In complete contrast to the Tubaphon cartridge that I reviewed in the last Issue, the Lexe went through a long and complicated process of evolution whilst running in. To say that it changed character would be an understatement, but what really surprised me was the way that it started to develop in one direction, only to switch and go completely the opposite way - much to my annoyance. Initially the cartridge started off by sounding brittle and edgy, which is to be expected, but after twenty hours or so of use it warmed up; to the extent that at this stage I felt the sound became rather thick and glutinous. It remained this way for long enough to convince me that it had completely settled down.

Consequently I thought that maybe in my system it could benefit from a higher loading impedance, say, 470 ohms. As my phono stage is actually inside the turntable, altering the load impedance is not an easy task, although it does provide fairly regular opportunities to check the set up of the Linn. With the higher loading impedance set, I felt that the Lexe sounded more open and somewhat lighter footed in the bass. But only for a while. It then became what I would call wild and raucous overall, missing the authority in the bass that had been there before. Back to square one? So it seemed. Out came the soldering iron again, and I reverted to the original figure of 100 Ohms.

Tracking weight is specified at 1.65 grams, plus or minus 5%. Somewhat tightly specified, small adjustments either side of this figure yielded little discernible difference and it seemed to be tracking quite securely in my Mission Mechanic arm. However, experimentation with VTA affected performance quite considerably, notably with the top end response; best overall results were obtained with the arm inclined towards the base by a few degrees.

By now I was hoping that the Reson had run in, and shed its schizophrenic tendencies in favour of a more stable performance. Fortunately, this proved to be the case, and there was no discernible change in character for the rest of the review period.

On first impression it was evident that the Lexe possessed the fundamental qualities which can make vinyl replay so worthwhile. Playing many different types of music revealed a character that was of a full-bodied nature, quite warm tonally, and with good rhythmic capabilities. Remember the Supex 900 and the Linn Asak? I was very much reminded of those when listening to the Lexe. Bass end was well defined, but with a 'fruity' character that propelled music along, but, could occasionally become a little bit intrusive. Mid range was rich and colourful with plenty of detail and progressed seamlessly to the top end which, although not the most extended or refined that I have heard, was perfectly in keeping with everything else.

Orchestral music was reproduced with plenty of authority, and a very three-dimensional quality to the soundstage, although instrument placement was not that precise. The Shostakovitch Violin Concerto with David Oistrakh has a well-defined orchestra, while the soloist has his own space, and the Lexe did, not project this arrangement as well as some cartridges that I have used. There was also a tendency for the slightly overblown cello's to rise up and cloud the melody of the violin, but I suspect that this was highlighted by the use of the Linn turntable, which also has a tendency in this direction.

Joni Mitchell - the hissing of summer lawns is a recording that I missed first time round and ended up buying on CD; the transfer is frankly, appalling so I was extremely happy to find a good second hand copy in the local Oxfam shop. Playing this with the Lexe was a revelation the sound was solid and very dynamic with her voice soaring above the rhythm section, but everything held firmly in place with great precision. After all, these were the backing musicians whose next project was with Steely Dan, in the form of the legendary Aja. If You know the record you'll know what I mean. At the other extreme, Throwing Muses - The Real Ramona is a highly undisciplined and in places, savage record that the, Lexe picked up and threw in your face, with the kind of dynamic control which made for really exciting listening. This is exactly how it should be; too often I have heard this recording sound limp and simply uninteresting.

I hope I am not doing the Lexe a disservice when I say that, for the many listeners who owned one of the classic Linn based record playing systems, and find the current options rather less appealing, this is a cartridge that will bring a smile to their face. Perhaps slightly less successful with orchestral music, there are others that offer more refinement and a less coloured sound, but at what price? How about a clinical, musically strangled approach. With CD technology as the mainstream for music reproduction it is tempting to use it as a technical benchmark and there are record playing systems, around that can and often do sound like a CD player. The Lexe doesn't. It trades some of that clinical refinement to offer a highly involving and never less than enjoyable performance, and will never let you forget that you are listening to music, not the hardware.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS