Step Up Transformers….Are they Worth the Trouble?

@mdalton 

Atleast 2 if not 3…next few months is going to be about experimenting with carts and phono’s. The only constants would be Garrard / Tonearm and Accuphase. I will likely invest in a SUT once I know my everyday cart. 

Did you receive the Swissoner SUT yet? 

not yet.  but it’s on its way from Switzerland as we speak.  It’s the last piece to my “Big Rig” puzzle.  I knew when I purchased my Koetsu several years ago that I needed a step up (bad pun intended), but wanted to take my time and spread out the $ hurt.  

@mdalton

I hear you on spreading out the spending. That is exactly what I am dealing with…bite the bullet and get my dream cart or buy an interim cart. 

Cartridge decisions are tough (for me).  For my vintage system, I knew i wanted an SPU, so that was fairly easy.  For big rig, I initially just bought a Hana EH from my turntable guy (for $475 I think) as a bridge.  I subsequently chose Koetsu partly because of the magic and history associated with the brand.  But what sealed it for me was when I learned that Sugano-San had voiced his original Koetsu designs on his own modified Garrard 401.  So the cartridge picked me!

btw, for bang for the buck mc, I don’t think I’ve seen a single review that wasn’t a rave for the Hana Umami Red. Kat Ourlian, who was at Upscale but now reps SME in London, called me when she heard I was ordering a Koetsu.  As I recall, she seemed to be gently pushing me towards the Red, I think in part because my suspicion is their experience working with Koetsu was not perfect. But she’s been a huge proponent of the Red from the day it came out.  One other random thought while I’m rattling on, I met the UK rep of Gold Note in an Austin record store, and he was really high on their cartridges (i know. surprise!).  But since then, that’s another brand that seems to punch way above their $ weight.  (Btw, I have some experience with the brand - both their DS10 dac and PH1 phono stage are in one of my systems, and they’re superb).  What Gold Note and Hana have in common is that before their brands were started, they were OEM producers for other brands.  So that’s why I think they tend to be lower-priced than some of the competition - they’ve cut the middle step out of the supply chain.