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Step Up Transformer Question

Ok, so bear with me as this is new terrain for me. I was quite happy with how things were sounding and then I accidentally bumped the stylus of my Cadenza Black and snapped the cantilever clean off. I did some research and ultimately decided to have Steve at VAS at fix my cartridge but it was going to take a few weeks and there was going to be no way to play the Christmas vinyl that my wife loves so much. She told me to buy another cartridge so we could have Christmas records. I was stunned. I found a great deal on a Winfeld Ti on this site and pulled the trigger. I've got it on my table and it sounds amazing. 

After speaking with Steve though, I'm going to trade in my Cadenza and have him build me a wood body cartridge to have something different. It will also be 0.2mv output. I think I've got the 2nd arm situation sorted (gonna buy a Wand and a pod to mount it on) which leaves the phono pre. I love my Rogers PA-2 and it is switchable between MC and MM with 2 different inputs in the back. Finally got the SUT part. I've been looking and trying to figure things out. I spoke with Roger and he said the transformer built into the PA-2 is 1:10 and with that I can achieve 70 or so dB of gain. I did a lot of reading and looking and while I'm sure a 4k+ SUT is amazing that's just not where I'm at with all the other expenses at the moment. I saw the Bellari MT502 was a stereophole recommended component for many years and Amazon had one on sale for like $349 or something. Figured can't hurt to try it, it's Amazon so I can always return it. I plugged it in with some admittedly questionable interconnects I had lying around and when I put the phono stage k there was a bit more hum than I'm used to but I said let's have a listen. Holy shit. This little thing blew my mind. Better impact, tighter bass, more space around instruments so better staging, improved transients. This puts me in an interesting place. 

This is an extremely inexpensive piece and it has changed my system quite a bit. I think the little extra gain I get even at 1:12 brings the cartridge to life. My question is where do I go from here? Bob's makes the sky 30 which is switchable from 1:15 to 1:30 which I like because I can play with the gain tubes in my preamp and potentially go to a quieter 12au7 than the 12ax7 that's currently in there. Will that be a real improvement? Less hum? Had also considered ordering a Rothwell from jolly old England but can't find much on them. Thoughts? I'd like to keep this sub 1k or so for now. Maybe I'll save up for a big boy SUT later. 

rmdmoore
rmdmoore OP
148 posts
 

Thanks for all the input.

@lewm I know subbing 12au7 for 12ax7 seems off but the amp is designed to take 12au7, 12av7, or 12ax7. Each has increasing gain but also increasing noise so if I can get more gain out of the transformer then maybe I can use a quieter lower gain tube. 

@dogberry I had asked Steve what I should get and he was kind of elusive. I named a bunch of different things including an Entre, and an FRT thinking to myself that this isn't technology that's changed a lot so maybe an older high quality adjustable one would be good. He said "they're too old". He told me to not get a bobs devices. I'm wondering if he was trying to lead me to to his own one that I had somehow not realized he makes. Also, what switch are you using?  I think that the higher gain SUT might sound better enough that I'd want to use it for both cartridges. I did text Steve and ask him if his SUT would be a good choice but I'm yet to hear back as it's Christmas. 

Overall, it seems to me that with a 6ohm internal impedance what I want is an SUT with more turns, probably 30 or 40, to better match the cartridge. I think that will produce more gain that what I need with the 12ax7 so going back to 12au7 and letting the transofrmer do more of the work is gonna be the answer. 

Thanks, everyone. This has been incredibly informative. Any addition thoughts are appreciated. 

dogberry
571 posts
 

@rmdmoore I use a SoluPeak 4-way switch from Amazon. I can’t tell the difference with it in circuit, or connecting the tonearm directly. If you want to just run two carts, there is a Rek-o-Kut switch that also seems very quiet. I have a couple of them from previous iterations of tonearm numbers, which seem to grow and grow! I’d recommend the 4-way, though, as it lets you add two more! The cartridges have internal impedances of 38, 38, 10 and 5Ω. I don’t know what the turns ratio of the VAS transformer is, and you’re correct, Steve doesn’t push it. Basically, he said your ears will tell you if it’s right. If you can get him to reveal the turns ratio, please let us know.

rmdmoore OP
148 posts
 

Might as well ask this audience... What phono cables are you using? I don't want to go crazy. Found some on eBay that look fair, low capacitance with good shielding. 

elliottbnewcombjr
5,199 posts
 

My Phono system already sounded great, with ’regular’ phono cables.

When I bought my long tonearm, the Russian maker almost insisted I use this Ortofon

 

That TT, I had been using a basic cable from Amazon while waiting.

I heard ZERO difference, I used two ’upscale’ din cables that came with my other two tonearms. Plugged

tomic601's avatar
tomic601
12,841 posts
 

Audioquest Fire w DBS to keep the dialectric formed…more important on the tonearm cable…. in my opinion But any AQ interconnects w DBS used should be on your list.

OP your wife is a saint…. just saying…..

when selecting said, choose one with a ending result of YES on the turns ratio…..

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