Step Up Transformers….Are they Worth the Trouble?

@lewm The Lino C 3.0is a much better phono stage than the JC3+ it is also 3 times as expensive if you load it up with all the same features. I do not have a Lino C. I have a Seta L Plus. It has a much wider bandwidth and costs three times as much as a similarly equipped Lino C 3.0. 

@lalitk That connection is a moving target and depends more on your mood just as much as the actual performance of the system. Many if not most systems overcompensate for some characteristics at the expense, even absence of others. That overcompensation usually depends on which characteristic the user cherishes most. A common example is too much midbass. The person likes bass but his system does not go all that low so he manages to adjust his system or select components that over cook the midbass as a compensation. 

What do I prefer? Accuracy. Accuracy in tonal balance, timbre, detail and imaging along with the lack of distortion, accurate transient response and dynamic capability. Go to a small jazz club like the Blue Note or Birdland in NYC. You want your system to sound like that. Go to a Hall like the Boston Symphony Hall and listen to Beethoven's 9th. You want your system to sound like that. Tall order. How close can you get? Close enough depending on how much money and expertise you can throw at it. If your system connects you to the music in a way you like I suppose you are all set. My problem is I never look for what is right, only what is wrong. The problem of creating an incredible system is a challenge to be conquered. 

Mijo, Sorry, based on your phrasing I thought you might be saying you preferred JC3+ over whatever Channel D you own, which didn’t make sense.

Note here that I refrained from making the obvious joke about turntables needing to be “well hung” (per Mijostyn).

“What do I prefer? Accuracy” Accuracy in tonal balance, timbre, detail and imaging along with the lack of distortion, accurate transient response and dynamic capability. 

@mijostyn 

I think most people would agree with this. I don’t want to misconstrue your statement but I firmly believe, it’s upto to a person to decide what degree of accuracy they want to hear or prefer. I have heard components that measured perfectly but sound like crap or should I say unable to connect end user to music. 

Of course we want to replicate small jazz club like experience..it’s very intimate, emotional and connects your soul to the music and artist. Couple of recordings comes to mind, Norah Jones’s Live at Ronnie Scott's, Scott Hamilton & Andrea Pozza- I Could Write A Book and Fausto Mesolella - Live at Ad Alcatraz. All different venues but you’re transported to each of these venues every time I cue up these recordings. Read up on I Could Write A Book recording background..quite an interesting story, I know I would love to be in one of those place. 

I completely agree with your statement below, I think that’s what makes our pursuit so much fun!

“That connection is a moving target and depends more on your mood just as much as the actual performance of the system”. 

@mijostyn, thanks for your thoughts/advice! I do love the sonics of my rig as it currently stands. I've tube rolled with my previous preamp and power amp. To my ears the VTPH-2a sounds best with the factory tubes.

My buddy who suggested that I get an SUT also has Magico speakers, S7's. He runs VAC 450i Statement IQ power amps, the matching preamp, a Ypsilon phono pre, AMG Viella TT. All of his cables, cartridges, SUT are in the same caliber as the rest of his gear. He has a solid state phono preamp that he wants me to try so I'm more inclined to do so now.

@vuch It never hurts to try anything!  The S7s are a great loudspeaker. I also have a friend with a pair. 

@lalitk Those are purely my feelings which were not meant to be reflected on anyone else. You made a reference to the preferences of those making suggestions so I told you mine. All those venues are different just like Ella Fitzgerald and Rickie Lee Jones have different voices. I mention those venues because I have been to all of them on multiple occasions. I have recordings made at every venue and many others. I am particularly fond of the Dave Holland Quintet recordings and I have seen them three times. They are a favorite reference for system evaluation. 

Measurements, particularly those made in the actual listening environment are very useful. They get you in the ballpark. Fine tuning is always done by ear. The problem that I see repeatedly is audiophiles trying to tune their system by changing cables or rolling tubes. You can not do it that way, none of those techniques have the necessary bandwidth to be useful. If you really want to tune a system by ear try digital signal processing. You can not get bass right without it. By right I mean the bass you here at Red Rocks, or the bass you hear at The Blue Note.