Cartridge incompatibility, Soundsmith and Luxman

@atmasphere Greatly appreciate it! So at least I'm not going mad (although my wife would disagree with that statement...).

It seems that every other solution but to replace the cartridge has quite a bit of drawback... going to an SUT adds complexity and additional cost; modifying the Luxman limits my ability to use something different in the future; standalone phono preamp adds more cost, more cables, more complexity.

Easiest solution seems to be a different cartridge.

The fact that the sound seems rolled off in the treble to you suggested that the relatively high inductance of the cartridge, compared to that of a typical LOMC, is causing a loading issue, as Atma-sphere just showed us. This was mentioned in my previous analysis as a possibility. SS do recommend a higher than minimum load resistance, and now we have confirmatory evidence that this is to compensate for the inductance. But I repeat, all you have to do is open the chassis and change the phono load resistors to any value equal to or above 470 ohms. I believe it would be a mistake (or at least an unnecessary expense) to go to a SUT, but if you do, be sure to consult Peter Ledermann who made the cartridge and probably has a deep understanding of how to match a SUT to it. Of course, then you use the MM inputs. I don’t understand why changing the phono load resistors, the simplest solution imaginable, incurs any more of a limitation in the future than the 100-ohm resistors constitute in the here and now. Worst case scenario: you switch back to 100 ohms for some future hypothetical cartridge. There really is NO cartridge that requires a 100-ohm load, actually. A cartridge that works well with a 100 ohm load will also work well with a 470 ohm load, but the reverse is not the case, as you now know. Good luck.

Please note CHANGING the internal resistors does NOT inhibit you in the least from other cartridges in future; it is totally the way to go (assuming the simple  change works for this circuit).  If you go to 470, or 1000 Ohms, you can ALWAYS use an external metal short RCA Y adapter ($12) with two female/one male RCA and insert RCA plugs with resistors soldered inside. Parallel resistors will bring it down to what ever you  need in future.  (product of values divided by sum of values). We have seen this ONE load value in this model before, and it is very short sighted in my NSHO.  The proper way is to have 1000 -2000 internal and at LEAST some open RCA females jacks on the rear apron, allowing you to put loading plugs in at will. If someone who knows circuitry can verify this circuit allows the 100 ohm resistors to be changed, let him know.....OR send ME the schematic. That is the lowest cost way to make this unit flexible like almost all models of MC preamp designs. Our high gain MCP-2 phono preamp ($1199) has a variable control to go from 10 Ohms to 5K Ohms. Another option. 

Peter Ledermann/Soundsmith

Great post! Thanks.

Unfortunately the specifications on the phono section are sparse so it is unclear what the input configuration is.  The fixed 100Ω value is an odd choice unless there is an internal SUT for the MC input.  To further confuse things the E-250 phono has an internal SUT and lists gains of MM: 38dB, MC HIGH: 57dB, MC LOW: 66dB and input impedances of MM: 34kΩ/47kΩ/56kΩ/100kΩ(switch selection) MC HIGH: 40Ω, MC LOW: 2.5Ω.   When I do the math the numbers do not add up without some overly complex switching and loading arrangement.   The MC high setting it adds 28dB of gain which suggests a 1:26 step up ratio.  That means that the impedance ratio is 1:676 so if the 2.5Ω value is indeed the actual value then the secondary of the SUT would need to be terminated with 1700Ω which is highly unlikely.  Looking at it from the other direction and assuming the 1:26 and a 47kΩ load the input impedance would be 70Ω.  If you work out the same numbers for the MC Low they are equally confusing.  This leads me to believe that 2.5Ω and 40Ω numbers are not the actual input impedance but rather the suggested cartridge impedance which is how many Japanese companies specify phono inputs.  The E-500 lists that it uses 4 SUT's rather than the tapped unit in the E-250.  

Since the specifications of the phono section of your integrated do not list the MM and MC gain, it seems the only way to find out for sure is to measure the DCR of the input of the phono and see what you get.  If it is 100Ω then that is likely your actual impedance value and it may be possible to change that to a higher value.  If it is around 1Ω then it likely has a internal SUT with a step of ratio of ~1:20.  My guess is it is the later at which point while increasing the load value is possible it may lead to less than desirable results.  

dave