Low output MC to match my phono stage

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.

Hmm, I think Nsgarch (Neil) will agree that Plinius is sort of telling a mistruth here in that 47K will be suitable for all MC Cartridges, as it won't.

A shame that so many manufacturers seem to overlook a variety of both gain, and loading with their products, and have the "Ron Popeil" philosophy of "Set it, and forget it".

As Neil, and others in the know have advised me, MC Cartridges that have an output over 1Mv might be quite happy at 47K (Like my hi-output Glider), as they then sort of act like an MM, but those that have lower output might not favor 47k loading. Mark

Thanks for the quick responses, Nsgarch and Markd51. I suspected that what you say here is true, as I have been reading a bit of stuff over at Audio Asylum. I'll check out some threads here, too.

At the time being, I am thinking of just trying out a Denon DL103 (not the 'R' version) with the $100 Denon step-up transfomer (1:10). If I am understanding things, this should lower the impedance appropriately and also boost the signal enough to work with the regular MM setting on my amp.

I can get this at the same price as another Dynavector 10x5 (which I liked), and I am curious to get some more experience with different kinds of cartridges.

Anyhow, I appreciate all of your help. It has been A LOT of help.

I had a conversation with Keith Herron at RMAF and he was also against cartridge loading feeling 47k ohm was fine for MC. I myself do not agree and while I respect his opinion I decided to buy another phonostage.

That being said, if you don't want to mess with swapping the resistor internally (although in my opinion this is what I would do as it should be very simple to accomplish), then another option is to run the phonostage in MM mode and use a step-up transformer such as the K&K Audio which allows you to easily plug in different resistor values to alter the load. For example, if you use 47k ohm in the step-up, combined with the 47k ohm in the phonostage you will net a 940 ohm load (don't worry, there is a spreadsheet on the Galibier Design website that has these calculations all figured out for you, its what I use). Again, I'd do this directly in the unit, but options are always nice to have.