Impedance Loading for SS Hyperion

I keep swapping to the London Reference I am comparing the Hyperion to, and it seems the higher the impedance loading, the closer they sound. I am not experiencing the "peaked high end" I was warned of if loading is increased over 1000Ω.

@dogberry It does not matter what the manufacturer suggests for loading of any LOMC cartridge, of which the SS Hyperion is an example (no matter what anyone says...). 

Any brightness is usually not the fault of the cartridge so loading will not fix it. IOW If loading does fix the brightness, the cartridge wasn't the problem.

The phono section is.

This is because any LOMC cartridge generates RFI due to the cartridge's very low inductance, in parallel with the tonearm cable capacitance. That sets up an RF peak (usually 1-5MHz) which can oscillate, generating RFI up to 30dB higher than the cartridge signal level, injected directly into the phono section input! 

If the phono section does not like that, it might distort, which will be interpreted by the ear as brightness. The loading resistor detunes that RF peak I mentioned, thus killing the RFI and the brightness. But the cartridge itself was unaffected. This is very easy to measure and demonstrate. 

What this says is that when the manufacturer of the cartridge suggests a 'loading' value, then there's a good change the phono section he's using has this problem of RFI sensitivity; IOW its designer ignored the implications of putting an inductor in parallel with a capacitance (electronics 101, 1st week). 

If on the other hand the phono section is immune to the RFI thus present at its input, its plug and play- no messing with 'loading' resistors- you'll find they have no effect.

@atmasphere 

Any brightness is usually not the fault of the cartridge so loading will not fix it. IOW If loading does fix the brightness, the cartridge wasn't the problem.

The phono section is.

This is because any LOMC cartridge generates RFI due to the cartridge's very low inductance, in parallel with the tonearm cable capacitance. That sets up an RF peak (usually 1-5MHz) which can oscillate, generating RFI up to 30dB higher than the cartridge signal level, injected directly into the phono section input! 

Whilst I agree with your statement, both the Decca and Soundsmith are MI, not MC.

Therefore loading changes affect the frequency response ( and phase ) to a far larger degree than a LOMC, and as far as I know the frequency changes with MI from both resistive and capacitive occur within the audible range. Is that not correct ?

I cannot hear any change with various capacitative loadings. Maybe others can!

I say trust your own ears 👂

Whilst I agree with your statement, both the Decca and Soundsmith are MI, not MC.

Therefore loading changes affect the frequency response ( and phase ) to a far larger degree than a LOMC, and as far as I know the frequency changes with MI from both resistive and capacitive occur within the audible range. Is that not correct ?

@dover That is not correct. 

The means of the magnetic device isn't important. The inductance is. The SS is fairly low inductance (hence low output) so everything I said about loading applies to it. 

You are correct in implying there is a continuum. The more inductance the mechanism employs, the lower the resonant electrical frequency with the tonearm cable. High output MM cartridges have such high inductance that the electrical peak is at the extreme high end of the audio band or just barely ultrasonic. Usually because the coil used is also lower Q (Quality; the relationship between its length vs its diameter) the peak is less profound and covering a wider range of frequencies. So a high output MM cartridge might have a peak of only 20dB (which is still a lot). That peak can affect the audio band directly so loading a MM cartridge is mandatory if you want it to sound right.