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Phono cables

OK, I am vinyl newbie so this is probably a very dumb question. First of all I am in the process of putting a vinyl system together. My current system is completely digital with a Wadia CD player directly driving the amplifier (Rowland 302).

I have just purchased a Synergy IIi on Audiogon and I'm patiently trying to locate a Rowland Cadence phonostage. One I have the Rowland stuff, then I am buying a VPI table with JMW 10.5i tonearm and Dynavector cartridge.

My question is are phono cables that connect the turntable and tonearm to the phono preamp different that regular interconnects? I am currently using Cardas Golden Reference cables in my system and looking on the Cardas website they have phono cables that have single ended with ground on one end of the cable and some unusual single connection on the other. Rowland Cadence has only XLR input and outputs. Can someone please explain the differences in phono cables and what I may need if I'm every lucky enough to find a Rowland Cadence?

Thanks in advance for any info.

Phil
philb7777
almarg's avatar
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almarg
9,670 posts
 
I'm not sure if Dynavector makes any moving magnet cartridges, but if the one you are contemplating is a moving magnet type you need to take the cable capacitance into account (as well as the input capacitance of the phono stage), and make sure that the total capacitance is within the range recommended in the cartridge specifications.

If it is a moving coil cartridge, load capacitance is non-critical. Load resistance is important, but that is provided by the phono stage and is essentially not affected by the cable.

Regards,
-- Al
cerrot's avatar
cerrot
1,700 posts
 
Cardas makes phono cables with RCA's on both ends. I just got a pair for my VPI and love them (I think they were $550). BIG upgrade from the VPI cables ($200).
philb7777 OP
401 posts
 
Thanks for the responses. I am beginning to understand things better. For those Cadence owners out there, what cables are you using to connect turntable/tonearm to the Cadence? How are you dealing with the XLR only issues with the Cadence? Even though I don't have a Cadence yet, I'm trying to prepare once I get lucky and find one.
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,861 posts
 
Philb7777, phono cartridges are a balanced source. Unless you have an air bearing arm, connecting the tone arm to a phono stage with a balanced input is a matter of the interconnect cable and not anything else.

The balanced phono connection we developed is now in use industry wide. With the DIN connection it is pretty straight forward- pin 3 of the DIN is the shield for the left and right channels and connects to pin 1 of the XLR input. There is no need for a separate ground wire.

If the arm you are using has RCA outputs like you see on the Well-Tempered and a few others (that are **not** air-bearing straight-trackers), then it is still possible to connect to the RCAs and go to the XLR inputs and still keep everything balanced as long as there is a separate ground post at the tone arm output. The technique is described in our MP-1 or MP-3 owner's manual, which is a free pdf download at
http://www.atma-sphere.com/support/index.html
opus88
530 posts
 
Phil: Uru 975 suggests you try the Hovland Music Groove 2 phono cable, and you might do that. I just wanted to add that I currently own and use the Cardas Golden Reference phono cable with DIN, and used to own the Hovland Music Groove 2 with DIN. In my sytem, the Cardas Golden Ref soundly trounces the Hovland, which by comparison imaged with considerably less dimensionality, especially stage width. It also couldn't match the Cardas in terms of dynamics and top to bottom tonality. Yes, things might sound different in your setup. You will decide, but take a good listen to both if you can. I think you will hear a substantial difference between the two. Good luck.
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