SUT With a Manley Steelhead RC?


I own a Manley Steelhead RC and am using as my main cartridge a My Sonic Lab Signature Platinum.  MSL makes their own SUT that I have been thinking about purchasing, but I'm wondering if it's necessary with the Manley.  I find the Steelhead to be the best sounding phono preamp I've ever owned, but I'm always wondering about ways to make it even better.

I sent a message to Bob at Bob's Devices, but his reply to me was ambiguous.  He made it sound at first as if there would be little sonic benefit, and also seemed to say that his SUT would be superior to the one inside the Steelhead.  I tried to ask more questions but he went radio silent after that, and if I try to call their phone number I can't seem to talk to anyone.  This is not a complaint about their company, BTW.  I've heard nothing but good things about his products.

Any useful advice is appreciated!

128x128snackeyp

Sometimes it's a matter of semantics, but many do speak of SUTs as if they have an impedance of their own.  This is not the case, so I am sensitized to that implication.  As I know you know, any transformer merely converts current to voltage (if you think primary to secondary), and the impedance seen by the cartridge is simply a function of the impedance present on the secondaries.  The SUT adds no impedance. (This is in a perfect world; in reality there is a tiny effect that can be disregarded for loading a cartridge.)  It's obvious that you have a handle on it, so I apologize for my pedantry in correcting your original statement. I just know some others might have been led astray and was trying to prevent that.

For one thing, if you have a cartridge with a high-ish internal resistance, like a Denon or some Benz cartridges, such that it is not an easy match for a SUT, there is no reason you can't replace the 47K resistor at the MM input with a 100K resistor or even higher, to make the cartridge happy with the final impedance it has to drive.

@lewm No insult taken. My post about 10x sounded somewhat absolute so that was fair ground. We’re good.

@car123 Per your suggestion, last night I connected the TT to the MM input of the Steelhead and maxed the gain.  At first I kind of liked it, because there was excitement in the sound, but after awhile I couldn't listen anymore and switched it back. to the MC input.  The noise floor seemed much higher in MM.  After I switched it back I thought I should have tried backing off the gain to see how it sounds, so maybe I will try that soon.  Your suggestion had been mentioned to me previously when I first bought the Manley, so I know it has merit.  I just wasn't happy with the first attempt.  I appreciate your help

IME, loading is all about gain.

I don't worry about it too much.  Low output low impedance.  High output, high impedance.  That's about it.

It's one detail I don't sweat.

The only reason to put a SUT on a Steelhead, IMO is to bypass whatever Manley is using in the gain stage.  Might be more quiet, might not.  Just me, but if the MM side is not black, that's not a good sign.

YMMV

snackeyp, it’s all about what works for you. Keep trying, you will find something you like.