Dear @o_holter : Well, you posted in your thread:
""" What are the best phono preamp and system matches. Should the system be rearranged. Have anyone done mods or DIYs to their systems to get the "reception" right? """
I said that you have " too many tubes " where the delicate low output cartridge signal must pass on. This delicate and extremely sensitive low output cartridge signal is degraded very easy and one form of that degradation ( exist several others. ) is the high noise in any all tube phono stage ( against any SS design. ) like the I/O that I listened at least 3 times ( the four chasis one unit. ), but not only that tube inherent noise levels but the too many stages where the cartridge signal pass inside the I/O where at each stage exist degradation.
I'm not arguing if you like it or not because you already said it: you like it and this does not means is the right electronic item for LOMC cartridges because it's not. As a fact there is no perfect item in analogue audio. In the other side that's the kind of distortions you are accustom too, each person is accustomed to diferent kind of distortions.
I posted that the Atlas can shows at its best with no tubes at all or at least with no so many.
""" but the idea that the Io would "damage" the signal is foreign to me. """
with all respect: all phono stages damage the cartridge signal no matters its design technologies. Main subject is which ones contributes to make less harm to the cartridge signal. Please remember that any single degradation to that music signal means losted music information that we can't recovery and in the other side means added distortions. Such is the " audio analogue life ".
Regards and enjoy the music,
R.
""" What are the best phono preamp and system matches. Should the system be rearranged. Have anyone done mods or DIYs to their systems to get the "reception" right? """
I said that you have " too many tubes " where the delicate low output cartridge signal must pass on. This delicate and extremely sensitive low output cartridge signal is degraded very easy and one form of that degradation ( exist several others. ) is the high noise in any all tube phono stage ( against any SS design. ) like the I/O that I listened at least 3 times ( the four chasis one unit. ), but not only that tube inherent noise levels but the too many stages where the cartridge signal pass inside the I/O where at each stage exist degradation.
I'm not arguing if you like it or not because you already said it: you like it and this does not means is the right electronic item for LOMC cartridges because it's not. As a fact there is no perfect item in analogue audio. In the other side that's the kind of distortions you are accustom too, each person is accustomed to diferent kind of distortions.
I posted that the Atlas can shows at its best with no tubes at all or at least with no so many.
""" but the idea that the Io would "damage" the signal is foreign to me. """
with all respect: all phono stages damage the cartridge signal no matters its design technologies. Main subject is which ones contributes to make less harm to the cartridge signal. Please remember that any single degradation to that music signal means losted music information that we can't recovery and in the other side means added distortions. Such is the " audio analogue life ".
Regards and enjoy the music,
R.