Low output MC to match my phono stage

Thanks for the help thus far. Nsgarch, I believe you are right. This is how I should make sense of it. The manual states:

"INPUT SENSITIVITY: 300 mV RMS for rated output at 1kHz. 1.5 mV RMS on Phono low gain setting. 0.75 mV RMS on Phono high gain setting."

That is it. Nothing in the manual mentions user-adjustable phono input impedance. Just that I can switch it from high gain to low gain. I'll send off an email to see what the impedance is on the low gain setting.

Thanks again for the help thus far.

Episteme -- for the LO gain (MM) setting, the built-in load is most likely 47K. What you really want to know is what the default load is for the HI gain setting (it might also be 47K) and you want to know how to modify it.

Nsgarch -- Right, thanks. Got that mixed up. I actually posed the question correctly (!) to Plinius. We'll see what they say...

Below is the response I got from the US Plinius distributor. In short, the impedance is set for 47kOhms on both the "high" and "low" setting.

"If you change the phono gain of the 8200 MK II, it will not affect the cartridge loading of the phono section. This is possible to change by changing the hard-wired loading resistor on the phono board, but as you have been using a Hi-output MC cart and all you are doing is switching for a Low-Output MC cart, you should not have to worry over the loading, as it will sound just fine. It is not a gain issue with loading, but one of philosophy when using MC carts. Some feel that they should have a lower input loading, while others, such as myself, feel that 47 Kohm is the right choice in the majority of cases. I think you will find that you are fine."

I am clearly just learning here, but this has to be, at the least, controversial. I won't be doing any modifications to the amp, as I just am not going to get into it. Not sure where all of this leaves me, but at least I have learned a bunch....

Well, I have to inform you that cartridge loading is not a matter of taste. Nor is it "controversial" or arbitrary. And the person who replied to your inquiry is rather less than knowledgable (to say the least!) There are many threads on Agon that go into this subject in detail. After you decide on a new cartridge, you'll want a more extensive explanation I'm sure.

Suffice to say that I've never heard or heard of, a normal (meaning not a "high output") moving coil cartridge that performed optimally at 47K ohms.

Many of the high output moving coil cartridges do work with 47K ohms, because they were specifically designed to do so. This is partly for convenience, since most people buy them to use with dedicated MM phonostages, and generally, they do not come with loading options because MM cartridges don't require them.