Questions about a new Ruby 2 cartridge

Zaikesman, hooray for the clarity of your post, it makes perfect sense and explains to a non technical guy like me why pass labs gave the option for resistors. if i can figure out where to get them i know where my spare time is going over the next few days. i've worked really hard to create a system that does "it" for me, and my ears are old but still hear slight adjustments in vta; so i'm really excited at the prospect of hearing the differences.
my system sounds great to me at 47k, but many major improvements to it came as surprising revelations... maybe my etymotics really are revealing the truth of what's there at the 47k!
my only thought is that i'll also try something between 5 and 10k, and 10k; since earlier you had said that it all becomes the same "somewhere in the range of 5-10". thanks a lot for your post.

aw darn...i just read my pass info on the ono, and it was for mm that they provided room to play. it looks as though for mc i am limited and can only go up from 1000 to 47k. oh well. i am going to spend tonight retrying 500 - 1000 with a variety of lps.

Zaikesman,
thanks! I have weaned myself off 47k myself over the last months and am reaping enormous benefits. your advise was excellent. especially helpful to me was your paragraph beginning "what you are looking for...".
the extreme highs at 47k were indeed "unrealistically exagerated", which at first was very seductive (in the "openness" that I heard in it). but now when I move too high in my setting I perceive an almost microphonic like echo effect that is extremely unnatural sounding.
it reminded me of what a friend of mine who is a sucessful producer of contempory commercial hip hop/r&b said to me when I explained to him that analog and tubes sound more natural to me, more real to my ear than digital. he said, "sure, I know what you mean. but when I'm in the studio we are actually TRYING to get an unrealistic, even supernatural sound. because it's attractive to the kids - it sells."
47k ohms sells too. I guess because it is so much better then the compression at the other extreme.

I did try it again with different settings and it was always the same: down from 47 k, it will be becoming slower and slower, more dull and lifeless.

But there is another point:

When the gain is set too high for your cartridge, you over-drive the amp stages and clipping and distortion is possible.

I did all with my Miyabi, 0,25mV

( this is low output, but not really low )

When I went too high with gain ( 67 dB and more ) in combination with 47k, then I hear clipping with piano recordings.

Going down to normal 63 dB area,then everything is great with 47k.

I think, most users set their phono stage to the max gain and then they do their ' experiments '.

Wrong way.
I had a Ruby, too, it is designed originally from Benz ( not Lukascheck ) for 47K.
The new Ruby II, which has a higher output, i think, something in the 0.4 mV area ??, when this one is amplified with too much gain ( 64 dB and much more- 68,70,75dB) and a 47K setting, this will be inferior. So I agree, when someone with such a setting is going down to 1k, that the prefers that.

The superiority of a 47K load ( in a phono stage which can handle it without sounding dead ) is only in combination with the right gain for the cartridge.

For those, who own a adjustable phono stage ( gain, impedance ...) and a uncoloured system it is easy to find out.

easy - and fun and time consuming!