MC transformers - what do they sound like?

Dear Swampwalker: +++++ " One additional thought or question I would throw in the mix is this- are there certain upstream or downstream choices that affect the step up vs gain stage decision, all other factors being equal? " +++++

In my opinion, other than money/price, no know-how and poor interest in music quality reproduction I don't think exist any upstream/downstream about. The choice must be active gain stage.

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.

Rauliruegas...Transformers do have their proponents. In addition to the MC phono aplication, some prefer transformer-coupled amplifier stages over capacitors, and some prefer variable coupling transformers over pots for volume control.

Dear Eldatford: Yes, I agree with you and I respect to every single preferences that have the people.

I'm only given my opinion/answer to an especific Downunder question: " Besides providing gain, are good quality MC transformers transparent to the signal they are providing the gain to?. "

I think that the question here is not which proponents exist about the subject but which way is best for achieve a better quality music reproduction.
I know that are many SUT proponents but that does not means they are right about. The SUT is an easy way to hide bad designs, but the medicine ( SUT ) is worst than the illness ( bad design ) because to a bad design you have to add another disadvantage named: SUT. My advise is that the SUT proponentes have to learn about. Like Tom say: " Knowledge is power. "

Btw, ++++ " some prefer transformer-coupled amplifier stages over capacitors " +++++, as you know this statement ( both designs ) is the non right way, the right way is: direct coupled amplifier that is always a challenge for the designers.

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.

Rauliruegas...Agree that dirct coupled amps are best. I have some Kenwood LO-7M monoblocks that are direct coupled. Such an amplifier is really a DC power supply, with high slew rate and analog voltage control.

Dear Swampwalker: +++++ " I was not thinking so much of an attempt to compensate, rather a better interaction btwn either an SUT or a gain stage with a certain kind of cartridge or line stage.... " +++++

Your way of thinking is right on target. No one in his healthy brain sanity can speaks about the use of SUT for compensate for some problems over the audio chain.

" interaction "/ synergy that's the name of the game in audio. The SUT certainly has no synergy with cartridges and that's why we have to go for active gain stages. The SUT is the " easy " way to hide bad phonopreamp designs. These bad designs add a bad medicine ( SUTs ) trying " to help " but the SUT not only does not help but increment/continue the signal degradation. The source of the problem is in the origin: bad design.

" Interaction with line stage ": in my opinion the active gain phono stage must be integrated with the line stage, in this way we can have a better synergy. Of course we could go for and stand alone/external active gain phono stage but here we can lost synergy, not only because we need additional cables and connectors that function like filters/veils to the signal reproduction but because the phono stage could comes from a manufacturer different from the line stage one.

Well as you can see this is a very complex problem. That's why I post about SUTs: " a cheap solution to a very complex problem ".

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.