Step Up Transformers….Are they Worth the Trouble?

@rauliruegas don't forget Constellation! 

@dogberry I have several BluRay and DVD operas and my system doubles as a theater. Believe it or not, excepting rare theaters like Teatro alla Scala Milano, I actually prefer the sound at home. This is a common occurrence with Rock shows. The acoustics in most of the venues these occur in are awful and the sound at home is better. Seeing the show and the Opera especially are key. Operas and plays were that period's motion pictures, the visuals are very important. You know for certain Carman was just murdered by her lover when you see it. What torments Pagliacci so at the end of the opera?

@lalitk Be careful what you wish for. It would be nice if you could make that comparison before spending your money. There are many of us here that not only won't use a SUT but also shy away from tube phono stages. Myself and @rauliruegas are examples. Perhaps others will chime in. 

“There are many of us here that not only won’t use a SUT but also shy away from tube phono stages.”
@mijostyn

And there are many who do use SUT and tube phono….to each their own, right! Your point well taken on not committing to spend before I vetting the components in the analog chain.

@lalitk That is true. Now I am going to be politically incorrect.  You have to look at the demographics. Many of us have tube preamps with an onboard MM phono stage. Most of us are price sensitive and we are going to take the least expensive path that is acceptable. The popularity of Hana moving coil cartridges is a good example. Adding an SUT is the least expensive way to add moving coil capability. Having said this there are some mighty expensive SUTs out there and I have heard some mighty fine systems using them with great results. I still think these systems would be even better with a SS phono stage, but you are talking much more money and in some cases crazy amounts of money. There are units now like the Channel D Lino C 3.0 which are insanely good, A+ good, that cost less than $5000 and they will accept any MC cartridge. SUTs will not. They have to be designed for the impedance of the cartridge within just a few ohms or the performance will be unacceptable. The SUT I have was designed for very low impedance cartridges. Mine works well with the Lyra Atlas SL but sounds awful with the MC Diamond and Hyperion MR. The safest way to go is to purchase SUTs made by the same manufacturer as the cartridge and if you go with a cartridge by another manufacturer make sure they match within a few ohms. This is not the the step up ratio, 1 to 10, 1-20 and so forth.  

rauliruegas

... AR, VAC and MAC use SUTs ( passive not active designs. ) ...

You're mistaken. There's no SUT in my ARC Ref Phono 2SE. It uses an FET on the MC input. I'm pretty sure this is common on ARC phono preamps.

You’re mistaken. There’s no SUT in my ARC Ref Phono 2SE. It uses an FET on the MC input. I’m pretty sure this is common on ARC phono preamps.

@cleeds Correct - at least modern (and relatively recent) ARC Reference phono stages use a JFET based MC gain stage (voltage mode). I had a Reference 3SE. Its MC mode (called High Gain) sounded very good, but I still preferred a SUT - the MC mode is simply "leaner" sounding. I like a slightly fat, lush sound - and I don’t need to hear for the 1,000th time how this is wrong. The SUT was *easily* quieter, too. Fremer mentioned some susceptibility to EMI / RFI noise in its MC mode. I heard this very easily with a plasma TV in the next room. Sounded like demonic garble noises with the TV on - and went away when off. Also found its inherent noise floor would start to make itself "known" with cartridges below 0.3mV. Again, SUT’s had a distinct advantage here. I do listen loud - audiophiles who keep their levels below 85dB may not notice these issues as readily. That said, once you add groove noise, it’s debatable how much this actually matters.

The Ref 3SE’s Low Gain mode is still probably the best MM stage I’ve heard. Really, really good with a SUT. I’ve always liked the 6N30 tube, in line stages too. It is very linear and clean; not as fat and lush as other tubes. That’s right! I’m allowed to like "fat" sound in some cases and "cleaner" sound in others. It’s all just preferences when we hear the end product anyways. 6N30 just strikes the right sonic balance between traditional tubes and SS for me.