Product agent: Yinsheng Trading
> "die-hard fans" of the "simulation school"
I still remember the dialogue in the movie "Cold War 2", when Fa Ge Chow Yun-fat checked the digital camera sent by Li Zixiong: "Digital is indeed beautiful, but Analog is my favorite!" "It has been more than 50 years since the development of digital technology, and digital technology has penetrated into every corner of our lives, but whether it is audio lovers or photography lovers, there are still many "die-hard fans" of the "analog school", and the founder of this brand to introduce this time is one of them.
Analog Relax is a brand of analog audio products from Japan, and its brains and designer Yasushi Yurugi Yasushi Wanki was born in Kyoto and is an out-and-out "analog school". Mr. Manki has been involved in music since he was a student, and he has also formed a pop music band with his friends and played as a drummer, and has performed many times in Kyoto. He then became obsessed with jazz and learned to play the saxophone, then became a jazz musician, especially the saxophone master: Zoot Sims, so he founded the maestro Zoot Sims Fan Club in Japan.
Analog Relax Principal Brain & DesignerMr. Yasushi YurugiMr. Yasushi Manki
After graduating from university, Mr. Wan Mu became a product designer, and he also worked for digital and Internet technology companies, where he absorbed a lot of R&D and marketing experience in the online world. After working for a while, he found that while digitalization brings convenience and efficiency to society, it has become difficult for people to find happiness and satisfaction, and the current digital world has become too efficient, which has many negative effects.
In today's society, Mr. Manki believes in valuing and exploring the advantages of analog and understanding the difference between digital and analog as a living philosophy. Therefore, he has always advocated the "simulated life" way, which is a kind of leisurely and comfortable concept that comes from the bottom of his heart. So, he decided to start his own business, using his limited power to develop a product that would induce a natural sense of joy in people.
Another hobby of Mr. Manki is audiophile, and he has never doubted the sound quality of vinyl records, with thousands of vinyl records and 8 favorite vinyl discs. Because of this passion and perseverance, he has developed a vinyl cartridge with his own theory, so that audiophiles can truly experience his feelings and interpretations of analog sounds. In this way, Zoot Communication LLC was founded to make what he thought was the best product under the brand name Analog Relax.
When it comes to product concepts, he doesn't necessarily pursue the ultimate in materials and data, but every product must bring joy to consumers, and this is the most important value, so he is confident in Analog Relax's products. Zoot means "often" in Japanese, so he wants to maintain a friendly relationship with all of his customers from time to time, just as he does as many Zoot Sims fans as he does. Analog Relax currently has 4 cartridges, 2 electrostatic brushes, and several cartridge lines, and this time the Analog Relax mid-range cartridge, the EX-500 MC cartridge, is being auditioned.
> Wooden shell – a condition for a good sound
Several cartridges of Analog Relax use wood as the shell, which is the concept of cartridge making that Mr. Wan Mu has always adhered to, because most instruments cannot be made without wood, and scientific data has also confirmed that the use of wood is one of the conditions for the "good sound" of this type of instrument, because wood is cellulose composed of cell walls, when the wood is dried, there will be small gaps between the cells of different shapes, and there is also air, these irregular pores will be vibrated and whimper, which is often referred to as Organic Timbre. This wonderful sonic phenomenon cannot be achieved with other materials, so humans have known how to use different kinds of wood to make musical instruments with different timbres thousands of years ago. Until now, wood is still the main material used to make musical instruments, and even the varieties of musical instruments, age, hardness and other indicators are taken into account to make the rating of musical instruments.
EX-500唱头是选用自行研发和打磨切割的椭圆针，厂方特别称之为Hyper-elliptic Diamond超椭圆钻石针
> Uniquely designed EX-500 cartridge
The EX-500's housing is made from a hard, Romanian maple that has been carefully selected by Analog Relax's designers to be used as the violin's neck and resonance chamber backplate. In addition, the EX-500 cartridge is made of self-developed and polished elliptical needles, which are specially called Hyper-elliptic Diamond by the factory, which is more accurate than that of ordinary oval diamond needles, and can meet the shape and cutting process required by Analog Relax, so that the needle tip can be closer to the grooved position of the signal when the V-shaped groove of the record is made. The vibration signal can be transmitted directly to the coil of the cartridge for transducer operation. The coil is also an important part of the sound of the cartridge, and the EX-500 is made of 6N sterling silver wire, hand-wound by a person with many years of experience, with a Neodymium magnet and a maple shell for musical instruments.
The EX-500's shell is made of Romanian hard maple wood carefully selected by Analog Relax designers, and the shape is also specially cut
> Easy to mix with different phono amps and tonearms
Let's take a look at the data of the Analog Relax EX-500 cartridge, the output voltage of the EX-500 is ≥0.5mv (1kHz), which belongs to a high output level, and can be easily matched with various phono amps, according to the author's past experience, the phono amp has a gain of 62dB. The internal resistance of the cartridge is 15Ω, generally speaking, the smaller the internal resistance of the cartridge, the better the sound, the EX-500 belongs to the medium level, on the other hand, it can be seen that the magnetic force of the internal magnet is quite strong. The cartridge weighs about 10g, which is also average, and can be easily used with all types of tonearms. It can be seen that the adaptability of the Analog Relax EX-500 cartridge is very good, and the requirements for the phono amp and tonearm are not too high.
> The ultimate pursuit of analog tone
This audition was held in Silver Sound Trading's showroom in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong, with Bergmann's Galder air-floating vinyl turntable and Odin air-floating linear trailing tonearm, and the Japanese Phasemation Synergy Electronic EA-1200 three-triplex tube phono stage amplifier was selected for the phono amplifier, which can provide 66dB of gain, which is more than enough for the Analog Relax EX-500 phono stage. The preamplifier is the same as the Phasemation product, the model is CM-2200 passive preamplifier, the amplifier is selected from the United States ModWright KAW99 mono transistor amplifier, providing 100W/8Ω and 200W/4Ω output power, the speaker uses JMR Orfeo Grande floorstanding speaker.
The audition was held in Silver Sound Trading's showroom in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong, with Bergmann's Galder air-floating vinyl turntable and Odin air-floating linear trailing tonearm, and the Japanese Phasemation Synergy Electronic EA-1200 three-triplex tube phono amplifier was selected for the playback
Bergmann'sGalders In the 1970s, the 1970s were a little more than a 1000-to-100-day-a-day trip.
Japan Phasemation Synergy Electronic EA-1200 Tube Phono Amplifier and CM-2200 Passive Preamplifier
First of all, Brother Ken chose a metal case cartridge with a similar price point in the showroom as a reference for the author, and then auditioned the Analog Relax EX-500 cartridge. After some audition and comparison, it was found that the sound of the cartridge with a metal shell is clean and the details are very clear, while the Analog Relax EX-500 cartridge will be slightly less analytical, but thanks to the design of the wooden shell, the musical taste of the EX-500 cartridge will be stronger, especially for the replay of string works, it will appear more "woody", the vocals are also sweeter, and the low frequency will become more relaxed and comfortable, which is what we usually say about the living sense of sound.
After comparing and listening to the Analog Relax EX-500 cartridge, the author changed to an ECM jazz vinyl, Keith Jarrett and his old partners Gary Peacock and Jack DeJohnette's "Yesterday" live album, this group has been playing together for a long time, and the tacit understanding between them has reached the point of freewheeling. The lines of the piano and double bass are very evident, and the EX-500 cartridge is able to bring out every note very delicately and smoothly. The improvisations of the three musicians are replayed in this system, especially the details of Keith Jarrett humming while playing, so that every note is meticulously involved, and the author is involved in the mind and soul of the musicians, which is even more intoxicating. The overall sound is light and lively, and it is very dynamic. Jazz and emotional tones are inseparable, and the Analog Relax EX-500 cartridge is a great way to express the emotions in the recording.
Subsequently, Ken switched to a rock 'n' roll record, which is Red Hot Chili Peppers' new album "Return of the Dream Canteen" released in 2022. Maybe vinyl doesn't give people the feeling that there is much dynamic, will listening to rock music not be enjoyable? But don't forget that the most popular time of rock was in the 70s and 80s of the last century, vinyl was the mainstream carrier at that time, and the Analog Relax EX-500 cartridge was blessed with the blessing of the Phasemation EA-1200 phono stage amplifier, the low frequency of the drum kit was extremely elastic, and the drum sound was very solid, and the effect was quite enjoyable. The finger movements of the guitar such as rubbing and strumming the strings are vividly displayed, and the image and positioning are flesh and blood, and the singer's full, natural, and at the same time a little relaxed voice is very intoxicating, and I just want to listen to it all the time, which makes people want to stop.
Finally, a copy of "Prokofiev Alexander Nevsky" produced by DGG was replaced, and the vinyl record of analog recording showed the charm of this system even more. This record is put down in the Analog Relax EX-500 cartridge, the sound stage is very wide, the sense of presence, the whole space has a very good sense of envelopment, the positioning and layering of each instrument is very clear, there is a sense of movement, density and texture is very full. The low frequency of the large dynamic clip is excellent in terms of lines, contours, speed, dynamics, impact, etc., and the low frequency is quite natural, and there is no feeling that there are more low frequencies, and at the same time, each frequency band has an excellent sense of hierarchy and balance, and the density also has a good performance, which is due to the unique wooden shell of the Analog Relax EX-500 cartridge to add to the sound.
> Summary
In the past ten years, more and more high-end vinyl products have been born in Japan, which has to mention that Japan has not stopped the release of vinyl records for so many years, and their enthusiasts have not discarded vinyl records in large quantities because of the birth of CDs, they have a unique aesthetic and view of "analog". Mr. Wan Mu, the brainmind and designer of Analog Relax, is one such vinyl enthusiast, who has designed 4 phono cartridges based on his understanding of vinyl records. As the mid-range product of the Analog Relax, the EX-500 cartridge is made of Romanian hard maple as the shell, plus self-polished ultra-oval diamond tips, NdFeB magnets, and 6N sterling silver wires.