FIDELITY RESEARCH STEP-UP TRANSFORMERS

@lohanimal don’t get too hung up about the supposed problems with FR7 as presented - ad nauseam - by rauliruegas. He’s the ’odd one out’ around here concerning these cartridges.

Most forum members familiar with them love the way they make music. And when you use them together with the FR64/66 tonearms and observe Ikeda’s specified P2S distance, you get none of the alignment or set up problems.

You don’t have to take my or anybody’s word for it. You can buy the FR7 series without much risk. If you don’t like what they do, you will have no problem reselling them at no loss. As you say, life’s too short not to try.....

I agree with bukanona. XF-1 L is better than 4 or 5. As 
Raul mentioned many times the switches for extra impedances
mean extra soldering points and aluminum conductors. 
FR produced  also ''mid '' and ''high'' impedance transformers
despite the fact that all MC carts are low impedance  kinds.
Anyway one should check the output cable and if corroded 
exchange for a new one. There is also an ''silver kind'' but
pretty expensive and difficult to find. 
But one can get the excellent Denon AU-S1 (3 kg) for similar
price which can be used for low and high impedances.
Special for this transformer Denon made an very good MC
cart with modest price: DL-S1  

FR-7f and FR-7fz are great cartridges for sure, when you’re using them on FR-64s tonearm you don’t have to adjust azimuth if the arm mounted on flat surface as it should be.

I am not so concerned about silver phono cables, i have them too, but i like high quality copper phono cables.

SUT is oldschool classic solution for LOMC, but you can always try something new like CURRENT INJECTION phono stages. They are designed for low impedance cartridges, 47Labs Phono Cube is magical with my FR-7fz. This is a "current-injection" type o the PHONO STAGE.

Dear chakster, May I conclude that you don't own an phono-pre
which can drive outputs of, say, above 0,15 mV? I need my
Denon transformer only for  my Ortofon MC 2000 with 0,05 mV 
output.  However lew(m) also mentioned an ''current injection'' 
type for his Ortofon MC 2000. I asked what this ''current driven
thing '' means but was not ''honored'' with an answer. 

Dear @lohanimal  : "   commended it's unique design. "

Yes, unique design means cartridge motor/inside the cartridge but  he told the same for the Sony XL88 internal motor design and these has nothing to do with " stupiod " monolitic cartridge headshell where exist no way to make the rigth low distortion track and tracking error because as the Glanz integrated no one just can't do it.

Who cares what other audiophiles posted about when this is only COMMON SENSE and knowledge level of what any cartridge needs for can shows it at its best ! ! ! 

At least Audio Technica in its integrated headshell models not only you can modified the azymuth or overhang as the cartridge set up ask with the best geometry alignment for but even they use in the headshell a self damped magnesium material and  ( if I remember ) with damping rubber too. AT knows the cartridge needs when FR just dis not or does not want it to do it, this is a FR problem that they gives to us " ignorant/stupid " people that " do not know nothing of the cartridge/ tonearm best set up ", go figure ! ! ! 
Like many other audiophiles I bougth at least 3 diferent models of those terrible FR cartridges and I bougth it because in those times my ignorance/stupidity levels were really high, differences with other gentlemans is that I learned in the whole cartridge/tonearm set up at its best.

As I told you it's your money and that could be the level of distortions you deserve. Is up to you, I don't care. I'm only given you a common sense and knowledge opinion and nothing more than an opinion. Go a head.

R.