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Advice on SUT for Koetsu Rosewood - EAR MC-4, Slagle/EMIA, other

I recently tried a friend's Sound Traditions Hashimoto hm7 transformer-based sut and overall the sound was substantially more Dynamic and alive and generally better than my current Berning preamp MC section. The problem was the images were just so large and the presentation a little too forward for my tastes. I am thinking a different Sut such as the EAR MC- 4 or an Intact Audio (Slagle) Step Up Transformer, copper.

Has anyone used these Sut's and could advise about whether they might do what I'm looking for? I'm hoping to add more dynamics and life but I do prefer a slightly laid-back presentation to a forward one and I don't want giant instruments in the soundstage. I listen to mostly old Jazz and Blues with some rock and classical mixed in. I am not looking for the last word in in treble detail or "air" and my biggest sonic priorities are organic , rich mids, good sounstaging, and a realistic tonal balance that does not accentuate the top end as so many components seem to do (IMHO). So I guess I am looking for a sut with a reputation for musicality and richness, without javing a forward sound. But I would love somethng as amazing sounding as the Hashimoto HM-7 based SUT.

My system is a Koetsu Rosewood Signature (.4mv), Jelco 850M on a Sota Star Sapphire, Berning all-tube bespoke capacitance coupled preamp (46 dB gain on the MM stage, Jensen transformers on the moving coil stage), Quicksilver v4 monos, Verity Audio Pafisals.

Thanks for any thoughts.


montaldo
barbapapa
244 posts
 
The Ortofon T30 had been praised by Jean Hiraga on a phone call we had together many years ago.
I have one.

The HM7 is a bit better sounding for me but twice the price.

If you have several carts the T30 is a top choice as can be a Air Tight ATH2 A with connections for 3 arms an different loadings.
mijostyn's avatar
mijostyn
8,570 posts
 
chakster, you can always out board them.
mijostyn's avatar
mijostyn
8,570 posts
 
Montaldo, read this.
http://www.kandkaudio.com/applications-guide/
It will back up what Atmasphere has discussed and give you the math to properly load your cartridge.

Mike
chakster's avatar
chakster
6,144 posts
 
Regarding the reviews for various SUTs you will find a lot on Arthur Salvatore's site, he praise ZYX CPP-1 headamp and prefers it over many SUTs. 
intactaudio
300 posts
 
The K&K link does not "back" what Ralph says.  Ralph states (correctly) that for any given source there is one load that will make the transformer act in the manner for which it was designed.  The K&K link assumes the transformer to be a perfect device that simply reflects an impedance and has no other impact on the sound.  It is my belief that SUT's should be designed to work optimally in an unloaded situation with 47K input resistor and ~100pf of cable capacitance being the worst case situation.  If the cartridge needs additional loading that should be placed at the primary of the SUT to load the cartridge directly.  I find secondary loading to make a cartridge behave under various situations to be a sonic band-aid.

Years ago I found it interesting that people who use active gain stages tend to find their MC cartridges insensitive to loading and those who use SUT's can get fanatical about it.  I then went through the process of playing with loads on both the primary and the secondary of various SUT's and found that loading the secondary had a much more profound effect on the sonics.  If the transformer were ideal then a 100Ω load should be a 100Ω load independent of whether it is at the cartridge directly or reflected through the transformer.  Since the differences were not subtle I came to the conclusion that the load on the secondary was altering the sound of the transformer as much or more than  it was the cartridge.  This goes a long way to explain the "black art" label attached to loading SUT's since loading the secondary changes both the sound of the SUT and the sound of the cartridge at the same time.  

dave
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