Step Up Transformers….Are they Worth the Trouble?


Some of you may aware of my Garrard 301 project, it’s now very close to completion. The plinth finally shipped from Hungry after 3 months of long wait.

Given my last experience with Hana Umami Red, I would like to take things to the next level. Which brings me to mating low output cart with a SUT. Every review I’ve read so far suggests when the SUT-MC match is right, the end result is heavenly. The bass is right, the midrange is clear, and most importantly, the highs are relaxed and extended—not rolled off.

I am not saying you can’t get great sound without a SUT but it appears with a properly matched SUT, sound can be quite magical.

Thought this would be the right time to get input from experienced users here since I am still contemplating my cartridge and outboard phonostage options.

My preference would be to go with a tube phono…I kinda miss tinkering with tubes :-)

My system, Garrard 301 (fully refurbished), Reed 3P tonearm, Accuphase E-650 with built-in AD50 analog board ➡️ Tannoy Canterbury’s.

Cart and phono under consideration through my dealer,

Fuuga - Output : 0.35 mVrms | Impedance : 2.5 Ω (1kHz)

Phonostage - Tron Convergence and Konus Audio Phono Series 1000

The cart - MC combination, I am lusting after is Etsuro Urushi Bordeaux MC with their Etsuro Transformer.
https://www.etsurojapan.com/product/bordeaux

The other transformer is EMIA, cooper or silver version.

Your input is appreciated!

128x128lalitk

and do you really think they get within .01 dB or whatever it is that Raul thinks is needed on this end?

@herman 

No. That spec sounds dubious. There would be no way to verify that in field testing since the margin of error in the test equipment (and inverse RIAA network used) would be higher than that. FWIW I looked on the FM Acoustic site and found things in the same pdf as the specs that weren't correct. For example they claim to make the only true balanced phono preamp, which isn't true. We've been making one since 1989. I know its a logical fallacy to assume everything in the pdf is false (and it doesn't appear that way to me) once one thing is proven false but it did cause me to be suspicious.

Dear @herman : " chasing numbers like this is a fool’s errand. There are so many errors introduced in so many stages of the process that these small deviations do not matter. "

 

" focus on things other than getting distortions down to such ridiculously small amounts, like how it sounds. "

 

Clasic posts of an audiophile but certainly not a MUSIC lover.

Yes,speakers could have several dbs deviation in room frequency response but that is not the issue.

Gentlemans as you are the " market centuries bargain " for the manufacturers/designers/sellers in the audio world where almost none takes care why or what gives me the audio item I buy for the money I paid for it and manufacturers/designers know that they do not have to make a higher quality design efforts due that no one is asking for. Their customers are way " easy " customers " easy " to let satisfied ( just as you. )

That " bargain audio market " it’s conform and with no comply about quality level true performance.

Those gentlemans like you that stay in the " bargain audio market " are the ones that impedes the audio market designs truly grow-up but only " more of the same ".

Look from everywhere and you will see that the quality audio design almost is in stand-by real situation and ( again ) manufacturers are truly happy with because audiophiles today pay 10 times the kind of money for audio units that almost has no true improvements .

However, I can see that you are not using " lamp cord " for the electrical power in your system or a simple IC wire from your tonearm and I can see that you use too a TT " diferent " mat and that you or some one made for you the TT plinth and many other things. Maybe you don’t use a protractor to cartridge/tonearms alignments and many other " maybe’s ". Why took you all that time and money with your room/system modifications including the Voxativ? or why posted those silver connectors picture?. I don’t care, you are.

 

Now, we can’t modified what already happens in the LP whole recording process but we can take care with the playback proccess and between other several " things ". the RIAA is there.

I know that you should understand that the first main subject to exist a phono stage is because is because the grooves recorded information comes with the RIAA pre-emphasis and we need some way to have the inverse RIAA eq. to translate that recorded information in our " language ", the second main reason exist a phono stage is that we need to amplify the very low cartridge signal levels. A stupid question could be: do you know why the inverse RIAA eq. needs to do it at the very begin of that signal that pick up the cartridge and before any other stage?

 

What we listen at the other end of the system chain is an accumulation of several kind of distortions/noise/resonances/frequen cy deviations and the like along the room/speakers contribution about.

Why can you change the VTA or VTF or AZ in a cartridge/tonearm combination?. Well and between other things to achieve at minimum any kind of added distortions/degradations to the MUSIC signal.

Obviously that you don’t care about accuracy where it matters " th first " and maybe you don’t care because what you have is what you like it ( btw, the swing in your unit RIAA is 0.6db ) additional I can see that you are not in favor or a cartridge signal short path but the other way around. Nothing wrong with me and neither with you but for the MUSIC tht at the ends is the only subject it matters to me.

In the same way that is critical the cartridge/tonearm accuracy alignment in even more critical way is the phono stage inverse RIAA eq. accuracy. Any single minimal discrete frequency deviation in that curve ( I already posted ) affects at least 2 octaves and its developed harmonics and affects even when you have: + 0.3 or -0.3.

 

" they get within .01 dB " yes, absolutely I shared several times that RIAA again other phono stages RIAA and do you know how looks in aa chart both channels?.

you can only see a perfect linear line as if be only one channel instead 2. Yes, near perfection and yes I’m way demanding in the MUSIC reproduction needs and yes I know you are not. Nothing wrong with me.

lewm the swing in the RIAA is the true deviation and not only the: +.

 

R.

Clasic posts of an audiophile but certainly not a MUSIC lover.

how odd you say that....I don't see where anything you posted has anything to do with loving music, only chasing numbers.

MY system produces beautiful music. That is all I care about. Yet you somehow know me? 

I posted how I got there. You can nitpick it if you wish, no problem here.

and BTW , your claim of .01 dB accuracy with your phono stage is ridiculous. Even if it could do it, you can't accurately measure it. You are embarrassing yourself by making the claim....

Good day

 

@herman : No, I did not. In that measure regards you have not ( yet ) the knowledge level and skills to do it and understand it instead to follow chasing " numbers " or errors by me.

A mistake, it’s not 0.01 but 0.012. We did it and do it with each phonolinepreamp RIAA calibration in real time . No, you will never know ( the Audio precision System 2 is useless for that. ) and no we can’t have two phonolinepreamps with exactly the same RIAA calibration values ( very near in between but not exactly. We can do it with a little higher tolerance. ) because is almost imposible to match exactly all RIAA circuit parts.

Again, I’m not chasing numbers and I don’t care how good sounds your system because is your system and what you like . Again, you are not so demanding as I’m with the overall quality LP reproduction room/system. That’s all. You need to understand that.

Good day too.

 

Btw, @lewm , if you can’t hear differences then you need to fine tune your room/system because I know you are not deaf. No, I don’t want to follow arguing with you about, it’s not the OP subject.

 

R.

 

Raul. You have no idea what my background and understanding is.

What I do know and understand from many years of experience, is you are delusional if you think you are accurately measuring differences between .01 and .012 dB, and even more delusional if you believe that your RIAA is accurate to that degree from 20-20KHz

The fact that are even trying to achieve that tells me that you are indeed chasing numbers. I recommend hanging out at Audio Science Review where all that matters is numbers. You will be as happy there as I am every time I spin a record through my .6 dB phono corrector smiley

P.S. My apologies to the OP.. I am done with this distraction, Get a good MM stage with high input impedance and a quality SUT and you will be as happy as I am in my .6dB world