Making phono resistance plugs
Any ideas about making a pair? Looks simple. Any esoteric suggestions? Need a little over 400 ohm. Any particular brand of resistor, or plug?
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FYI... My Whest phono stage .20 was delivered today, and as anticipated it had 2 sets of loading plugs, 47k ohm and 100 ohm. I have been listening 3-4 hours and I must say that the vocals are marvelous and has been a treat to listen to. Since my Hana SL is a low output MC cartridge, I selected the 100 ohm. I think the plan is to buy several values of resistors and make a set of plugs to accommodate the Hana and other cartridges, especially the Denon DL-103 that is new and still in the box. Forgive me if I get this wrong but I plan to buy metal film resistors around 1/8 watt, 1% tolerance at various ohm values between 0 and 1000. Since the Hana's specs list >400 ohm, one will be around 420. My question is what values to get to accommodate most MC cartridges? |
If I sometimes forget to say that I am only expressing my opinion, then let me say it again; I am only expressing my opinion. So, my opinion is that installing a pot to control phono load is probably not going to sound optimal, unless one uses a stepped attenuator where each step is made with a single value high quality resistor. THAT could sound fine. Lots of excellent phono stages do something along those lines. I did not mean to imply that the idea is "wrong". Sorry about that. |
The recommended load setting for my Hana Umami Red is >60 ohms. Fortunately my phono allows me to adjust gain and load on the fly (EAT E-Glo S). My phono load settings are, adjust gain and load on the fly (EAT E-Glo S). My phono load settings are, 10R, 30R, 50R, 90R, 100R, 1K, 47K. <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>. Give me a schematic, I can figure it out... Series, Parallel or both. AND Stick a pot in there, just for good measure. LOL Greater than 60 ohms. Parallel. My thinking, put a pot before the resistor, and run the other end of the resistor to the neg. Then you can very the choice, between the two values.. IF I'M wrong, then how can that "idea" be implemented? That's MY question, I'm a common ol mechanic. I want to learn too. LOL.. I'm an Old Dog, I can still learn a new trick or two.. I think if it was hooked up to 100 and lPad down to 60. Something like that.. How do you do that? Teach me.. Thanks OP, I know you understand, you SEEM as picky, and nosey as me.. LOL, BIG :-). Tinker fest USA here... Just my nature... So we're clear, all my STUFF is coming out of storage, I know I forgot more than I can remember. I gotta start firing on all 6.. 153624, To young, to old, just right. Military memory.. 36 to OLD, NOW WAY to young. :-) Regards |
@lalitk My phono pre also has the large step from 100 ohm to 1000 ohm loading. I tried a Y-adapter to add parallel loading plugs, but decided I like the Audioquest “Hard RCA Splitter” better. See https://www.audioquest.com/accessories/splitters-connectors-adaptors/adaptors/hard-rca-splitter-male... I use a resistor about 1000 ohms in parallel with the 1000 ohm setting to get to about 500 ohms load resistance. I made a bunch of plugs to try various loading between 100 and 1000 ohms, and settled on the 500 ohms loading. |
@coachpoconnor, I think you need to contact Whest to determine the proper resistance value of loading plugs to use with your PS.20. I just looked up the PS.20 Operating Manual, and that is what it advises. Since none of us know the internal resistance of the PS.20, and whether the plugs are in series or parallel to the internal signal path, we can’t help. If you have a multimeter, you could measure the resistance of the plugs used for 100 ohm loading. If we know that we could help you get to 400 ohms. |
Definitely it would not be "magic".
https://www.decware.com/newsite/ZP3.htm Not my words the guy that built it.. Look mid page "Tape option" I'm a tinker, a mechanic, rules? I thought they were meant to be tested, broken, changed.. LOL That's me.. Yea you can add a pot...No problem.. Sound better, different, worse, OH YEA... BUT MAYBE, just what YOU want... The reason I went with one...A POT.. Yup.. See Decware idea.. Why won't it work for vinyl? I'll try it... I'm thinking, who is making mag heads for RtRs, ME...Why not me... Just need to do a little tinkering... Enjoy in any case. Easy is alway good.. I like everything on top or in front.. If I don't want things changed they go inside.. Have fun.. Time to feed the chickens..they're glad they are not turkeys... Yup... Regards |
@lewm, Appreciate your feedback. I will definitely give it a shot later this afternoon. The E-Glo phono uses toggle switch to adjust load and gain (I deliberately pick this phono for easier operation rather than crawling back or messing with dip switches). What you say is makes sense...I need to be bit more patient with the process. I knew going into Analog there is going to be a steep learning curve until you achieve that blissful analog sound :-) |
lalitk, "My thought" on loading your Hana cartridge is to start with a 47K ohm load and listen for an hour or so, at the very least, using a variety of your favorite LPs. Then, if you are not happy, gradually reduce the load resistance until you reach a value that pleases you. But this is a process best done slowly and deliberately. As to the idea of using a potentiometer to dial in the load "on the fly", that is not advisable, will degrade sound. Definitely it would not be "magic". Y-adapter trick is appealing, but keep in mind that the phono stage will "see" the source impedance of the cartridge itself in parallel with the paralleled resistance. This is not necessarily a disaster but something to keep in mind. Same is true of the parallel "plug" technique. |
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Oh my, 101 needs to be 102 or 202 ? LOL Look we can get all teckie, I don't think you need too. That information, is just, that information.. I suppose we could add a few dozen pages of "STUFF", BUT he asked how to make a resistance plug.. :-) My buddy makes his out of RCA terminal ends, and slips a little cover over, it.. He is better at than me. I swear he can get a pin drop in the background, if it's on that vinyl.. I heard some crazy stuff. On the fly is the best I would hope for. On the fly if your loaded correctly, can you roll between your preset loads, with the selector. In other words is the selector, either or, but NOT between the given settings? Can you roll to 15, 16,17 or 20, with a pot? or is it pre selected? If you had that ability to bias differently BETWEEN say 40 -60, on the fly.. 42,3,4,5,6,7, get very tiny changes via that pot.. Could be magic.. Sure works that way with Reel to Reel.. AND vinyl too, AY? Regards |
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@lalitk
What else I can do to achieve some consistency in load settings? Or is that simply not possible with my current phonostage?Please read the post from @tvad , set load to 47kΩ on your phono stage, use a rca Y adaptor and custom loading plug (for example, you can use 60Ω, 75Ω, 150Ω resistors) to get optimal sound. https://www.transparentcable.com/products/rca-y |
@oldhvmec, Thanks for sharing the article. Pretty basic...as a newbie to analog, I am struggling a bit to find that ‘perfect’ load setting for my cart. The recommended load setting for my Hana Umami Red is >60 ohms. Fortunately my phono allows me to adjust gain and load on the fly (EAT E-Glo S). My phono load settings are, 10R, 30R, 50R, 90R, 100R, 1K, 47K. I keep toggling between 90R, 100R, 1K settings depending on the recording. Some recordings sounds superb and some harsh and lifeless. Adjusting load settings somewhat alleviate the harshness but still feel not getting the best optimal sound my gear is capable of. My TT is SME 15 with 309 tonearm. What else I can do to achieve some consistency in load settings? Or is that simply not possible with my current phonostage? I have thought about going the custom SUT route to optimize the sound.... Your thoughts? |
Oldhv, that reference you cited is poorly written at best and in some cases plain wrong, in my opinion. One could argue about the audibility of the load resistor itself, but it certainly is in the signal path, contrary to what is stated. Second, the article gives the impression that one can choose any load resistance by inserting a parallel plug, which of course is not true. The resistor in the parallel position will be in parallel with whatever is the fixed load resistance inside the phono stage, which is most often 47,000 ohms.Therefore, you can never achieve a load resistance higher than 47,000 ohms by using a parallel plug resistor. |
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there are also resistive loading kits (and capacitive ones too) https://store.acousticsounds.com/d/60044/DB_Systems-DB_Systems_DBP-6_MC_Phono_Resistor_Loading_Kit-T... https://www.stereophile.com/phonoaccessories/db_systems_dbp-6mc/index.html |
