atelier 13 audio
EAT PHONO CARTRIDGES
E.A.T. JO N°5 CARTRIDGE
E.A.T. is very proud to announce its second cartridge creation in history, after the highly acclaimed and successful Yosegi MC.
Jo No.5 is an elegant masterpiece, both sonically as well as visually.
It comes in unmistakeable mint green colour and features a truthful and immersive sound that is pure E.A.T.
Cartridge body and stylus guard are produced by an additive manufacturing process which is called Selective Laser Sintering (SLS). This process sinters thin layers of powder with a laser to build the final structure.
TOPOLOGY
Moving Coil
STYLUS
Nude Fine Line
CARTRIDGE WEIGHT
15 g
STYLUS TIP RADIUS
8/40 μm
FREQUENCY RESPONSE
20 – 26.000 Hz ±1.5dB
OUTPUT VOLTAGE AT 1000 HZ
5cm/sec. 0.33 mV
CHANNEL SEPARATION AT 1 KHZ
> 25dB
CHANNEL SEPARATION AT 15 KHZ
> 16dB
CHANNEL BALANCE AT 1KHZ
> 1.2 dB
COMPLIANCE, DYNAMIC/LATERAL
12 μm/mN
TRACKING FORCE RANGE
2.2-2.5 g (22-25 mN)
TRACKING FORCE RECOMMENDED
2.4 g (24 mN)
TRACKING ABILITY AT 315 HZ AT RECOMMENDED TRACKING FORCE
80 μm
TRACKING ANGLE
20°
COIL WIRE MATERIAL
Pure 4N copper
RECOMMENDED LOAD IMPEDANCE
> 20Ω
INTERNAL IMPEDANCE, DC RESISTANCE
5Ω
$ 1,200
what they say ...
Positive Feedback
Robert H Levi | July 18 2018
"The Mint Green is an EAT house color and it visually pops. Plus, at $1295, it challenges my favorite $3500 cartridge reference for best overall definition, imaging, and musicality. I cannot even suggest a cartridge at Jo's price that comes close in overall performance."
"At this approximate cartridge price point, you usually get some fuzziness or phase distortion. Images are somewhat edgy or overly rounded, cutoffs too fast or linger too long. Jo is virtually free of these sins. My least expensive $3500 reference is 80% free. I guess EAT wants to establish themselves as a world-class cartridge source and is putting its best cartridge creation so far—and most inventive unit—out first."
Breakthrough
"Breakthrough is a breakthrough, no matter how you spell it. The Jo No.5 is how I spell it right now. At $1295, unless you collect boxes, this is the cartridge to own. It sings with an authority, solidity, speed, and realism only available until now at triple the cost. EAT and their partner Pro-Ject have tons of R&D funds, and it shows. For once, the audiophile consumer is the winner! If Jo can be produced at this price point, what barriers may be breached at $2500 or $5000?
I think that the R2R tape companies are in the biggest trouble, as the Jo No.5 sounds like a Studer tube rebuild at 15 IPS (about $24,000). Plus, tapes of masters are up to $500 per title. The best new or reissue LP's are $30-35. The Jo is $1295 full retail. Best value? You do the math!"
Summary
"The EAT Jo No.5 MC Cartridge is the best overall performing MC cartridge I have heard in a long time, and the current "price/performance value" of the decade. It is not just a very good sounding cartridge. Jo is a cutting-edge high tech music machine enhancing the performance and erasing distortion! WOW!
The Jo redefines the build quality and style of what is achievable, realistic to expect, and top tracking ability worth at least $3000. If Jo No.5 turns out to be the middle or bottom of the EAT cartridge model range, we will look forward to the "big bang" of an EAT stellar transducer extraordinaire!
The EAT Jo No.5 MC Cartridge is sublime and a wondrous value not soon to be surpassed. My 50 years of audiophile listening tell me Jo fully deserves my highest number 1 recommendation! Welcome to America Jo !"
Hi-Fi News
Ken Kessler | December 1 2018
"As if to answer my continued pleas for sane price tags, and my continued dismay at the fees charged for some MC cartridges, the inclusively named
European Audio Team (E.A.T.) has evidently delivered what may be a game-changer.
It was the talk of 2018's High End Show in Munich, not least because it looks unlike nearly any cartridge ever seen before. And another thing: the EAT Jo No5 sells for £999.
OK, so a grand is still outrageous money for any phono cartridge, but its price pales in comparison to the top-end Koetsus and Transfigurations and Ortofons and Lyras and all of those other cost-no-object, hand-crafted designs. Then you hear it and you start thinking, hmmm, the Law of Diminishing Returns was just re-enacted…"
"Wow… straight out of the box, making music in ten minutes, barely fiddling with the precise settings, the Jo No5 immediately demonstrated the kind of prowess I associate with freaky/tweaky Japanese moving-coils. You know what I mean – the sort that come in little unmarked boxes, are made by aged descendants of samurais and sho-guns, cartridges which exhibit that certain je-ne-sais-quoi which rocked the hi-fi world 40 years ago and forever relegated moving-magnets to second-class citizen status.
It has bloom, that wonderful, airy, blossoming sound that suggests it was voiced by someone who spends a lot of time listening to massive orchestras."
Sidebar
"Jozefina Lichtenegger's audio journey is an admirable one, especially to those for whom provenance, hands-on manufacturing skills and tenacity are important. Jozefina started out not with turntables or cartridges, but with valves. In 1999, still in her teens, she worked with VAIC in the Czech Republic, touring the world's hi-fi shows to promote the company's tubes. She eventually relaunched the products herself under the European Audio Team (EAT) brand, and still produces tubes in limited quantities.
Driven by a passion for classical music, a devotee of Bruckner and Wagner, Jozefina and her husband Heinz (CEO of Pro-Ject Audio), are both fanatical classical and opera lovers, and neither rock- nor jazz-oriented. So, when I opened the container I wondered if I might not be the right person to review this cartridge.
Yet I found I was listening to a moving-coil that is near-universal in its impartiality – almost humble in its even-handedness.
Anodyne it is certainly not. Rather, the Jo No5 is impeccably balanced, wholly musical and a true delight.
Hi-Fi News Verdict
EAT's Jo No5 is the antithesis of my beloved Deccas or Denon 103s, which flaunt their personalities with the chutzpah of a Kardashian. Instead, it is superbly neutral and mature, despite physical appearance suggesting a show-off. It may lack the ultimate finesse of a top Lyra or Koetsu cartridge, but at £999, it delivers 90% of their performance for 20% of the cost. And that's spelled B-A-R-G-A-I-N"
E.A.T. JO N°8 CARTRIDGE
The Jo N°8 high-end performance moving-coil cartridge will extract more from the groove than previously imagined
In 2018, E.A.T.'s Jo N°5 moving-coil cartridge raised the bar for affordable transducers capable of high-end performance. Reviewers around the world acknowledged that it was remarkable for a cartridge at its price point. But, they mused, what would E.A.T. deliver with no price constraints? According to founder and CEO Jozefina Lichtenegger, "Jo N°8 was created because of the demand to go one step further, following on the success of Jo N°5. Customers and distributors concurred that the design was an obvious candidate for more exclusive components, an even more carefully conducted, higher level of selection and – ultimately – a superlative, but inevitably more costly and exclusive precision-made body. We knew that this recipe would result in a wonderful-sounding transducer."
Use of the word "transducer" is the key to understanding the demands of the design criteria, with the recognition that a cartridge is just such a device: a turntable/cartridge is an electromechanical transducer that converts mechanical information into an electrical signal, working in exactly the opposite manner of a loudspeaker. This conversion is, in the opinion of E.A.T. the MOST CRITICAL element in an audio chain because any distortion or non-linearity in the amplification is ten times less than what occurs at the speakers or via the cartridge.
For the fastidious listener, any increase in one's investment in a fine cartridge is worthwhile. The benefits include the reduction of distortion to a minimum and the achievement of a perfectly flat frequency response. Accomplishing both is extremely demanding, requiring the utmost attention to detail, abetted by the use of only the highest quality materials.
But that is not enough :
the designer must understand how to apply these in combination: the stylus, the cantilever, the bearing, the suspension, the "motor" and lastly, the body shell, working in perfect harmony.
To elevate the already-exceptional performance of the N°5, E.A.T. has employed for the N°8 a nude Shibata stylus on a boron cantilever, contained in a matte-finished wooden body made of solid chestnut. A perfect match for the new F-Note tonearm, the Jo N°8 moving-coil cartridge will extract more from the groove than previously imagined.
TOPOLOGY
Moving Coil
STYLUS
Nude Shibata on
Boron Cantilever
CARTRIDGE WEIGHT
12.5 g
FREQUENCY RESPONSE
20 – 30.000 Hz ±3dB
OUTPUT VOLTAGE AT 1000 HZ
5cm/sec. 0.30 mV
CHANNEL SEPARATION AT 1 KHZ
> 25dB
CHANNEL SEPARATION AT 15 KHZ
> 17dB
COMPLIANCE, DYNAMIC/LATERAL
15 μm/mN
TRACKING FORCE RANGE
2.2-2.5 g (22-25 mN)
TRACKING FORCE RECOMMENDED
2.3 g (24 mN)
TRACKING ANGLE
20°
COIL WIRE MATERIAL
Pure 8N copper
RECOMMENDED LOAD IMPEDANCE
> 15Ω
INTERNAL IMPEDANCE, DC RESISTANCE
5Ω
$ 2,395
what they say ...
Positive Feedback
Gary Lea | September 1 2020
"You may have read Robert Levi's review on the stunning Jo No. 5 cartridge back in our July 2018 issue. Robert had serious praise for the cartridge, ending the review with the following statement, "The E.A.T. Jo No. 5 MC Cartridge is sublime and a wondrous value not soon to be surpassed. Robert's recommendation sent me to the company to seek a cartridge for my personal use. This in turn led to my being offered the chance to review the Jo No. 8 ... not sure what happened with Jo No. 6 or 7, but it matters not.
... as it turned out, the Jo No. 8 is a wonderful follow up effort!"
"Lets get one thing out of the way up front. From my experience with many different cartridges, including my own Koetsu Urushi Vermillion (now a bargain at $6500) :
This cartridge is the equal measure of any number of cartridges out there selling for 60-100% more.
I could just end things there, but what fun would that be. Want a Koetsu level cart and want to save ~ $4k ? ... here you go. That is just too easy."
Sound
"On the Scott Hamilton track "Stardust" from the album, My Funny Valentine, the cohesion was astonishing. Every player gelled on a compact stage, but were given proper air and space between each player to give the sense of real placement in a small nightclub.
When it comes to replicating the midrange where voices live, the Jo No. 8 was just as capable. On Sara K's "A Horse I Used To ride" from the album Play On Words, Sara's vocals were astonishingly detailed and very creamy, which is the best way I can think of describing her voice. There is definite sparkle to the midrange when appropriate.
This cartridges just seems to dredge up so much detail and info that it keeps you coming back for more!
Everything I played with the Jo delivered new details I had missed before. It did not matter if it was a reference type pressing or older albums, such as my copy of Toto's Hydra. The intro in the title track "Hydra" is fraught with low level orchestra leanings, and the Jo No. 8 dredged the bottom of the grooves and presented it with a clarity I usually don't get until it is cranked way up. The track morphs into a rollicking affair, with a lot of impactful dual cymbal strikes. The sizzle was just right, and the decay was akin to what you hear at a live performance. Jeff Porcaro's drums had just the right balance of punch and snap. Steve Lukather's guitar had copious amounts of sustain, grind, and punch all delivered without fuss. As an original pressing of their sophomore album this 1979 / 1980 pressing is well worn. The Jo No. 8 cut through the haze, and delivered a stunning presentation.
I love it when a cartridge looks past the age of a recording and just plumbs the very depth of the grooves like this one did."
Summary
"No matter the cartridge, I am not sure what more you can ask from it than this type of performance. Perhaps others might disagree, but I have had a number of cartridges, from $11,000 super cartridges down to $500 cartridges.
The Jo No. 8 at $2495 is clearly light years beyond anything under its price point that I have encountered, and 9/10ths of the more expensive and the best I have listened to ... at a significant reduction of coin.
I can ramble on indefinitely about how engaging this cartridge is to listen to for long periods. No fatigue, no matter what I threw at it. The cartridge just gleans the info from the grooves, and presents it as neutrally as it can be done without being constrained or over analytical and sterile.
In a nutshell, I am wondering if Jozefina would take a trade of my Koetsu for the Jo No. 8? I think that sums it up nicely. I doubt there can be more of an endorsement more serious than that! This cartridge should be on everyone's list who are considering upping their game to a mid priced cartridge. It would take years to get to the point of looking at anything more expensive, if it ever came to that at all. A rare over achiever in a world of sometimes over hyped under performers. Make it part of your journey to check out the Jo No8 ... and look for it at some point in the future to make it to my reference system list."
Hi-Fi News
Ken Kessler | February 17 2020
"After wowing the audio community with the Jo No5 moving-coil cartridge, EAT has unleashed the second in the family – the Jo No8.
And it's an even bigger knock-out.
EAT stunned us last year with the Jo No5 [HFN Dec '18], selling at a sane £999. There's no shortage of amazing moving-coil cartridges on the market, but this was blatantly head-and-shoulders above the pack.
However, with the No8, Jozefina did face a challenge, simply because the No5 is so good. The second of the egg-shaped cartridges would have to feature superior parts, while the testing and selection regimes are even more critical. Although the cartridges are as universal as any, the No8 is evidently optimised for EAT's new flagship F-Note tonearm, together with the company's recommended Graham and Ortofon tonearms"
"As to the Jo No8's performance, let's put it this way :
I've never seen any visitors to my listening room react so favourably so quickly to a cartridge – even more so than when they heard the No5.
I had a No5 in use when the No8 arrived, so all was conveniently primed for the comparisons. In a way, this plays into EAT's master plan because the creation of an upgrade path seems preordained.
Although the No5 remains my sub-£1000 fave ... and maintains its peerless value ... the No8 ups the ante by a huge amount."
Sound
"The EAT No8's refinement over the No5 meant expanding a soundstage that was already vast. With the EAT No8, each instrument occupied what I can only imagine was the correct positioning at the recording site. This enhanced the concept of the Monk's quartet as a cohesive group, at the same time highlighting each player.
As for the sound of each instrument, it was chill-after-chill, those fleeting moments where the reproduction is so realistic and authentic that you know your system is working at its peak. I suppose this brief auditory thrill is not unlike the transitory joy of a perfect downshift, that first whiff of a properly decanted wine or popping Beluga against the roof of one's mouth. As transcendent as the No8 is with subtle material like Monk, with The Runaways' second LP - Queens Of Noise - it revealed that it knows how to rock and showed its proficiency with transient speed and recovery, power and weight.
On Whitesnake's Slip Of The Tongue LP, you get a representation of the heavy-metal-via-stadium, power ballad excess of the big hair bands ... this stuff can fill a room and have you reaching for your air guitar before you can say 'Cheap An' Nasty'. Then again, this LP featured the magnificent Steve Vai, and guitar is what it's all about. The No8 seems to know this !?!
Coverdale's singing, a paradigm of Plant/Tyler/Roth crotch-rock grandeur, comes through with all the macho swagger that contrasts so comically with the jail-bait insolence of The Runaways. Despite the meters barely flickering when the level is cranked up to 11, the No8 finds minuscule details in Whitesnake that other pick-ups would leave buried, like pirates' treasure beneath the sand."
Hi-Fi News Verdict
"This makes two in a row for EAT, Jo No8 achieving at its price what the No5 did at £999 while adding subtle refinement in precisely the areas where the latter needs it.
Aside from the bulk, which applies to both Jo MCs, this cartridge is a dream to set up, it's immediately captivating and so musical that I was distracted from my cache of tapes and the latest episode of Elementary. This is a future classic."