Yes, under most circumstances 57.5 db is considerably too much phono stage gain for use with a MM or other high output cartridge. Typically MM phono stages provide gain that is in the area of 40 db or so.
In addition to the possibility of clipping, another downside that can occur in many applications would be having to operate the volume control undesirably close to the bottom of its range. As you may have seen in other threads it is not uncommon for that problem to occur with digital sources having **maximum** outputs in the area of 2 volts.
That much gain would often be suitable, though, for use with MM cartridges in systems employing passive preamps, to cite one example.
In your particular case, given the very high overload margin of the phono stage itself a means of utilizing a high output cartridge without overloading the preamp would be to insert a Rothwell in-line attenuator, or something similar, between the two components. Although reports I have seen over the years on the sonic effects of those devices have been mixed, with some (including me) having found them to be quite transparent, and others reporting significant adverse effects on dynamics or other sonic characteristics.
Rothwell attenuators are available in both balanced and unbalanced configurations, and in 10 db, 15 db, and 20 db versions. I believe that most and probably all of those versions would be suitable with respect to ARC’s loading recommendations for the outputs of your phono stage (quoted below from www.arcdb.ws), and certainly with respect to the 10K minimum requirement. But I know that some similar devices from other manufacturers would not meet that requirement.
-- Al
In addition to the possibility of clipping, another downside that can occur in many applications would be having to operate the volume control undesirably close to the bottom of its range. As you may have seen in other threads it is not uncommon for that problem to occur with digital sources having **maximum** outputs in the area of 2 volts.
That much gain would often be suitable, though, for use with MM cartridges in systems employing passive preamps, to cite one example.
In your particular case, given the very high overload margin of the phono stage itself a means of utilizing a high output cartridge without overloading the preamp would be to insert a Rothwell in-line attenuator, or something similar, between the two components. Although reports I have seen over the years on the sonic effects of those devices have been mixed, with some (including me) having found them to be quite transparent, and others reporting significant adverse effects on dynamics or other sonic characteristics.
Rothwell attenuators are available in both balanced and unbalanced configurations, and in 10 db, 15 db, and 20 db versions. I believe that most and probably all of those versions would be suitable with respect to ARC’s loading recommendations for the outputs of your phono stage (quoted below from www.arcdb.ws), and certainly with respect to the 10K minimum requirement. But I know that some similar devices from other manufacturers would not meet that requirement.
ARC PH5: Recommended load 50K-100K ohms and 100pF. (10K ohms minimum and 2000pF maximum.)Regards,
-- Al