"Do not stop and try new": A little about the history of Lehmannaudio

Lehmann Audio Linear headphone amplifier

We continue to tell about the history of various High-End brands, and the German brand Lehmannaudio is on the line after a short story about Penaudio in our list.

Now Lehmannaudio is a first-class company with a rich history, but how it all began, and how the products won the respect of music lovers, we will tell in this article.
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About the founder and company

Since childhood, Norbert Lehmann was fond of music, played guitar in a group. When Norbert turned 14, his family moved to a big house. Parents allowed the children to choose the furniture in the rooms, on the budget provided to them. After purchasing furniture from Norbert, there was a small amount of money that he spent on his first audio system from Rank Arena. The system had relatively good speakers and a Lenco 75 player.

Since then, Norbert began to get involved in sound. With their group, they recorded “in a fashionable way” - on tape recorders using cheap, but suitable electret condenser microphones. Growing up, he gave more and more time to sound.

Entering the university as an audio engineer, Norbert first encountered professional equipment — the Sony PCM-F1 recorder and the Sony PCM-501 processor, which he later upgraded. Already during his studies, he worked part time, recording live performances, and later settled down as an audio technician on a radio station.

In 1988, the Lehmannaudio brand was registered. Norbert produced small batches of phono-correctors, and in 1994, having finished his studies, he introduced his first analog-digital preamplifier.

“During my research as an audio engineer, I developed my first important experience: I listened to music through two different amplifiers with the same technical characteristics. The sound is very different. Based on this, I concluded that the reasons affecting the sound quality lie deeper.

Everything depended on the details of the circuits and components used. I started experimenting with content and began to create my own devices, which were always of the highest quality. Since that time, passion and desire has flared up in me to convey the original sound ”

A great influence on Norbert was made by Professor Johann Matthews (Johann N. Matthes) - producer of the Alban Berg quartet. At the University of Dusseldorf, the professor showed experience by showing the difference between digital and analog carriers. Analog vinyl records significantly outperformed digital CDs, which at that time (in the mid-80s) were of very poor quality.

In 1995, the first prototype of the Black Cube phono stage was completed. After publishing a review of the phono stage in Soundstage magazine, worldwide interest in the creator and its products increased, and the company began to grow rapidly.

In 2002, the company launched the Silver Cube, a phono stage, the body of which is machined from a single block of aluminum. The model was marked by many Hi-Fi magazines as a reference.

In 2004, the first Linear headphone amplifier was released. And again, according to magazine critics, the next device of Lehmannaudio takes leading positions. Later, this model was well established in the Dutch recording studio The Masters [the most experienced recording studio in the field of mastering the sound in the Netherlands], and in 2005 Sennheiser used amplifiers at the IFA exhibition.

But not only Sennheiser began to use amplifiers to showcase their products - the Austrian company AKG in 2013 used the Lehmannaudio amplifier for the presentation of a new model of K812 headphones.

In 2005, the company introduced the new Decade headphone preamp, named after the 10-year anniversary of the Black Cube phono-corrector. The device has occupied its niche between the firstborn Black Cube and the top model Silver Cube.

In 2006, Lehmannaudio released the Black Cube Statement - a budget phono stage, still showing excellent quality, but for more modest money. Since 2006, Ortofon has been purchasing the Black Cube Statement to test its products in the final stages of development.

In 2008, the company celebrates its 20th anniversary and completes the line of budget products with the Rhinelander headphone amplifier. In 2010, the StudioCube appears on the professional scene - a headphone amplifier designed specifically for professionals. In a relatively short time, the product has established itself and has taken its place of honor among the musical equipment of many musicians and sound producers.

In 2011, the company released a special edition of its first amplifier - Linear SE. And also launched a series of podcasts , where famous personalities talk about how the sound industry has changed in recent years.

Now on the company's website you can find several articles about why you should use a portable headphone amplifier, as well as a guide for choosing the headphones themselves. In 2014, Traveler was introduced - a portable headphone amplifier, which received the award “Best Product of the Year 2014”.

What is listening to music himself Norbert Lehmann

Now in the home collection of Norbert a huge number of music devices, although he notes that there is nothing exotic on this list.

In the living room:

• Marantz CD16 - SSC Vibration Feet CD Player
• Basis 1400 - vinyl player, preserved from the early 90s
• Needles - Ortofon Rondo Bronce connected to the Silver Cube phono preamp
• Handmade Analogue Preampler
• Outdoor speakers Odeons

In the room for listening to music:

• Cambridge CD player with vibration damping feet
• Linear SE Headphone Amplifier
• Odeon Orfeo speakers without subwoofer
• Headphones: Sennheiser HD 800, Momentum, IE 800; PXC 200, AKG K240 DF, Ultrasone Signature Pro, iCans, Beyerdynamic DT 880, DT 660, MBFabulous Earphones - custom made

Enumerating all this, Norbert laughs off that he does not know people who would have so many speakers in the house. Speaking about the audio systems that he had at the very beginning of his career, Norbert says the following:

“My motto was - do not stop and try new things. First, I had several Onkyo players, a Kenwood receiver, a JVC QL-Y 3F, which is still on the shelf in the workshop, in case you need to connect the player. ”

About products

To date, the site Lehmannaudio presents: 7 headphone amplifiers, 6 phono stages and 2 low frequency amplifiers. We will not tell about all, but we will focus on the most interesting models of the company.

The classic model that brought many awards to the company and became a demo model in the presentations of Sennheiser and AKG. Like all Lehmann products, the device is characterized by an oblong (280 mm deep) all-metal case with an aluminum front panel.

Behind are the line inputs and outputs on the RCA connectors, and on the front panel are two headphone outputs. One of them is blocking for line output. This design is provided so that when you connect headphones, the speakers are automatically turned off. The model can be used as a preamp.

Built-in power supply with a toroidal transformer, high-capacity capacitors, premium components, the shortest signal path, the ALPS volume attenuator from the Blue Velvet series.

Gain can be changed in steps (0, 10, 20 dB). For direct connection to a computer, Lehmannaudio Linear USB is available with a Burr-Brown PCM2702 DAC (16 bit / 48 kHz) and a 3.5 mm jack (Loop Out / Line In).


Lehmann Audio Linear SE headphone amplifier

The improved version of Linear SE is primarily characterized by the body. Among the options for exterior trim are available as a noble aluminum, and veneer made of natural wood. The device is supplemented with vibration-absorbing legs SSC.

But these are all external changes. The chains use top-level components that the company purchases only from selected manufacturers. The Mundorf capacitors (MLytic and MCap, respectively) are used in the power supply and on the signal path, special AHP fuses are used, and internal wiring is made using Mogami cables. As with the baseline, a version with a USB port and a DAC on a PCM2702 chip (16 bit / 48 kHz) is provided.



Lehmann Audio Traveler Headphone Amplifier

The compact and portable analog amplifier didn’t just receive an award in 2014. Behind such small sizes (80x90x25) there is a powerful device that copes with serious loads. If desired, it can even be used as a speaker amplifier. 4000 mAh lithium polymer battery allows you to enjoy music for more than 20 hours.

The amplifier itself is made of polished metal. The front panel is made of soft-touch plastic. There are buttons for increasing and decreasing the volume, as well as 3 diodes, indicating the status of the device.

The device has two analog inputs and two outputs for headphones with a diameter of 3.5 mm and a Micro USB port for charging the device. All headphone jacks are from Lumberg. There is a Center Adjust function - with its help you can equalize the sound if it is incorrectly centered.

Although at first glance the device looks very modest, it has an amazing potential that is recognized from the first seconds of listening.



Phono corrector Lehmann Audio Black Cube Statement

Another compact, but this time a budget product. The phono stage is made in a black case. Despite the fact that the model is considered budget, it still uses only high-quality components. Due to the fact that the device is very small, it can be positioned in the immediate vicinity of the vinyl player.

This will reduce the length of the connecting cables used. The device has an external power supply. The phono stage is compatible with MM and MS pickups, has a passive RIAA correction, and also has a flexible tuning characteristics.

Norbert Lehmann has been trying to do quality things all his life, and judging by all the reviews and awards received by his company, he definitely succeeds. Of course, Lehmannaudio products are extremely niche, but the company is trying to make sure that as many people as possible can enjoy good sound.

“The truth is this: high-quality recordings are the only reason for the existence of High-End technology. Without good audio recordings, we produce only garbage. ”