2. analog
  3. 133274-5236

How to pick a COMPATIBLE phono cartridge

As follow-up to my recent post titled "Da Benz", I'm trying to better educate myself on how to pick a phono cartridge. There are many to choose from but I don't know which "type(s)" (i.e., output, etc.) will work well with my setup. Not considering price or characteristics at this point, but simply compatibility . Once I know that I can research options to make a selection. Looking through some past forums I see this can get complicated, so I'll provide some info on my setup:

Conrad Johnson EF-1 Phono Stage
    Gain: 40, 46, 52 db
    Phono Overload: 70 mV (40 db gain setting)
    Hum and Noise: 88 db below 10mV input

Conrad Johnson Premier 16LS Pre Amp
    Gain: 25 db
    Maximum input: 15 vrms
    Output impedance: under 700 ohms
    Hum and noise: 96 db below 1.0 mV

Conrad Johnson Premier 12 mono block Amps
    140 watts per channel
    Input Sensitivity: 0.90 volts to full power
    Input Impedance: 100k ohms

SME IV Arm
    Cartridge weight range: 5 - 16 grams
    Weight: 700 grams

And my leading cartridge candidate is the Benz Micro Wood (available in low, medium, and high versions), specs as follows:
    Output voltage: 0.4 (Low) 0.8 (Medium) 2.5 (High)
    Internal ohms: 12 (Low) 24 (Medium) 90 (High)
    Loading Range: >100 (Low) >1000 (Medium) 47k (High) 
    Weight: 9 grams
    Compliance: 15 (Low) 14 (Medium) 14 (High)
    Tracking 1.6 - 1.9 grams

The high output has been suggested. 

However, what cartridge specs should I be looking at for compatibility sake with my equipment and why? I have no idea!!!!   

Thank you to anyone who's willing to take the time to read and respond to a posting like this! :-)

Randy


rbschauman
rbschauman OP
138 posts
 
tablejockey/anyone
 
A local Hifi store is where that high output recommendation came from. I was told that my phono pre had very low gain settings. I'm now wondering why such a comment would have been made.
The manual for my phono pre states it's gains will cover a variety of cartridge types.

Would be nice if I could find a matrix that would show the gain required for each cartridge type (low/mid/high) from the phono stage and preamp (combined I'm guessing) for successfully mating. Ever see such a thing? Or is there a formula? Something else??

Also, generally speaking, what's the difference between low/mid/high output cartridges? If a setup can handle anyone of them what drives the choice? Do they each produce a different sound?

Thank you!

almarg's avatar
Ag insider logo xs@2x
almarg
9,670 posts
 
I’m doubtful that a 0.4 mv cartridge would be suitable for use with your equipment. While as stated earlier the overall gain provided by the phono stage and the preamp would not in itself be an issue, several things suggest to me that unacceptable hiss and/or hum would be likely to result:

1)The phono stage’s specified hum and noise figure of 88 db below a 10 mv input corresponds to only 60 db below 0.4 mv, which seems marginal at best.

2)The 88 db figure may be based on psychoacoustic "weighting" techniques that are commonly used in deriving such figures, meaning that the unweighted performance may be worse.

3)The 52 db max gain spec of the phono stage is about 8 to 10 db less than the gains of most phono stages that are intended for use with cartridges having rated outputs in the vicinity of 0.4 mv.

4)The relation between cartridge output and phono stage signal-to-noise ratio is what primarily determines the amount of hiss that will be present when playing a record. Adding gain further downstream will not improve that; it will just result in using the volume control at lower settings.

I suspect that the 0.8 mv version of the cartridge would be suitable, but I can’t say that with any certainty. If you already haven’t done so, it would be a good idea to research what cartridges others have reported using with the EF-1.

Good luck. Regards,
-- Al

jperry
2,458 posts
 
As i said on your other thread...

jperry941 posts12-29-2017 5:57amBased on the information below I would select the medium output Benz

The C-J EF1 offers three different gain settings, 40, 46, and 52 dB, selected by switches inside the unit.

Benz Wood S models at $1,600 use the MR or Micro Ridge stylus and are available in Low .4mV (Wood SL), Medium .9mV (Wood SM) and High Output 2.5mV (Wood SH)
tablejockey
3,956 posts
 
rbschauman-

Perhaps a real expert will chime in, to give you real insight. Without getting into techie talk, all the high performance MC’s are low output-less than.5mv or so.

Maybe your local store was just referring to only the phono stage, not considering your line stage gain adding to the equation?

Your gear is ready for it. Plenty of AT’s/Denons value priced, along with the usual suspects-Benz,Dyna,Lyra etc.

Don’t forget the moving Iron(SoundSmith) line. They aren’t necessarily low output, and a different beast-if you aren’t already familiar with them.

Edit-I see noise factor is mentioned using a lower output cart. Makes sense.

almarg's avatar
Ag insider logo xs@2x
almarg
9,670 posts
 
Tablejockey 1-1-2017
Maybe your local store was just referring to only the phono stage, not considering your line stage gain adding to the equation?
Probably so, but please note no. 4 in my previous response.

Regards,
-- Al
 

More to discover