Can you run the HANA SL MC at 100 ohms?

@atmasphere is correct, at least from my experience.  I went from a fairly cheap but well regarded built in phono stage to the Herron VTPH-2A.  With the built in, I was getting what I thought was surface noise.  As I upgraded my system, I went to the Herron.  Now, Keith recommends running the MC input with no loading, though he does supply loading resistors.

With a Supex SDX-1100r with an output of .2mv and internal resistance of 1.5ohms, it only sounded good on my previous preamp when using an SUT, also a Supex.  It was pretty noisy (again, I thought it was surface noise) running it straight into the phono inputs with max gain and 1kohm loading.

Running it on the Herron, I initially started with 1k loading, and tried various different loadings.  Then I decided to run it unloaded, and wow, no "surface noise" to speak of, and the output seemed a bit higher.  The cartridge also opened up to a large degree.  My SUT now sits on the shelf unused.

Though what Ralph says is completely counterintuitive, he speaks the truth.

This is for Brad1138.  So sorry if I confused you.  I did suggest you might want to try the 47K ohm loading, but I also said "if your phono stage permits it", which was to say if your phono stage can provide sufficient gain absent a SUT.  I should have realized that you were probably using a SUT with a 1:10 step-up ratio, in order to achieve the 470 ohm loading that pleased you.  A 1:10 SUT into a 47K ohm resistance (across the secondaries of the SUT) will give the cartridge a load of 470 ohms.  So, you are correct to have questioned my advice; most likely your phono stage requires a SUT in order to provide enough total gain for the Hana.  One advantage of "high gain" phono stages is the ability to do without a SUT, and in that case you are freer to load the cartridge as you see fit.

What makes this tricky to understand is that MM cartridges **are** affected by the loading values at audio frequencies. This is because there are so many more turns of wire inside them- they have much higher inductance. So there is confusion and the whole thing spreads like a bad rumor. 

Hana ML into Herron, no loading. Low Cap cable ( Cardas in arm, Audioquest Fire to Herron. )

sounds pretty fine to me.

@lewm 

Thanks, I do not own a SUT. My phono stage is a Moon 310lp with 320s PS, and it has 10, 100, 470, 1k & 47k ohm options, also 40, 54, 60 & 66 dB gain settings. 

The gain at +66 dB for either 470 or 1k was just right. 

I Googled it and see in some setups, 47k works very well for MC. I will try it, but at the moment 1k is sounding great. :)