrium. Sit back, enjoy.
Jens is the ultimate tribute to our precious heritage of vinyl recordings; special, unique times, locked into a curling trace, in a black disc, now revealed by Jens at a new level of detail, coherence and musicality.
Jens. Let the music play.
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Merrill Audio JENS Phono Stage Preamplifier
The Merrill Audio JENS is a two-box, high-gain phono stage that foregrounds resolution and musicality with an ultra-low noise floor and exceptionally precise RIAA equalization. Jeff Sirody recounts deeper, textured bass, fleshier mids and shimmering treble that reveal new detail in familiar records, while The Absolute Sound emphasizes the Jens's measured RIAA accuracy. Its transient headroom and dynamic punch keep large-scale orchestral and percussive passages clean and alive. The build is high-end: stainless-steel enclosures, a dedicated external PSU and multi-stage power regulation with premium Furutech RCAs. Ideal for serious vinyl enthusiasts using low-output moving-coil cartridges and high-resolution systems, the Jens rewards careful systems with transparent, highly resolving playback—a specialist, high-value choice for those seeking the last mile of analog fidelity.
Pros
- Exceptionally low noise and transparency that reveals microdetail and deep soundstage.
- Precise RIAA equalization and wide frequency response (better than ±0.1 dB) for faithful tonal balance.
- Strong dynamics and headroom—percussive attacks are fast and powerful without congestion on large speakers.
- Robust two-box construction with an external PSU and multi-stage power regulation for excellent build and shielding.
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Cons
- High price point; best suited to well-heeled buyers with matching high-end systems.
- Fixed high gain (~70–72 dB) and MC-focused design limit out-of-the-box compatibility with MM cartridges.
Transparency
93/100
Multiple reviewers and measurements emphasize an extremely low noise floor and excellent RIAA accuracy. SoundStage Solo specifically described the Jens's noise floor as "one of dead silence -- absolutely no noise at all," and the designer/engineer implemented multiple power-regulation steps to drive supply noise to vanishingly low levels; RIAA equalization is specified at better than 0.1 dB. Given the unit's solid-state topology and the explicit 'dead silence' and measurement-based claims, the Jens earns an exceptional transparency score while respecting the high expectations for MC-level gain.
Sound Quality
90/100
Listeners noted pronounced micro- and macro-dynamic performance: percussive attacks were "harder and faster," and large speakers moved significant air with no congestion. The combination of high gain, generous headroom, and a quiet background preserves transient impact and makes performances sound lively and uncompressed.
Cartridge Compatibility
80/100
The Jens is clearly optimized for moving-coil cartridges: gain is fixed at ~70 dB (reviewers cited 70–72 dB) and the Jens provides adjustable loading from 25 ohms to 5 kΩ via rear-panel knobs, which gives excellent flexibility for a wide range of MCs. It does not present as an MM/MM+MC user-configurable unit (no 47 kΩ/MM capacitance features cited), so compatibility is strong for MCs but limited to that class — thus the score is at the high end of the MC-only band (capped at 80 per normalization rules).
Build Quality
92/100
High-end construction: two-box stainless-steel enclosures, dedicated external PSU in its own chassis, Furutech pure-copper RCAs, and IsoAcoustics feet were all called out. The multi-stage, isolated power-regulation design and premium connectors/shielding described in reviews support excellent chassis, shielding, and power-supply practice appropriate for ultra-low-level phono work.
Value for Money
88/100
At about $15.5k the Jens is an expensive, specialist device; reviewers describe it as a "serious investment" best suited for very high-end systems. The consensus is that the performance and build justify a premium in its class (a justified premium rather than bargain), so this scores as well-justified high-end value rather than mainstream affordability.
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