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Beginnners question - Phono stage

I am kind of new at this hobby and have a dumb question. Why is it that when I listen to my CD player or tuner, the volume control on my amp is usually set at approximately 40 out of 100 and it is plenty loud. However, when I am listening to vinyl on my turntable, I have to crank up the volume control to 70 to get the same sound level out of my system. I have an AR turntable with a MM cartridge. I tried another turntable with a MC cartridge (making sure "MC" was selected on my phono stage) and it was even worst...I had to crank the volume control to 80! My amp is a Pathos Classic One MKII, a Musical Fidelity XRayV3 CD player, Linn Pekin tuner, Totem Hawks and an MF XLPS phono stage. Is this normal or do I have a problem ? Is this possibly linked to the phono stage itself, cabling or simply due to a cartridge/phono stage mismatch ? Thanks for your help.
sympaticonorm
sympaticonorm OP
103 posts
 
You guys on Audiogon are great !! I now have a better understanding of what is going on. The MF XLPS does not have a gain adjustment external or internal. Overall, I am fairly happy with the sound I get from the MM cartridge but I definitely can't use my present MC cartridge (Denon 301) with this setup. Is there a formula or a way to determine best match for a specific cartrige and phono stage. I guess the sensitivity of each is a key element. Or, is the best approach simply to look for a phono stage that has a gain adjustment. I have a Linn LP12 with an SME III tonearm that I want to get operational and certainly would not want to end-up purchasing a cartridge that is not really compatible with my phono stage..nor do I really want to start going thru a trial and error game with phono stages...Thanks again !
hdm
1,062 posts
 
Generally speaking, you need to look at the output of the cartridge and then look at the gain provided by the phono stage and match them up. You can look here for a guideline:

http://db.audioasylum.com/cgi/m.mpl?forum=vinyl&n=271912&highlight=gain+elison&r=&session=

and my experience leads me to believe that with very low output moving coils (say .3-mV or less) you'd be safe even going another 2-3 db. or so.
nsgarch's avatar
nsgarch
2,524 posts
 
Another solution, barring adjustable gain, and one actually preferred by many highly sophisicated analog audiophiles, would be to use a high quality step-up transformer (Bent, Audio Fidelity, Jentzen) before the phono preamp. I'm sure you can find many threads on the subject here on AgoN.
clio09
3,360 posts
 
A good step up transformer will work nicely. I have a K&K step up that uses Lundahl transformers ($250 as a kit, but can come assembled for an additional cost). It is tiny so it is unobtrusive and can be configured for 14db, 20db or 26db of gain. The others mentioned by Nsgarch are good brands as well.
sympaticonorm OP
103 posts
 
After letting the XLPS phono stage turned-on for a day, and more listening time, I would say that the MM side of the phono stage is fine as is. My next move is to find the right cartridge for the SME III and see what results I get with my Linn LP12. Thanks for all your help everyone...I really appreciate it !
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