Choosing the right SUT for my setup

@jctyler among all this discussion, do remember 2 things

1. A good MM stage is paramount if you want good sound. No matter how good is your cart and SUT, the quality of the MM stage will have the highest impact on sound.

2. A good MM stage is expensive. Nearly as expensive as a similarly capable full function MM/MC phono. In fact that is where the bulk of the design and money goes in a phono stage. So it is an expensive affair to dwell into SUT + MM phono.

Moreover choices for pure MM stages are very few in the market.

 If you believe that cartridge loading does not matter, well then, forget it and be happy.

Yes - I have a raft of highly regarded SUT's - and have experimented with a variety of top flight cartridges - from 3-40ohms internal impedance.

What I have found is that the "sound" and quality of the SUT dominates no matter what loading as long as the cartridge is not loaded down too far  ( not less than 10x the impedance ).

In my view far more important is getting the gain right - finding the optimum gain for the phono stage/preamp so as you are not running the volume too low or too high.

Jonathan Carr has written on this forum - loading only really impacts the sound if there are issues with the ensuing phono stage. Loading does not change the "sound" of most modern moving coils. Therefore if a SUT presents 470ohms say to a low impedance cartridge, for example koetsu @ 3ohms, it doesn't really matter.

For those who hear a difference - there is a problem either with the phono stage or arm/cartridge issue.

For what its worth my reference system uses a current sensing MC step up into a tube phono stage, which I prefer to SUT's into same. Doesn't mean you can't get a great result with SUT's.

I don't know which MM phonostage is agnostic to loading. Can you name a few @dover ?

I think that most folks looking to get into an MC cart already have a MM phono stage so the only expense is the addition of a suitable SUT. An awful lot of MC carts can be handled with a 10:1 step up ratio.

Look at dover's experience with carts, he has had a lot of MC carts and they all fell into the 3 to 40 ohm range.

Something like the Denon AU-340 with Tamuri transformers has switch setting for either of those ranges. These transformers are very highly regarded and can be purchased quite reasonably from Japan.

So for the average person just wanting to upgrade into the MC league it doesn't have to be an expensive proposition if he already has a decent MM stage.

I started with my Audio Research SP8 preamp with phono and when I picked up my Denon DL-103 I started with the Denon AU-320 SUT. I was blown away with the great sound and later when I upgraded to the AU-340 SUT it got even better.

I don't have a great deal invested in my system compared to many, but it sounds very musical, more so than some expensive systems I have heard at other peoples houses or at dealers. I have yet to hear a system that I would trade for, maybe someday but for now it's a keeper.

BillWojo

Thanks for all the advice to everyone who posted. One SUT for both carts. So I've make a decision between a used Ortonfon Vero, and two DIY kits for the Cinemag 1254 and the Sowter 1480 or 9570. I've built my own preamp from plans, so I'm no stranger to DIY. The question now is who builds a qualty kit? I found this one on ebay but I question its quality. Can't find anything on the brand name 'Mazur'. Any names for a decent chassis kit would be greatly apprciated.