best tonearm for Kondo IO-J cart.

Dear Karl/Thomas: To let me try understand your statements that with the AN step up transformer everything is better I would like to ask you something:

all we know that in audio and in the same quality circumstances " less is more ", I believe in this sentence and I hope you do too. Less signal process/filters/stages means ( no question about ) a better quality sound reproduction: for we can use any external step up transformer ( like you Karl with the Klyne preamp ) we need ( at least ) two additional steps/filters that make a degradation to the signal: RCA/XLR connectors ( four of them ) and 0.5m-1.0m of cable to connect at the preamp, right?, please tell me how the step up transformer could improve a degraded signal when the best that any audio device ( almost impossible ) can do is " not degrade the signal " and never ever improve it with the original?

There are other subjects that tell us why we never will try to use step up transformers with phono cartridges that I already explain in other threads.
One of our targets is to preserve the signal integrity and the step up transformers always help to collapse it.

Both of you have great audio systems but in my humble opinion the use of step up transformers is the wrong road to follow.

Now, if you or your friends heard a better quality sound with the setp up transformers that could mean that you have severe problems around your analog chain.

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.

Dear Diamonddude18: I think that your Simon Yorke tonearm is up to the task, it is a medium effective mass tonearm.

Now, if you don't have any tracking problem and if you are satisfied with the tonal balance ( top to bottom ): bass, mid bass, mid range, highs, focus, detail, transparency, attacks, soundstage, pitc, etc, etc, then you have no worried about.

It is difficult to say which tonearm is best for a cartridge till you try it with several tonearms and find which really is the best: overall, because there is nothing perfect and almost always there are trade offs that we have to choice according our priorities.
The only way to know which of these tonearms or any other: Yorke, Ikeda, Airline, Phantom, Micro Seiki, etc etc, is the best match for the IO in your audio system and for your music sound priorities is trying each one in your audio system.

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.

Raul, i was always told that usually the best way was to have a really good MM phono stage & use a great step-up for the extra gain. maybe i was misinformed.

Hi Raul,
well the Kondo IO-J was heard with the Kondo phono M7 and the Step-up Transformer KSL-SF-Z.
In this chain there was no Klyne as Phono preamp. I think here that the lesson the Kondo chain underlines is the interlocking nature of the whole musical attributes. And the design of the developer Hiroyasu Kondo.
Raul you know that also the Lamm LP2 has a buildin Step-up Transformer, and it sounds quite ok.

Regard
Karl-Heinz

Dear Diamonddude18: Here it is what I posted in other thread about:

+++++ " 02-20-06: Rauliruegas
Dear friends: Here are some facts about why exist the SUTs for LO cartridges ( at least is my point of view ):

- In the fifthies appear the MC LO cartridges ( As a fact: Ortofon invented in 1948. ). In that time all the phonopreamps were designed for HO cartridges MM/MI/etc. No one was in the design of high gain PP because no body need it.

- Ortofon and latter other MC LO cartridges never ask to the PP designers/builders to manufacture a high gain PP for their MC LO cartridges. What I mean is that never exist a cooperation job between the MC LO builders and the PP manufacturers.

- What was the comercial attitude of almost all MC LO cartridges builders?: to put on sale their MC LO cartridges along with a SUTs ( designed for it self ) for those MC LO cartridges.

- I can remember from Ortofon when they design the MC10, MC 20, Mc 30, Mc 2000, Mc 3000 and MC 5000, cartridges at the same time they offer the respective SUT: T 10, T 20, T 30, T 5000.

- Like Ortofon everybody do the same: Denon, Audiocraft, Fidelity Research, Koetsu, Micro Seiki, Accuphase, Dynavector, Highphonic, Audio Technica, Entre, etc, etc.

- In the mid-time what does the PP designers ( SS or tube ) for the development of a high gain PP?: almost nothing, almost all take the easy " cheap road " ( wrong/worst one ): that the customers buy SUTs along with their PP if they want to handle a LO cartridge. Some of the PP designers/builders incorporate in their " high gain " PP internal SUTs, exactly like today ones.

- No body take the challenge to design a HG PP with out SUTs. There are some exceptions: Curl, Levinson, Pass, Klyne, Classé, D'angostino, etc, etc,

- So we all are suffering the " easy road/ wrong road " that almost all designers/builders take it more than 55 years ago.

- All those comercial attitude never take into account us: the audio customers and never take into account the QUALITY MUSIC/SOUND REPRODUCTION. They don't care about in those times and many of them don't care about today.

Fortunatelly, in the last few years, some PP builders finally take the challenge ( others like me designed our self ones ) and we have some very good HG PP, many of them at very high price.

This change of comercial attitude: Bravo!!!!!!, could tell us that the best about is coming because the developtment of HG PPs are really " starting ", it is not a mature industry.

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul. " +++++

PP=phonopreamp.

Unfortunatelly exist a lot of disinformation in this subject and in other audio subjects. The designers and top reviewers that know everything I post here prefer ( I think for comercial/business interest ) to stay in dead silence.

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.