Step Up Transformers….Are they Worth the Trouble?

@br3098 the point of a good SUT that pairs up well with your MC id it brings out the best of your cartridge. 

A short signal path is, of course, a desirable thing. But let us not lose sight of the alternative here: a complex signal path full of components in a head amp or in the MC amplification stage of the pre-amp. Compared to that, an extra pair of interconnects and a pair of transformers are relatively simple and straightforward.

My phono stage isn't as grand as many, but there is no question in my mind that using its MM input with an SUT is better than using its MC input.

I don’t think you can fairly make a case for SUT over high gain phono on the basis of simplicity. A high gain stage may consist of one gain device at the input of what otherwise is an MM stage. No extra ICs, no outboard chassis, much shorter connections.

I recently bought a dedicated tube phono preamp, the Pro-ject Tube Box DS2, for my Koetsus. It gets run through a line stage in my Beard P505. It’s just what I needed.

@lalitk 

If it hasn't already been pointed out: the fact that you enjoy Tannoy Canterbury as your main speakers, and have stuck with them for years (like me) - I think makes it more likely you'll prefer the SUT + MM approach. 

The cartridges you cite (Umami, Etsuro, Fuuga) are electrically a good match for SUT. There are so many nice premium SUT options and new contenders today, many of which I haven't tried, e.g. Consolidated Audio, EMIA, Sculpture A. Over time I've settled on using my EAR MC-3 and MC-4 the most. If the newer options go beyond that, it's quite a bonus.

Used a SUT with tube MM stages for years because it felt like the "natural fit", and indeed it's hard to even find a bad match there. VAC, Herron, Audio Research, Hagerman - all wonderful results with the EAR SUT's, which I generally preferred to the built-in MC options, sometimes by a lot. Of them all, the Hagerman Trumpet Reference actually made it a close call in some scenarios - and even won out in cases where I needed a little more air & zip on top to balance things out (depends on the system). And the VAC itself uses Lundahl LL1931 SUT for its built-in MC stage - but Lundahls are my least favorite SUT!

Now that I've also got a Meridian 502 w/ MM stage I'm playing with in a 2nd system, I can confirm solid state MM's work great with SUT too! In fact that's a quirky little "sounds better than it should" MM stage. Its balanced line-stage is reasonably transparent, but I prefer a tube line stage over it for many of the same reasons I prefer a SUT.