Головки звукоснимателя — European Audio Team (EAT) JO N°8

The Jo N°8 is a moving coil design from European Audio Team, or EAT, which sits above the Jo N°5 in the company's cartridge range. Its body is made of dark stabilized chestnut wood on an aluminium core, and EAT supplies it in a real wood jewellery box, although buyers in North America received it in a plain cardboard box with a walnut display case offered for an extra USD 100. The US retail price was USD 2,495, and the UK price is GBP 2,152. Among its design points the maker lists a special suspension made of TPE, a thermoplastic elastomer, which holds the cantilever.

Key specs that matter

A boron cantilever carries the nude Shibata diamond tip. The coils are wound from 8-Nines copper wire, a purity of 99.999999 percent. Output voltage is 0.3 mV, internal impedance measured as DC resistance is 5 ohm, with a suggested load resistance of more than 15 ohm. Frequency response spans 20 Hz to 30 kHz at the minus 3 dB points. Channel separation is better than 25 dB at 1 kHz and better than 17 dB at 15 kHz. Dynamic lateral compliance is 15 μm/mN, and the cartridge weighs 12.5 g.

Engineering and use context

EAT gives a tracking force range of 2.0 g to 2.5 g, equal to 20 to 25 mN, with 2.3 g as the recommended value, and a tracking angle of 20 degrees. Compared with the Jo N°5, the maker moved from a Fine Line tip on an aluminium cantilever to the Shibata and boron combination, from 4N copper coil wire to the 8-Nines grade and from a polyamide shell to the chestnut and aluminium construction, while cutting the weight from 15 g. The body is wide and extends about 3 mm beyond a typical headshell on each side once fitted. Threaded mounting holes are provided in the body, and a snap-on stylus protector comes in the package. EAT offers a retip option, and owners who trade in a worn sample receive a 25 percent credit toward a new cartridge. Parts are selected for the smallest tolerances, which is aimed at close matching between the two channels.

Pairing

With so little voltage from a low-impedance coil, the Jo N°8 needs a phono preamplifier offering sufficient MC gain, or an MM stage whose signal is first raised by a step-up transformer, and the load should stay above the minimum EAT specifies. The tonearm needs an effective mass and counterweight range suited to a medium-weight cartridge body.

Alternatives

The EAT Jo N°5 is the model below it in the Jo series, made with a 3D printed body.